Tony Stewart: "I don't care how sore I am [Sunday]. I'm going to have my elbows up and keep digging all day." Credit: Autostock

Stewart bounces back, eager to race Sunday

JOLIET, Ill. -- It'll take more than an unscheduled meeting with Chicagoland Speedway's SAFER barrier to keep Tony Stewart out of Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400.

Stewart clobbered the Turn 4 wall after cutting a tire in Friday's first practice. J.J. Yeley qualified the car while Stewart took a trip to the hospital for precautionary X-rays.

CHICAGO •   Race Lineup •   Happy Hour Speeds •   2nd Practice Speeds •   1st Practice Speeds Feeling betterStewart tells SPEED's Bob Dillner he is ready to go Practice wreckA hard hit sends Tony Stewart to the hospital Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE COKE TRACK ACCESS Interactive race highlights and instant win game

"I'm sore and tired but the good thing, we have the whole rest of the day [Saturday] and all the way to 2 p.m. [Sunday] before we have to get back in the racecar, so I'm pretty confident I'll feel better than I do right now," Stewart said.

Stewart was able to climb back into the No. 20 Chevrolet for both practice sessions Saturday, running 12th-fastest in the first, about 1.5 mph slower than pace-setter Matt Kenseth, and 19th in the second, as Kyle Busch paced Happy Hour.

"It's a totally different setup than what we had on the one [Friday]," Stewart said. "[But] it drives almost as good as the car that I won here last year.

"We think we found some things here at the end of practice that are going to help us so we actually got overboard on some of our changes. That's comforting because we can come back to somewhere in the middle and find a happy medium that [the car] likes."

When asked about the crash, Stewart said he really couldn't say what happened.

"The bad thing is I don't even remember it," Stewart said. "Everybody's saying that's probably a good thing. I don't know what happened except what I saw on tape.

"One of the photographers at that end of the track said he heard a bang and a puff of smoke, so evidentally a tire went."

Stewart won't be able to start 13th, where Yeley qualified. Instead, he'll take the green flag at the back of the pack. However, that doesn't faze him in the least.

"Piece of cake," Stewart said. "We've watched [Greg] Biffle and [Matt] Kenseth and these guys do it and if they can do it, we can do it.

"I'll be honest. I have no concerns about it. I don't think we'll be in the top 10 at the end of the first segment by any means. We'll have to work hard [Sunday], but this team's got a lot of momentum, I've got a lot of momentum.

"I don't care how sore I am [Sunday]. I'm going to have my elbows up and keep digging all day."