Tony Stewart waits to speak with crew chief Greg Zipadelli. Credit: Autostock

Stewart able to laugh about qualifying spin

CONCORD, N.C. -- When Tony Stewart, in his words, "ran out of talent" and spun out entering pit road Friday evening during Nextel All Star Challenge qualifying, crew chief Greg Zipadelli howled in laughter.

Stewart was chuckling, too.

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"We didn't used to be able to laugh about stuff like this, but we're having more fun as a team this year so we'll get over it," Stewart said. "I think we've all learned to have a lot of fun. When somebody makes a mistake, we make fun of them instead of poking at them too hard.

"When I came down pit road I could see (Zipadelli) laughing. What else can you do but laugh at yourself when you make mistakes?"

It is a stark contrast. In years past, Stewart wouldn't have been so willing to accept hard luck, especially on a day when the entire Joe Gibbs Racing stable struggled terribly.

Stewart's teammates -- Bobby Labonte and Jason Leffler, both crashed their primary machines prior to Stewart's near-miss spinout -- Labonte during practice and Leffler during his Nextel Open qualifying lap.

"I didn't want to be the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver not to spin out," Stewart joked to his team on the radio. "We've got some carnage going back to the Joe Gibbs Racing shop tonight. At least we saved this one for tomorrow."

The spin added 20 seconds to Stewart's overall time, which clocked in at 137.819 seconds, ranking him 17th overall among the 20 cars to qualify.

Pole-sitter Ryan Newman was more than 15-seconds faster at 122.443 seconds.

"I just probably got in too hot," Stewart said. "When it got down on the bottom it got slick. On the track we had plenty of grip, but didn't have near that much on pit road.

"I just ran out of talent coming on pit lane. I was talking to Jeff Gordon and he's got a new driving school. Maybe I can go to his driving school and learn how to get on pit lane here."