Tony Stewart: Danica Patrick Has Earned Her Way
by Mike Baron
Jun 4, 2005
Tony Stewart, who was in Michigan to visit the renovations at Michigan International Speedway took time on Tuesday to answer questions at the Discovery Middle School in Canton, where he brought one of his twenty, No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolets, for a show-and-tell.
Stewart, who competes in the NASCAR Nextel Cup, answered questions about what it's like to drive a stock car and what he thought of IRL racer Danica Patrick.
He reportedly went there because sixth-grader Ryan Krieg, 11, wrote an essay on why Stewart should visit his school. Detroit Newspapers sponsored the contest, and Krieg's essay was judged the most compelling.
Does he ever get carsick? "Nope".
One student reportedly asked Stewart if he had gotten a lot of speeding tickets.
"I had a lot when I first got my driver's license," said Stewart, who grew up in Rushville, Ind. "Not nearly as many now."
He also was asked what kind of music he liked.
"I listen to music that came along before any of you were born," he reportedly said. "Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Metallica, Kid Rock -- yeah, I'm a big Kid Rock fan. You cannot be in Michigan and not have Kid Rock as one of your favorite groups. He's a big buddy of mine, anyway," according to the Detroit Free Press.
Stewart told the children that he wished race car drivers could actually listen to music during a race. And he also told the kids he was jealous of Danica Patrick's fourth-place finish Sunday at the Indianapolis 500.
"I haven't even come in fourth at the Indy 500 yet," said Stewart, who has competed in the race five times, but not since 2001. "I think fifth is the highest I've ever finished there. She comes there in her first try and does better than I've ever done there. I think she did a pretty good job."
The entire class will reportedly be given tickets to watch qualifying June 18 for the Batman Begins 400, which will be run the next day at Michigan International Speedway.
Even at MIS many were interested in Stewart's take on Patrick. He was asked whether or not Patrick should try to come to NASCAR.
Stewart indicated that he thought it should happen only under the "right" circumstances.
The Toledo Blade notes that Stewart said, "I don't think that's the right way to do it," the 2002 Winston Cup champion said. "I don't think we need to rush that. I don't think they need to just find a woman and put her in the race car and say, here, we need to do this because we need a woman out there like Danica Patrick. I think that is the wrong reason to do that."
Patrick, who rocked the racing world with her fourth-place finish in Sunday's Indy 500 - a race she led three times for a total of 19 laps - has apparently earned Stewart's respect after she worked her way through the developmental circuits for several years before getting her first qualifying run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in early May.
"Danica is there for the right reasons, not the wrong reasons," Stewart said. "She has earned her way up there, she's got the talent to do the job and do it right, and she is serious about it."
Stewart, who's nickname is 'Smoke' and owns legendary Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, along with a number of other racing interests including WOO Danny Lasoski's winning USAC ride, said he does not have a whole lot of time to assess talent in the lower NASCAR ranks, but he seriously doubts there is a 'Danica Patrick' on the horizon.
"I'm a driver, not a scout, so I don't know," Stewart said. "I've got one World of Outlaws team, two USAC Silver Crown teams, two USAC Sprint Car teams, a USAC Midget team, and a race track. I don't have time to focus on anything else but what I've got going on. If there is that person out there, I haven't had any of them send me a resume yet."
"The first woman that comes along who has earned her way up there, like Danica has, I'll welcome her with open arms," Stewart said. "And I hope she's as good-looking, too. Danica, it would not hurt my feelings at all to have her parked next to me in the garage area here."
Disclaimer: Many of the stories on this site may or may not contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Where ever and whenever possible The Post Chronicle™ sources and or includes the name of the author/owner and gives them full recognition for the excellent and invaluable work they do. The Post Chronicle™ make such information available because of it's newsworthiness in our efforts to advance understanding of: free speech, the free press, environmental issues, political practices, human rights, economics, democracy in general, science, political and social issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material. The Post Chronicle™ accepts no responsibility for the accuracy or inaccuracies of any story or opinion. The views expressed on this site are that of the authors and not necessarily that of The Post Chronicle™. We run banner advertising in order to cover the operating costs of delivering the material.
Internet user privacy and confidentiality is of the utmost importance to PostChronicle. Our reputation & integrity is directly related to how we serve our clients and customers. Please click here to read the privacy policy.
FEATURES 
of IRL racer Danica Patrick. 
he was jealous of Danica Patrick's fourth-place finish Sunday at the Indianapolis 500.
