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Penske offers Stewart Indy ride http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/stor...00-ride-113012

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Now if we could get Dave D. Levi J. Tracy H. Jon S. J.J. Yelly. Shane C. Josh S. Billy P. Casey S. Mike S. Ricky G. Troy C. Tony E. Scotty W. Chris W. Robbie R. and on and on I would go back to being at every Ind 500 run.

What a dream and I would bet the local tracks would not run against them as the fans would fill the place.

I would like to see every sprint car driver (Wing or Non wing) get a shot these are just a few off the top of my head so if your name is not listed please don't be offended.

Jerry #66j
stida.com

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I think and hope that is what Tony is aiming for. But I think he is smart enough to know that he needs more seat time before the 500. Hence him getting someone to drive his cab and him running the series again. Not next year, but? The man wants to WIN the 500. I'm all for it. He has won in all forms of racecars and is, IMO the last Outlaw racer and can win also in all of these cars!

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He'd be a threat with or without seat time before the 500. The man is a natural.

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He won't do it, he has way too much invested in his taxi cab business.

If you want to dream, why not big ?

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I don`t think tony can fit in the car (too heavy, too large)

He will fit, A.J. did in his older, larger years.

Posted via Mobile Device

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Some of this was tried in the mid-late 90s; but very few cared and corp. America/all sponsors failed to get behind the drivers that DID come from the SC@M ranks/short tracks and WERE up front/won some races. It was a shame the "vision" got lost, lot of it was the chicken and egg type deal. I really enjoyed 96-Indy 01 (my heart was broke that day...lol. One of the saddest racing fan days...was Tony's last 500 too...)

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20 years ago that worked, much has changed in 20 years. 20 years ago there were one off teams that made the field and made noise (Menard), not now. 20 years ago there were two weekends of qualifying and lots of practice time in the Month of May, not now. 20 years ago the race had a following that only F1 could rival, not now. 20 years ago fans packed that place on Pole Day, not now. 20 years ago the second split hadn't happened, not now. 20 years ago you had a vibrant series that raced in the 500, not now.

Tony would need to do some serious training, conditioning, and get some serious seat time before he could/should run the 500 again. The cars have changed even from when he last ran there. Take Paul Tracy for example. He has kept racing Indycars while Stewart went down to NASCAR yet Tracy barely is able to make race pace. I'm not saying Paul Tracy is better then Tony Stewart. I am saying that Paul Tracy is more knowledgable on Indycars then Tony Stewart and at Indy that is the key.

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i'd say its time to sh** can the rear engine cars and go back to some sort of slea:8:k low slung front engine roaster again!

Mr nobody your name says it all. You think indy cars are that much harder to drive and he will need more conditioning?? He might have to do some crunches and diet change to get into the set but come on. Last time he tried this he ran 6th for ganissi in the 2000s and them ran 2nd at the 600 from the back cause he missed the drivers meeting. No matter what your racing your hands, feet, and a$$ tell you everything and judging from Tonys record he is better than anyone who has ever sat in a cockpit.

Posted via Mobile Device

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You obviously have no clue about the testing that was done on the DW12 during it's developement. The DW12 is a much rear heavier car than those of the years Tony ran before. The cars have an enormous amount of push into the corners due to lack of front grip not to mention the anti run over bumpers behind the rear wheels. These cars race in a differnet manner then the cars of the early 2000.

Also, Tony is better then any other driver who has sat in a cockpit? He's better then Foyt, Mears and Unser Sr? Better then Rutherford, Rose, Holland, Hillm Castroneves, Dixon, Wheldon, Vukovich, or anyone else that actually has their name on the Borg? Hey lets not limit that to just the 500, lets look at accomplishments across all forms of racing? How many WDC's does Stewart have compared to Mario? Blanket statements coverup the disproving facts don't they, Billy?

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of those drivers which have championships in both of the major American racing series (Indycar, and Nascar) and a tripe crown not over a period of time but in one year?

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Triple Crown win is what you're going to say makes or breaks a driver as a "best ever" qualification?

Again, someone is saying that Tony is better then Mario? I'm no Andretti fan but I would easily tell you that Mario is well above Stewart in terms of who's better then who statistically. Foyt's better the Stewart also. Again, that's based on statistics. I know many think Tonys is the best thing since the beginning of time. If you are then good for you, but don't let worshipping him blind you to the simple facts.

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Last year Stewart was able to fit into Lewis Hamilton's Mclaren F1, so fitting into the car is not an issue. I also find it hard to believe that Indy is more grueling than 500 laps at Bristol or Darlington. By the end of May NASCAR already has 3 months in, he would be in race shape by the time Indy rolls around. I don't see an issue here.

Now that he is his own boss, I believe it would be easier for him to come over for one race. Also, I don't think the Brickyard 400 quite fulfills his dream to have a win at the Indianapolis Speedway.

Okay, now let me have it!

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The topic driver does one thing better than all the other mentioned.. playing the "free pass." Worse yet, people who deal with him let it happen.

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A threat yes, to contend no. Everyone needs practice and I don't mean a few times at Indy before the race. I want him to win the 500. :6:

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likewise his statistics in the variety of divisions he has ran cant blind you from his ranking as one of the best. yes aj and mario are right there but i think tony has done plenty to prove his rank right there with them, maybe not above them but right with them. one triple crown doesnt make him the greatest but nascar indycar and triple crown do say something about the guys talent.

