Stewart Hides His Emotions While Winning Irl Opener Up-And-Coming Driver Triumphs By Rallying To Defeat His Mentor

Tony Stewart is a race car driver on the brink of fame and big money, but he remembers and honors his roots.

Saturday, during the Indy 200, which opened the Pep Boys Indy Racing League season at Walt Disney World Speedway, Stewart found himself chasing down 41-year-old Mark Dismore.

He never hesitated on the one-mile tri-oval, but Stewart admitted after the race he felt bad for his longtime friend and mentor.

“That was the hardest thing I ever had to do,” Stewart said. “Mark taught me about 80 percent of what I know about driving. But you can’t think about friendship when you’re in a race car. That’s not the other person out there. It’s a car you have to beat.

“Afterward is when you think about it, and sometimes you feel bad.”

In this case, Dismore’s Kelley Racing team took a risk and left the driver on the track while Stewart and several other contenders pitted for fuel with less than 40 miles to go in the 200-mile event.

That put Dismore in the lead, and Stewart, who had led 127 of the first 168 laps, a good distance behind in second.

“Any time a guy’s half a straight-away ahead, you’re very concerned,” Stewart said. “After three or four laps, I started reeling him in, but then I had trouble passing him.”