Tony Stewart to drive at Cayuga

Tony Stewart will pilot a Lichty Supermodified as ISMA adds Cayuga (Ont) Speedway, une 29 date to 2002 schedule.

Oswego, NY - The ISMA membership recently voted to add an additional show to its 2002 schedule as a companion event to the Cayuga (Ont.) Speedway's big CASCAR Super Series show on June 29-30. ISMA will run on Saturday night, June 29, with two support divisions as a prelim to Sunday's big event. But the biggest news is that Winston Cup star Tony Sewart has confirmed that he will drive the Brad Lichty 84 in that 50 lap special. Stewart, and several other Winston Cup drivers are to be on hand for the Sunday CASCAR show in which they will compete, and logically, Stewart was asked to try his hand at the powerful winged supermodifieds. What a treat for the open wheel race fans this should be!

After all the discussions ended, Stewart's schedule looks like this for June 29. He will practice his CASCAR late model in a session at 12 noon on Saturday. Then at 1:00 pm, Cayuga Speedway will provide a helicopter ride for Tony to a St. Catharines, Ontario Home Depot. At 5 pm, Tony will return to Cayuga to be fitted into the Lichty 84 for the night's ISMA race. For Stewart, a veteran of USAC, the IRL and Winston Cup, the supermodified ride will be a new experience. But, he should fit in quite nicely. He's certainly used to the jet-setting pace and the Rushville, Indiana native has had his share of open wheel experience.

Stewart's racing career began at age seven behind the wheel of a go-kart, with his father, Nelson, serving as car owner and crew chief.

In 1989, Stewart began the transition from go-karts to higher-horsepower open-wheel machines. He raced Three-Quarter Midgets before turning his attention to the USAC ranks in 1991 where he won Rookie of the Year honors.

Stewart notched his first USAC championship in 1994 by winning five times in 22 starts in the National Midget category. 1995 was the year Stewart made USAC history by winning the Triple Crown. He won the National Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown titles all in the same year, a feat never accomplished by anyone before Stewart, or since.

After earning the Rookie of the Year award in IRL competition in 1996, Stewart won the championship the following year.

While 1997 bore an IRL championship, it also bore the seeds to Stewart's current NASCAR success. A slate of 22 NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division races with Joe Gibbs Racing in 1998 prepared Stewart for his assault on the Winston Cup ranks in 1999. During that remarkable rookie season, Stewart also competed in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Stewart repeated this feat in 2001, when he drove a Target/Home Depot G-Force Aurora for Chip Ganassi at Indy.

Stewart has spent three seasons in the NASCAR Winston Cup series where he's compiled one of the most impressive records in series history and he's sure to add to those stats as 2002 progresses.

In addition, Stewart has embarked on a "guest" racing tour that has included various dirt and asphalt divisions throughout the US and now Canada. The potent supermodifieds should be one of the ultimate rides for the just-turned 31-year old. He'll have some stiff competition in his teammate for the day, Dave McKnight, Indy veteran Joe Gosek, Lou Cicconi, Russ Wood and a slew of other capable supermodified pilots. And, to make things more interesting, another Winston Cup driver who will be on hand is being negotiated with to drive the Howie Lane #9.

The ISMA supermodified pits open at 3 pm on Saturday, June 29 at Cayuga Speedway with the first heat scheduled for 8 pm. The supermodified feature is slated for 9:30 pm.

After the Saturday activities at Cayuga, fans are encouraged to stick around for the big CASCAR event on Sunday. The CASCAR SUPER SERIES race scheduled for June 30 at Cayuga Speedway is going to be THE major Canadian motorsports event of the 2002 season. For the first time ever outside of the United States of America, five NASCAR Winston Cup stars will be racing in a non-NASCAR sanctioned event Look for further information on this race on the website or by calling the speedway at the phone number listed below.

The Cayuga Speedway is located 8 kilometers west of Cayuga, Ontario on Highway 3 to Nelles Corners, then 1 k north on Indian Line Road. For information call 908-768-1177 or www.cayuga2000speedway.com

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