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So now he isn't "the best ever" but instead you say he's up there on a best ever list. Interesting. I never said he wasn't good, I did say he wasn't a best ever when there are drivers that have come before him and set the bar incredibly high for someone to match and so far Tony has hasn't met that. He's definitely a top ten best ever, maybe a low top five, but certianly not much higher as it sits right now.

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read my first post again where i said best, I didnt. had he chose to stay with indycar fulltime instead of pursuing other options he could have possibly put up those kind of stats. he has some incredible stats spread over a very diverse group of racecars. I dont think there is a racecar division he has not had a win with that he has raced in. If there is I stand corrected but I dont believe there is.

Back on topic I would like to see this happen and think with the right equipment which he would have it could be exciting.

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You ask any motorsports writer, analyst, historian or fan and they will put Foyt and Andretti at the top of the greatest ever list. You are putting him with Foyt and Andretti. While you aren't saying that directly, you are saying it.

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Foyt, Unser, Helio, Mears (this is a guy that never seems to be on a best all time list ), Vogler, Larson ( which one? ), Ward, Jones, ect... Who is the best will always be debated with no real way of picking "the best" but,its the off season.... Also, all the comparing of the talent needed to drive todays Indy Car is a product of time to kill, I do not think there are any Indy Car drivers on this thread?
What we do know to be a fact is that last years Indy 500 starting line-up should have an asterick next to the drivers names. 2012 was the year that 26 teams and 7 "buy a ride and your in" cars made up the starting field. There were 33 cars, no one had to compete to make the race. There have always been bought rides at Indy, but 2012 was the only year in modern times that 4 laps made the race. Also, in the last 10 years there have been several Rookies almost win at Indy, so if you give a talented driver a good ride, then winning Indy is not out of reach.
I welcome all that want to try Indy, every entry adds to the event, and the event needs more than 33 or the day may come when?

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The reason there were only 33 cars took time is the fact that Lotus would have been bumped and that would have been a huge black eye for Indycar after having let all the regular teams but HVM switch to Honda or Chevy and dump thier Lotus engines and contracts. After Indycar touted their "multiple engine manufacturers" to only have 2 make the field would have been disasterous. Only the diehards and a few teams knew what was going on behind the scenes, the general public didn't know anything. Several drivers (Pippa Mann and Jay Howard are two) had cars lined. But, Indycar management wouldn't push for an extra Honda or Chevy engine to be released by Illmor or HPD. Indycar knew they had left HVM and Fan Force United hanging out to dry with Lotus. Now that decision by Indycar to not help HVM out has cost HVM it's driver and sponsor to go to KV and HVM is basically DOA for 2013.

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Well, hasn't this turned into a urinating contest.

Rather than lauding the fact that Roger Penske offered Tony Stewart a ride in next year's Indianapolis 500, you'd rather bellyache about whether Stewart is one of the best. The simple fact is that it is impossible to judge the "best" when comparing drivers from one era of racing to the next. Pancho Carter once pointed out to me that it can't be done because of the differences in the types of equipment, schedules, methods of track preparation. One also has to consider the difference today in the financial need of a driver to take risks in our traditional form of racing. Drivers in the 1950s and 1960s did it so they could eat and make car payments. Successful drivers today do not have to.

Tony Stewart is the closest thing to the drivers of the 1950s and 1960s. He will run multiple types of race cars at all kinds of venues, and run them very well, not because he needs to make a house payment but because he loves racing -- any racing.

Stewart said several years ago that the days of running Indianapolis on a one-off basis are gone because of the advances which have been made in IndyCar racing. This was before the development of the new car. During an interview last year, he told me that he needed many more laps before he could ever consider entering the Knoxville Nationals in a winged sprint car. It was just too different from what he has ever done.

I suspect the same would be true about Penske's offer. Tony Stewart has always been too intelligent to step into something without being adequately prepared. Just how is he going to have time to prepare with the commitments he has to not only his NASCAR race team and its sponsors, but his other racing efforts, Eldora Speedway and his True Speed Communications company?

I would love to see Tony return to the field of the Indianapolis 500. I long for it. But, I fear the time for that may have passed us by.

Jim Morrison
Editor
Hawkeye Racing News

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Thanks, Jim...for getting back to the original post...:6:

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From the Fox Sports story on this.

''The hard part for me was you make that decision when you sign up to do (NASCAR),'' Stewart said last January. ''The decision you make, you have to come to peace with yourself with saying `I'm not going to do this.' That was my childhood dream anyway. It was hard knowing when I signed that (NASCAR) contract that I was writing off the opportunity to go race at Indy.

''It's figuring out at the end of the day what do you really want to do. I guess that's the part that even though it was hard to watch opening day of practice at Indianapolis, I'm enjoying what I'm doing, too, and this is what I want to do at the end of the day. It makes you want 30-hour days and 400-day years and we always want to do more than what we're capable of doing, but the reality is you have to pick at some point and choose your career path. This is what I've done.''

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Nelson and I have also talked about it numerous times. He's told me more then once Tony said it's not possible.

On the other and, how many times has Penske made the impossible , possible ?

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