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Stewart’s Outlaws’ Team Packs Powerful 1-2 Punch

Daytona Beach, Fla. – Winning sports teams never let up in their quest for championships. Players and managers come and go, as teams improve on their game. Motorsports teams follow similar game plans. Famed driver and team owner Tony Stewart has learned from the experts, adopting these principles for his business ventures, to include his World of Outlaws team.

In 2008 and 2009, Tony Stewart Racing won the World of Outlaws Sprint Cup Series championship with Donnie Schatz behind the wheel. Not willing to rest on the team’s laurels, Stewart took a bold step by adding 20-time Outlaws’ champion Steve Kinser to his driver roster.

Introducing his two stars at a press conference, Stewart said, “I am sitting here like a proud father, as it is great to have Steve (Kinser) on my team. As a youngster, my dad and I went to the Bloomington Speedway to watch Steve give clinics on sprint-car racing. I have always looked up to him, and it is great to have him in my car.”

Said Kinser, “To be able to race with Tony (Stewart) is very special to me. Although I have had great fun with my own team, it is great to be back just as a driver. Although I am one of the oldest drivers out there, I still have the desire to race and feel we can battle it out for the championship. Donnie (Schatz) has won four in a row, and it is time for me to have (another) one.”

Schatz believes Kinser’s presence represents a valuable addition to TSR. “I watched Steve as a kid and know that he’s one of the best drivers to ever sit in a sprint car,” he stated. “He’s the King then and now, and I will learn from him. We both have the drive to win, and I hope we can go down to the end of the season battling for the championship with me winning it, of course.”

The North Dakota native has wracked up four consecutive championships, but he doesn’t believe his accomplishments rival those of NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. “There’s no comparison to what Jimmie (Johnson) has done,” he said.

Commenting on his string of championships, he added, “The first one was the hardest to do, and after that, the others seemed to be easier.” Regardless, he said a lot of hard work goes into each championship run. “We have built a great program with excellent people, but people can get complacent. When that happens, they don’t work as hard today as they did yesterday.”

For TSR in 2010, the hard work and dedication look to be on track as Kinser and Schatz, the titans of the sport, have each scored a victory in the first two races of the World of Outlaws season. The WoO campaign is a long one, but in winning so soon, TSR has flashed a message to the other drivers on the circuit.

Racing a winged-sprint car is not for the faint of heart, as the powerful cars produce immense power and are a handful to control. Schatz said the excitement of driving a 1,300 pound car with 850 horsepower is unbelievable and can’t readily be described. “The only analogy I can use is it is like riding on a missile,” he said. “It is not about driving these cars sideways; it is about the guy that can keep the car going fast in a straight line.”

Stewart recently accompanied Schatz to Australia for a series of sprint-car races, and his experience brought home the challenges of driving the powerful cars. “The winged sprint car is the most challenging car I’ve ever driven,” Stewart said. “Racing these cars in Australia gave me a quick reminder of how fast the cars are. The car had so much grip that I couldn’t keep up with it. It was a humbling experience. Running with Donnie made me realize how he has earned the championships.”

While Schatz and Stewart were racing in Australia, Kinser was having surgery to repair a bulging disk. “The surgery went well and I got rid of a lot of pain,” he said. He went on to say he can’t believe how good he feels.

Looking back at the advancement of sprint-car racing, Kinser said the cars haven’t changed that much, “Twenty-five years ago the cars were lighter, but since then the motors have developed a lot more horsepower,” he said.

Aside from these factors, Kinser indicated the most pronounced change has been the introduction of enclosed haulers and motor homes along with the coming of airplane travel. “Years ago we had only a few spare parts, and we hauled the cars around in open trailers.”

Kraig Kinser, Steve’s son, raced for TSR last season, but he is racing under his father’s banner for the new season. “We wanted to step it up and help Kraig out,” his proud father said, going on to say one team reduces his financial burden.

Including Kraig, the Kinser and Stewart teams indirectly have three cars, somewhat like the relationship between Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing.

Although Stewart has a busy schedule, he manages to attend as many dirt races as he can, which is like a homecoming of sorts. “I am a t-shirt, jeans and dirty tennis shoes type of guy,” he said. “I am a normal guy, and I get to mingle with my kind of people at the dirt races.”

Even though Stewart characterizes himself as an average guy, his success story is anything but average. And his ownership of several dirt tracks and winning teams has given grass-roots racing a much-needed injection of vitality. With his dedication and give-back attitude to the sport, it is no wonder that so many people root for Tony Stewart to succeed both on and off the track.

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