SCR: If there were one thing or trait in yourself that you could change, what would that be?Stewart: I guess I would want to be more passive. There are a lot of things that I don't agree with, and I know they aren't right, but I'm not in a position to change them. The people who are in a position to change those things don't really care to change them right now. If anything, I suppose I would want to be able to close my eyes and ears and let things just go on by because I can't change them. Most people don't get to see some of the real problems in our series; but at the same time, if you start talking about those things, you start seeing problems from other directions.
SCR: Before the season started, you made the comment that you were going to eliminate outside distractions, such as dealing with the press, in order to focus on the task at hand. Has the media been easier to work with this year?Stewart: I don't think so. Dealing with the media for 38 weekends a year allows you to learn a lot about the individual reporters. You learn which ones you can trust and which ones will stab you in the back in a heartbeat. It wasn't that we wanted to eliminate a lot of the media. We just wanted to be very selective about who I did interviews with. We've had to prioritize whom I give that time to. If it's a reporter I've had problems with in the past, they've proven they're not worth my taking the time to do interviews with them. We keep a list of who are the friends and who are the foes, so I am very selective about the members of the media I will spend time with.
SCR: What's the best thing NASCAR has going in its favor and one area the sanctioning body could improve upon? Stewart: The best thing is the people. The fans of NASCAR are the best group of fans in the world. You can't find more passionate and dedicated fans. As far as what I think could be done to make it better, people need to realize that this isn't wrestling. As much as it's about the show, the reason NASCAR got as big as it has is because they put on good races. It's not about the politics and NASCAR making all this money they're making these days. Race fans shouldn't have to pay the prices they're paying now to go see a Winston Cup race. Right now, it's just a little bit ridiculous.
SCR: After finishing last in the season-opener at Daytona, you've had an uphill battle as far as the point race was concerned. What was the key to getting back into contention for the championship?Stewart: We didn't do anything different than what we normally do. It's just because of the fact that we as a team have all been able to do our jobs. Even after Daytona, we got off to a much better start than we normally do. Once we reached that point early in the season, it was just a matter of trying to be consistent.
SCR: You've said that, for whatever reason, you've been a slow starter as far as the point race is concerned. What has been the difference this season? Are there any certain areas you can pinpoint?Stewart: Not really. We tested at Las Vegas and that helped us a great deal when we raced there. I think a lot of stuff we learned at that early test, as well as some things we found last fall, really helped us to get off to a good start this year.