By BRANT JAMES, Times Staff Writer
Published September 17, 2005
MR. ACCESS: Tony Stewart might be a curmudgeon to the media at times, but he sure put that stubbly face out there this week when NASCAR's Chase for the Championship contenders were trotted through the coveted New York market en route to this weekend's first playoff race at New Hampshire.
This week Stewart appeared on Late Show with David Letterman, where the fellow Hoosier needled him about his notorious temper, the Today show, ESPN's Cold Pizza and ESPNews' Hot List.
The Nextel Cup points leader's beaming mug also adorns the cover of this week's edition of ESPN the Magazine.
DOGGED EFFORT: Ryan Newman's charitable foundation will deliver truckloads of pet food, water, animal care and veterinary supplies to Gulfport, Miss., on Sept. 26, then return to Charlotte, N.C., with as many rescued pets as it can transport. The Ryan Newman Foundation effort, in conjunction with Project HALO, will be bolstered by volunteers including Newman's wife, Krissie, and Sandy Simerlien, horse trainer for Kim Burton, wife of Nextel Cup driver Jeff.
"It's so sad to think about the families who lost everything they own to Hurricane Katrina, and now they're living out of their cars just trying to hang on to the pets that they love," Newman said in a news release. "If I were in that situation, I would do everything I could to keep my animals. This rescue mission to Gulfport is the least we can do to help those families with pets."
PROGRESS: Jeff Green, driver of Petty Enterprise's No. 43 Dodge, has finished in the top 25 in his past seven races, tying a team mark set in 2000. Green's best career finish, second, came at New Hampshire in 2002.
