It had already been a busy week for Stewart, who called out tire manufacturer Goodyear after finishing second in Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 Cup race at Atlanta and continued to hammer the issue of rock-hard tires on his Tuesday night Sirius Satellite radio show.

Someone was listening: Texas Motor Speedway president Eddie Gossage on Monday got on the phone to Goodyear director of racing Stu Grant to make sure tire issues weren't going to compromise the quality of racing in the Apr. 6 Samsung 500. Grant assured Gossage that Goodyear would bring the same compound (with a different construction mold to accommodate the new racecar) used last year at both Texas races, two of the most exciting of the season.

That was good news to Stewart, who spent Wednesday morning chatting on local radio and selling tickets at the speedway while his teammate shook down Ballew's truck.

"I'm not even sure what tire was supposed to be for Texas," Stewart said. "Somebody said the Atlanta tire that we ran was supposed to be the Texas tire, too. So if they went back to the old tire, I'm all for it. If all the grief and all the answering questions for the last three days got that changed, to me that's worth it.

"I don't do it to try to be a leader in that category or anything, but when you feel strongly about something -- if you guys (reporters) feel strongly about something, you write about it; if I feel strongly about something, I speak about it. I thought that was the American way and what we were supposed to do."