Tony Stewart, love him or hate him, is often one of the most entertaining drivers in a press conference. Friday was no aberration, as the sharp-tongued veteran announced Rush Truck Centers as a new sponsor on his No. 14 Sprint Cup car. The Gene Haas-affiliated sponsor will be the primary sponsor the team for three races and carry a season-long associate sponsorship. But Stewart went straight from fielding making sponsorship quotes, to having to answer questions about Danica Patrick and, from me, about his stance on the nature of plate racing in the new Gen-6 car, in comparison to the tandem racing of recent years.
Stewart, who has won many races at Daytona, but has been eluded by the Daytona 500, was a sharp critic of tandem racing. He highlighted his criticism of the two-car shove drafts by telling me at Talladega last season, sarcastically, that NASCAR should turn the cars backwards at the halfway point of the race or turn that race into a figure-eight race. Classic Stewart.
Stewart did emphasize Cup Series in his saying he will never have to push a car that much again,. He will have to deal with tandem racing in the Nationwide Series Saturday, as he drives the No. 33 for Richard Childress Racing.