Track Smack: Stewart will build on All-Star victory

1. Tony Stewart won his first race as owner/driver with Stewart-Haas Racing Saturday night when he captured the All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Can a victory in a points race be far behind for the two-time champion?

Raygan Swan: I do believe a win is in the near future, maybe not at Lowe's, though. He has one win already but his strong tracks are yet to come. He's got road courses coming up, Indy. And in the last 11 races, he has finished second or third four times. He's primed.

Joe Menzer: Well, he's never won the Coca-Cola 600 -- although he did win the fall race at LMS in 2003 -- but he had never won an All-Star Race prior to Saturday, either. It's obviously only a matter of time now before he reaches Victory Lane in a race that counts in the standings, and it could very well be this Sunday night.

Dave Rodman: Nope. I don't know if you could say the floodgates might be opened. If that were the case, Kyle Busch would win every week, right? Or Jimmie Johnson. But both Stewart-Haas cars have quickly proven they can win any week -- so any week from here on out, they might. Wasn't that a 600 Tony dominated a few years ago. I don't remember -- I think I fell asleep. No, wait a minute -- I was there, I darned sure didn't fall asleep and as much as you can't say "he shoulda won" in this sport -- because you can't say that. He shoulda won.

Joe Menzer: The 600 is such a long race and you no doubt ate so much food, I don't doubt for a moment that you probably DID doze off, Roadman.

Dave Rodman: If the 600 was at Texas or Dover, I'd say "check." Those places do it right when it comes to snacking down. But we're here to race. Obviously the All-Star was a cobbled-together, miniature version of the 600 and with as good as Tony's car was at the end -- and let's face it, how good a shoe the guy is has never been in question -- I'd say he'll be in it to win it at the end.

Joe Menzer: You know, it's easy to poke fun at the 600 for being so long. I mean, Jimmy Spencer used to joke about eating hot dogs during cautions (OK, so with Spencer it wasn't a joke, it was reality). But I really like this race. I like how it's a test of endurance for the driver and his equipment. I like how different strategies play out the last 100 miles.

Test session

After 100 laps in the All-Star Race, many drivers left the track confident about what was learned and could be applied to the Coca-Cola 600.

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Raygan Swan: Getting back to Tony, I was chatting with his mom over the weekend and she made a good point about his attitude. Tony now has something to take care of -- a team, employees, a driver and he is really enjoying the responsibility. I think this has given him a renewed outlook on racing and a real drive to win.

Dave Rodman: Sounds like he'd make a good daddy -- or Pam just wants to be a gramma -- and doing it to 150 or so race team employees ain't getting it for her.

Raygan Swan: Yeah Dave, she just rolls her eyes at that subject but Tony does a fantastic job of mothering all the animals on his property here in Indiana. He does have a maternal side, if you will, and I think we are seeing it right now with his new team.

Joe Menzer: OK, I'm gonna stay away from that. I kind of envision Tony being like Adam Sandler in Big Daddy. Good for the movies, but in real life ... I'm not so sure. But let's stay on topic here. We're talking about when he's going to win a points race.

Dave Rodman: Look at it this way -- could happen anywhere, anytime. He's been great at Lowe's. He's been great at Dover. Pocono's like a road course and we know his record there. Any place, any time.

Raygan Swan: I say Sonoma.

Joe Menzer: It sounds like we're in agreement that it will be very soon and very possibly in this Sunday's 600. Look, he's obviously in good equipment and in a good place mentally now as a driver. After what we saw in the final laps Saturday night, he has to be one of the favorites going into the 600. (Continued)