Stewart wears Hutchens AND: A few minutes before 11, Tony Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli came from the hauler and walked to the car. Zipadelli helped Stewart latch on the Hutchens device, under the unblinking eye of competition director Steve Peterson.(SpeedVision) UPDATE: After some tense moments early Friday, Tony Stewart finally relented and wore a head and neck restraint device before he began practice at Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR on Wednesday mandated the use of either the HANS or Hutchens device by all drivers in its top three series – Winston Cup, Grand National and Trucks. Stewart was the only regular Cup driver who did not wear one of the devices on a regular basis. After the practice session started, Winston Cup series director Gary Nelson stood by Stewart’s car and asked him if he had received the bulletin about the use of head and neck restraints. Stewart replied, “Yeah, but I didn’t get the one about helmets being required.” Stewart then left his car and went to the NASCAR hauler, where he had a heated exchange with Nelson. When it was over, he returned to his hauler, removed his uniform, dressed in street clothes and went to his motorhome. After a short while, he returned to his hauler, put on his uniform, put on a Hutchens device and got into his car. After exchanging words with NASCAR official Steve Peterson, he pulled out of the garage and onto the track. He ended up posting the 40th-fastest speed.(That’s Racin’), Stewart will start 37th at Talladega, using a provisional to make the race(10-19-2001) COLUMN: a few interesting columns about Stewart – Tony Stewart, back to the wall, is raging in solitude by Monte Dutton of the Gaston Gazette; and There’s another side to the Stewart story by David Poole of the Charlotte Observer/That’s Racin'(10-21-2001)
