Race 2 Win: Budweiser Shootout Notes

Nextel Cup Series

Budweiser Shootout - Tony Stewart Notes

TONY STEWART
Game On

Budweiser Shootout car – Chassis No. 119:
This car debuted at Daytona in last year’s Budweiser Shootout, where it enjoyed a strong showing, starting third and leading seven laps before finishing third. Its only track time before that came at Daytona during January testing. Since last year’s Shootout, Chassis No. 119 has sat idle as a backup. Its most recent track time came during this year’s January test session at Daytona.

Budweiser Shootout Notes of Interest:

Stewart is a two-time Budweiser Shootout winner, having won the non-point race in 2001 and 2002.

Stewart is one of only three drivers to have won two straight Budweiser Shootouts. They are…

Tony Stewart – 2001 & 2002

Ken Schrader – 1989 & 1990

Neil Bonnett – 1983 & 1984

The driver with the most Budweiser Shootout victories is the late Dale Earnhardt with six. Stewart beat Earnhardt to win his first Budweiser Shootout in 2001.

In seven career Budweiser Shootout starts, Stewart has only one finish outside of the top-seven. He finished 15th in the 2003 race.

Stewart’s average finish in the Budweiser Shootout is fifth.

Two championships. Twenty-nine wins. Ten poles. One hundred and nine top-five finishes. One hundred and sixty-eight top-10 finishes. Those are the numbers that Tony Stewart and the No. 20 Home Depot Racing Team have accumulated in their eight years together in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.

But despite the impressive figures, the most pressing matter of the moment is readying for the 2007 Nextel Cup season. The wins, the poles and the accolades of year’s past don’t mean much when another grueling, 36-race schedule looms ahead. For all intents and purposes, it’s just another series of never-ending performance reviews.

As such, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing squad completed two test sessions in January – one at Daytona (Fla.) and another at Las Vegas – prior to the annual February pilgrimage to Daytona for Speedweeks and the ensuing grind that will consume all teams right through the end of November.

One year removed from their status as reigning series champions, the No. 20 team enters 2007 with their eyes fixed on earning career win No. 30 and then some while securing their third series championship and the fourth for Joe Gibbs Racing.

While plenty of questions surround the upcoming season, there are no questions regarding the on-track success of the No. 20 team. And thanks to an off-season filled with testing and new car construction, The Home Depot Racing Team aims to keep it that way.

Home Depot Corporate Notes:

The Home Depot® Set to Launch 2007 NASCAR Ad During Daytona 500 – The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer and the “Official Home Improvement Warehouse of NASCAR,” will debut a new NASCAR-themed television ad during the broadcast of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18 that features two-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Tony Stewart. The spot accentuates The Home Depot’s brand promise of “know-how” by introducing the Tony Stewart Institute where Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing, brings his on-track success and “know-how” to home improvement.

During the 30-second spot, titled “Drills,” Stewart accidentally bumps into the corner of his desk and a screw falls loose. Addressing the freshman class of 2007, Stewart asks if anyone has a cordless drill. The class responds by raising their hand, each holding a cordless drill while still taking notes. Stewart looks up, and upon seeing the eager students proclaims, “This should be a good year.” The ads emphasize that the secret to success is “know-how,” whether the individual is an associate at the Tony Stewart Institute or a racing superstar.

The commercials will air throughout FOX’s coverage of the Daytona 500 and during subsequent NASCAR races on the major television networks covering the 2007 Nextel Cup season. The Richards Group, based in Dallas, developed the commercials.