Motorsports

Speed reading

By BRANT JAMES
Published July 23, 2005

Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves said he has no problem with Nextel Cup's Tony Stewart co-opting his climb-the-fence celebration.

Stewart, who has won three of the past four races, pulled to the finish line at Daytona International Speedway after dominating the Pepsi 400 on July 2, scaled the fence and exulted on the flag stand. He later claimed to be "too old and too fat" for such shenanigans.

But up Stewart went Sunday at Loudon, N.H., though race officials let him back down through a crossover gate.

"I think it's great Tony is climbing the fence after he wins," said Castroneves, whose last IRL ascent came June 25 at Richmond. "It's good to see drivers showing their emotions when they win. I'm flattered that he has chosen my way to celebrate.

"Every time I see a driver climb a fence, it makes me smile because I think he says a lot about the excitement that I convey to the fans when I take the checkered flag."

Castroneves first did his "Spider-Man" routine June 18, 2000, after the Detroit Grand Prix, his first CART victory.

Kyle Petty shows fans a little more of the inside than many drivers. He's a well-rounded man, enjoying activities beyond the track. He's a philanthropist - creating one of sports' most successful and high-profile charities, the Victory Junction Gang - and an ambassador for his sport. And Petty, 45, also enjoys playing with his vintage guitars. "I wouldn't call it a collection," he said. "I'd just call it a bunch of old guitars, basically. And most everything that I've got is old Gibsons, from about '64 and before. I've probably got 15, maybe 18 guitars. My favorite is a sunburst Hummingbird that I learned to play on when I was about 12 years old.

"And I got it from a guy who was a preacher named Bill Frasier. And that's probably about as cool as anything else because you end up with a guitar from a traveling preacher."

[Last modified July 23, 2005, 00:54:16]