Hugging the Curves
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. – Since he started racing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series nine seasons ago, Tony Stewart has been victorious three times on the road course at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. It should come as no surprise, then, that the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is looking forward to Sunday’s Centurion Boats at The Glen, the second and final road course race of the year.There are only two road courses on the 36-race Nextel Cup schedule – Watkins Glen and Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. But to some, even one road course race is one too many. NASCAR purists argue that those who want that style of racing can watch Formula 1. Not the Home Depot team, however.
In fact, Stewart and his teammates would be happy to see more road courses added to the schedule. And who can blame them? In his eight races at Watkins Glen, Stewart has not only driven to victory lane three times, he’s also finished in the top-10 six times. The numbers for the No. 20 at Infineon are also impressive – five top-10s in 12 races.
Even Stewart’s long-time tire specialist, Jerold Shires, began to wonder why his driver dominated road courses when his background mostly consisted of racing on ovals. Shires actually asked Stewart about his success on road courses. Stewart attributed it to driving go-karts during rehabilitation after a shoulder injury he suffered before he even got into NASCAR.
That said, while some loathe road course races, the No. 20 team has them circled on their schedule.
“I like the road courses because Tony does and he shines on them,” said Bill Byrne, assistant tire specialist on the No. 20 team. “NASCAR would never add more road-course races, but I would be in favor of it. Every time we go to a road course, I think we have a good chance to win.”
In addition to Stewart’s domination, the members of The Home Depot team like the stops in Watkins Glen and Sonoma because of the challenges the road courses present.
“First off, I like them because they are not all left turns,” Shires said. “It is not all about speed, and you have to have one hand on the wheel and one hand to shift. I would like to have more road courses and maybe even one in the Chase (for the Nextel Cup) to make it different.”
Jason Shapiro, Stewart’s car chief, has a different, even more entertaining theory about why Stewart smokes the competition on road courses.
“You know Bach and Beethoven?” Shapiro asked. “Those guys just walked up and knew how to play the piano. I think Tony just went to a road course and could do it without even thinking about it.”
Like Bach and Beethoven, Stewart also has the benefit of operating a finely tuned machine week in and week out, which has been a key to his success. Having a potential race-winning car on Sunday starts with the critical and detailed preparation it undergoes before leaving the team’s shop in Huntersville.
For road-course races – more so than for oval tracks – extra attention is paid to the suspension, brakes and cooling belts. The driver also has to be prepped, ready and in tip-top physical condition to run a road course. This week at Watkins Glen, as was the case at Infineon earlier this summer, Stewart will encounter much higher temperatures in the car due to more braking, and there will be added G-forces on his body as the No. 20 car makes tremendously high-speed lefts and rights.
Shapiro is convinced Stewart could go to any road course and drive anything with four wheels on it and he’ll be fast.
“Tony is good in just about anything you give him to drive,” Shapiro said. “He looks to find challenges all the time and something new to inspire him.”