NASCAR newsmaker

When Tony Stewart returns to the Daytona International Speedway next month for the Budweiser Shootout and Daytona 500, he will do it as a car owner.

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The two-time champion talked about the challenges of being an owner and driver in the Sprint Cup Series during Fan Fest last week at Daytona. Here are excerpts of that interview:

Question: You got into the Budweiser Shootout by a rule change last week that made you a wild card entry. What are your thoughts on that?

Stewart: I get more time on the track with a new crew chief and a new car and package. We're obviously very excited about it. It's one more race and that much more exposure that Office Depot and Old Spice get. It's really a big benefit to us being able to work with each other and get one more race under our belt before we get to the 500 a week later. We're very, very excited that that came out.

Question: Given the economy, did you pick a good time to become a car owner?

Stewart: You know, I feel like everything is exactly where it needs to be right now. I mean, we're a little bit behind on getting cars built, but I feel like having that luxury of not having to worry about an engine program right now is helping us get caught up, and having Hendrick chassis, all we have to do is hang our bodies right now. We're kind of in a good situation of not having to worry about those two variables and just focusing on building the cars.

Question: Do you have plans to start your own engine program?

Stewart: I think that's where the demise of Darrell Waltrip's team came in is when I decided to do that. We've got a great partnership with Hendrick Motorsports and they've got if not the best engine program one of the best engine programs out there, and it always has been. Don't take something that's not broke and try to fix it, definitely. We don't plan on doing that.

Question: What is your impression of the economy?

Stewart: I don't know that we really had a choice on that. This was an opportunity that picked us. We didn't go out and pick it. But I think it shows that timing is everything. I mean, we were able to secure our sponsorships with Office Depot and Old Spice and then getting Ryan signed and having the U.S. Army come on board his car makes me really proud as an owner that we were able to get all that done before the bottom fell out of the economy right now.

Question: Would you start a new team in today's economy?

Stewart: From scratch, no, definitely not. You know, you would have to own a company that's doing well to probably do that right now, and I think we were I was in a very fortunate position to be offered an opportunity with Haas CNC racing to join their operation and help hopefully build it. I don't think if it were not for an opportunity like this, I don't think that we would have had this opportunity altogether, let alone with the economy the way it is now.

Question: Have you been surprised by anything you've seen as a car owner?

Stewart: Probably the biggest thing that I've seen is that I actually can get up at 6 o'clock in the morning. I did that (last) Wednesday when we had to fly down to New Smyrna (Fla.) to test. I didn't realize that there was actually a 6 a.m. until this year. That was a shock. The rest of it, I have to be honest, I'm not sure that anything has been a big shock or surprise. I think I had the mindset that I had a lot to learn and that I didn't know and don't know everything that I need to know about being a car owner yet but that if we were able to hire the right people that I would learn as we went, and that's what we've been able to do so far.

Question: Are you directly involved in the solicitation of sponsorships?

Stewart: I'm not a huge part of the initial sales pitches, but once we've got feedback from companies that we've approached and have that interest, that's kind of where I get involved. But the thing that I've seen is that it seems like it's not all companies are still looking to advertise. All these companies are not just going to stop advertising all of a sudden because the economy is bad. There's a lot of them that are looking at it as a unique opportunity to take advantage of getting ahead of their competition. There's still money out there for the teams that's available. It's just the amount of it has changed, and I think the direction of seeing single sponsorships for a car for the season, I think there is going to be less and less of those, and it's more tailoring partnerships with companies to work with each other to make these sponsorships work.

Question: What are your new goals?

Stewart: I have no idea. I haven't really set an end date of when I want to stop driving. Obviously races you haven't won, those are always the ones to me right now that are important. Obviously the Daytona 500 is at the top of that list.

Question: Are you excited about what's ahead for you in 2009?

Stewart: It seems like it's been another chapter, but I've been more excited this off season, I think, than I've ever been, other than coming into my rookie year. But with that, it seems like we've really enjoyed the offseason. It's having something different other than just trying to get away for a couple weeks and trying to relax. That's always been the focus every off season, and this year it's been, hey, get to the shop and see what's going on today, and that's something that I've really enjoyed. It's not something that even at Homestead if you would have asked me if I would have thought that's the way it was going to be, I wouldn't have predicted this, but I've really enjoyed the off season. I've enjoyed being at the shop. I mean, it's gone by really quick. It's a surprise to me that we're already this far into January. It feels like it should be the middle of December to me right now, and I think that's because I've really enjoyed what's going on.