Tony Stewart’s [#20 Home Depot chevy driver] absence was duly noted. Stewart was scheduled to test at Daytona next week [even owners points], but he [and the team] will be doing a Goodyear tire test at Texas instead. Stewart may not be the only star skipping Daytona 500 testing. Kevin Harvick might pass [due in next week]. Crew chief Greg Zipadelli said that the driver really has little to do here, so he’s not worried about not having Stewart at the wheel. “We just tested Kentucky, we’re going to Texas for two days of testing, then we’re going to Vegas and California for more testing this month, and Tony is running in the 24 Hours here,” Zipadelli said. “And Tony just ran the Chili Bowl too. So basically we’re just giving him a couple of days off.”(Winston Salem Journal), plus Zipadelli said on XM Satellite NASCAR Radio that his charity event – Zippy’s Crusade For Kids Snowmobile Ride is on Jan 21-22 and he has to leave for that.(1-12-2005)
