Stewart looks to warmer weather

The calendar has flipped to June. In the world of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, it’s Tony Time.

“When it starts getting hot and humid and the tracks get hot and slippery, that’s what we like,” two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart says.

Stewart is winless in 2008, but he has been down this road before. Stewart has been winless in the first four months of the season seven times in his 10-year career. The first Sprint Cup race of June, the Best Buy 400, is Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

“When guys can’t hold it wide open and they can’t sit there on high-grip tracks and they actually have to drive these things – that’s when we start getting fast,” said Stewart, whose first victory of the 2000 season was at Dover.

Stewart won both races at Dover that year, the highlight of a stretch from 1999 to 2004 when he finished in the top 10 in 11 of 12 races and led nearly a quarter of the laps. In the six races since, though, Stewart has one top 10.

Stewart said his ability to “start getting fast” is challenged by the new racecar, which was used in both Dover races in 2007 when he finished 40th (crash) and ninth.

“It’s getting like IndyCar and Formula One racing,” Stewart said. “The technology and the engineers in the sport make it harder for the drivers to be the deciding factor. In this day and age, it’s a 3,400-pound car, and it’s either right or it’s wrong. If it’s not right, it’s hard to carry a 3,400-pound race car and make it do what it doesn’t want to do.

“In sprint cars and midgets, because they’re lighter, it’s easier to throw them around and you can kind of make them do what you want. But in this day and age with NASCAR being as advanced as it is technology-wise, it’s harder for the drivers to make the difference.”

Martin Truex Jr. had little trouble with the new car last June, leading a race-high 216 laps en route to his first Cup victory. Truex considers Dover to be his home track and is not intimidated by the “Monster Mile.”

“I grew up watching races there, so maybe that helped me once I actually got out on the track,” Truex said. “Plus, I have a lot of my family and friends show up for this race, and I think that helps me relax.”

Truex’s win was a real breakthrough. He followed it with finishes of third and second, which helped propel him into the Chase. He was 16th in points last year before his win. He is 15th this year.

“This is where we turned our season around last year and started making our move to get into the Chase,” Truex said. “It would be nice to get on that type of roll again. I’ve been thinking about Dover for a couple of weeks, especially with the luck we’ve been having.”