Stewart still harbors repeat title hopes Reigning Winston Cup champ visits Bangor

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BANGOR – He wouldn’t speculate on his chances of defending his NASCAR Winston Cup points title.

After all, Tony Stewart is 549 points behind leader Matt Kenseth at the halfway stage of the season. He is eighth in the point standings.

But Stewart isn’t ready to concede anything.

“We’ve never given up on anything in our lives so we’re not going to start right now,” said the 32-year-old Stewart before an autograph session at Quirk Auto Park on Thursday afternoon. “We’re going to take it one race at a time and do what we’ve been doing: going out and trying to win races.

“If you win races, the rest takes care of itself. We’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and see what we can get out of it.”

One thing definitely in his favor is his penchant for strong second halves.

He had 10 top-10 finishes over his final 15 races last season to sew up his first Winston Cup points championship. He had 11 top 10s in his first 21 races.

Two years ago, he notched 11 top-10s over his final 13 races. He had 11 in the previous 23.

“The only thing I can think of is that we really like it when the tracks get hot and slippery in the summer,” said Stewart, who drives a Chevy Monte Carlo. “Early in the year, when tracks have a lot of grip, everybody runs really well.

“But it seems like when the tracks get hot and slippery and it’s harder to get a handle on them, the guys who don’t mind sliding around a little bit go a little better.”

Stewart has been a points champion at every stage of his extensive and varied career.

He is a former World Karting and USAC National Midget, Sprint and Silver Crown series champion who went on to win the Indy Racing League title in 1997.

The Rushville, Ind., native is one of the few drivers to run the nation’s two most prestigious races: the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.

He said the Indy 500 always will hold a special place in his heart.

“There’s just something about being home in Indiana,” said Stewart. “I’ve lived there all my life. People who have been around the Daytona 500 all their lives feel the same way about the Daytona 500.

“The more you’re a part of it, the more you realize what it means to you.”

He said comparing the two races is like comparing “apples and oranges,” but he also said the atmosphere surrounding both races is “fun.”

A huge throng was on hand to get autographs from Stewart and he said he was flattered by the turnout.

“They said the first people camped out here beginning at 10 last night,” said Stewart. “That leads me to think, ‘What do they do when we’re not here?’

“But it’s pretty flattering when somebody is actually that excited about you. That they came here the night before and stayed overnight just to be one of the first people in line to come and see you,” said Stewart, who has won 16 times in 158 career Winston Cup starts.

Eastern Maine is Ricky Craven country and Stewart said the Newburgh native “is a pretty good racer. He always has been.

“I tested at Loudon [New Hampshire International Speedway] a couple of weeks ago and he was one of the guys who tested, also. I think he’ll do pretty good there this weekend,” said Stewart.

The New England 300 will be held Sunday at NHIS.

Stewart, who used to be one of the volatile bad boys in the sport, has cleaned up his act this season thanks to the help of a sports psychologist.

Stewart was fined by his sponsor, Home Depot, for an altercation with a photographer last year.

But he has kept his cool despite a frustrating start to the season that included four did-not-finishes.

Now he returns to a track that has caused plenty of headaches for drivers due to the sometimes-brittle track surface.

The track has come apart on a couple of occasions making it extremely slippery.

“Part of it has been repaved so hopefully there won’t be any problems this year,” said Stewart. “But we won’t know until further into the weekend.

“The Bahre family [NHIS owners] does a good job trying to make things better and they don’t stop until they get it where they want it. They work really hard to make it better for us,” said Stewart.