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2008 NASCAR Tickets & NASCAR Schedule
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Stewart talks, Busch tests at Martinsville Posted:0535hrs By Reid Spencer,Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- On a rare off day for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, what in the world would bring Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch to Martinsville Speedway?
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." For the record, Gossage said he was told by Goodyear that the company never intended to supply the same tire that was used at Atlanta for the Texas race. --(Cont'd From Front Page)--
When Stewart left Martinsville at 2 p.m. Wednesday for a stable north of Charlotte, N.C., to ride the quarter horse he has owned for four months (named Rocket, though Stewart says he hasn't found the top three gears yet), Busch continued to turn laps in the truck, preparing for the March 29 Kroger 250 at Martinsville, which precedes the Sprint Cup Goody's Cool Orange 500 on March 30.
Now that Busch has begun to harness his formidable talent, veteran drivers are taking notice, and the level of respect Busch commands in the garage is on a meteoric ascent. After running second to the No. 51 truck in last Friday's race at Atlanta, three-time champion Ron Hornaday Jr. said he learns something new from Busch every time they're on the track together.
"I think it's pretty awesome that I can teach older veterans something," Busch said with a smile. "It's kind of hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but I guess Hornaday's learning. I'm actually thinking that I might need to stop running in the trucks so I don't teach him stuff and he'll go to (Kevin) Harvick (Hornaday's truck owner) and tell Harvick stuff.
"I've got to deal with Harvick on Saturday and Sunday, but you know, I taught him a couple of things there, about how loose exactly you can be in the truck and still go forward. Now he's going to use that to his advantage. Hopefully, I can still hang it out a little bit further than he can, and I'll still be able to beat him."
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