Stewart to work for Earnhardt at Saturday's Busch race
By Times Wires
Published August 14, 2003
Tony Stewart will drive for a new car owner this week.
No, he isn't leaving Joe Gibbs Racing. He will drive for fellow NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Saturday's Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
It will be Stewart's first start in a Busch car since 1998, the year before he moved to the Cup series and earned rookie of the year honors.
"Junior and I thought this would be fun," Stewart said. "He wants to call the race from the pit box, and I want to race one of his cars. He says he'll be my boss for the day, and that should be very interesting."
Stewart, who went winless in 36 Busch starts from 1996-1998, also said he likes the fact that Earnhardt's Chance 2 Motorsports entry, which is co-owned by stepmother Teresa Earnhardt, has won four of the eight events it has entered.
Earnhardt Jr. drove in those victories, but Steve Park, Martin Truex and Hank Parker Jr. also have raced the No. 8 Chevy.
"The night (Earnhardt) called me with the invitation, I got to thinking about all the types of cars I've driven in my career," Stewart said. "And the only two types of cars I haven't won in is a Busch Series car and a sports car.
"I haven't seen the car or sat in it yet, but I know his crew chief (Kevin Manion) and I have all the faith and know he has good equipment. We'll go to Michigan, and we'll be fine."
Earnhardt said he and Stewart were rivals in the Busch Series.
"Since then, we've become good friends, and I thought it would awesome if he drove for Chance 2 for one race," Earnhardt said.
It won't be the first time the two drivers have worked together. Stewart and Earnhardt were part of a music video by 3 Doors Down, The Road I'm On. The band will sponsor the car for Saturday's race.
TRUCKS: Three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip will compete in the Oct. 18 race at Martinsville Speedway.
It will be Waltrip's third truck race this year, fifth overall and third on Martinsville's .526-mile oval, where he finished seventh in the spring race. Now a broadcaster for Fox, Waltrip will drive the truck owned by his younger brother, Michael.
DRIVER DIES: A sprint car driver died after an accident during a race at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. Keith Hutton, 53, of Knoxville, was pronounced dead on arrival at Mahaska County Hospital on Tuesday night.
The accident happened at the Oskaloosa dirt track, which hosts stock car races and runs sprint cars with smaller engines once a week.
