Even in a busy offseason, Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart is squeezing in time for some dirt-track racing at the Chili Bowl.
After a surprising late run to his third title, Stewart reorganized his Cup team by bringing in new crew chief Steve Addington and luring back former crew chief Greg Zipadelli to be his competition director.
Instead of going to Australia to race for the third straight offseason, Stewart stayed closer to home, taking care of business.
But he still made time for fun — namely, the Rumble in Fort Wayne back home in Indiana and the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla., where the main race will be Saturday on a quarter-mile, indoor track. He also has been testing for the Daytona 500 in Florida.
"Obviously, with the changes that we had with the Cup team, we needed to be around a little more than we were last year," Stewart said in a telephone interview.
"So, we stayed home. And if you're going to stay home, then there's two things that we're definitely going to hit, and that's going to Fort Wayne and running before New Year's, and then you're going to come to the Chili Bowl."
A two-time Chili Bowl champion, Stewart is back for the first time since failing to defend his Golden Driller trophy in 2008. Qualifying started Wednesday and will run through tonight.
Stewart first raced in the Chili Bowl in 1993, when he took over Jeff Gordon's ride. He said he remembers leading on the final lap of a preliminary race, then making a mistake and falling to 14th at the finish line.
"I honestly thought I was going to get fired after the first race that I ran," Stewart said.
Instead, he got another chance and has turned in a series of strong performances over the years in Tulsa.
He was the winner in 2002 and 2007 and he returns whenever he can.
"It's kind of a combination of things, in all reality. As drivers, this is one of the biggest races of the year," Stewart said. "You've got over 260 cars that are running this week. It's a tough field of cars and drivers, and it's the biggest Midget race of the year.
"Then once you get aside from that, kind of on the personal side, this is about the only time all year that you get all these different guys, your buddies from different parts of the country, it's about the only time you ever get around each other."
Nationwide champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also is in the field, and has shared a plane with Stewart to and from Daytona. Stars from the World of Outlaws, USAC and other series also will race.
"These are kind of special events. You don't get points for it. It's just bragging rights," Stewart said. "What we do with the Cup series, it's a lot of work but I enjoy it. It's fun doing that too.
"It wouldn't hurt my feelings if we didn't have to go test. I'm not a big fan of that .... It's really important for us to do, obviously, getting ready for Daytona. But I enjoy the racing stuff obviously. That's what I live, eat, breathe and sleep."
With racing at Daytona starting next month, Stewart will be entrenched in the Sprint Cup soon enough.
"With the changes, he said it feels as if he's "somewhat starting over."
He had decided before the late surge to replace crew chief Darian Grubb, and he went through with it even after winning the title.
"That's obviously something that's going to be a learning curve for Steve and I to learn each other. I'm excited about having Zipadelli on board, and I'm excited about Addington, too. I think he'll be a good addition to the team," Stewart said.
"And I'm sad that Darian has moved on, but we just felt like we needed to make that change.
"We just weren't having the kind of season that we were looking for, but obviously something changed there those last 10 weeks and then we got going."
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