Notes: Horsepower sport of King's, and the Queen's

RICHMOND, Va. -- Saturday was going to be an unusually busy day even for Richard Petty, who was set to embark on a day indeed fit for The King.

Petty was full of one-liners Friday when he was asked about his plans to follow the Queen Elizabeth of England on her route from Richmond, where she visited Thursday, to the Kentucky Derby, which she will attend Saturday. Someone joked that if the Queen was going to be at the Derby, well, the King should be, too.

But Petty said that he doesn't expect to run into Queen Elizabeth.

"I've got a queen at home that I have to answer to. That's all I worry about," he said.

Petty was planning to fly to Louisville on Saturday morning, attend the Derby, then fly back to Richmond in time to watch at least the latter part of Saturday's Nextel Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway. He said if he does run into the queen at the Derby, she should be able to figure out who he is.

"I've got my hat on right now. They say all the women down there wear big hats. I'm going to be the man running around with a big hat on," he joked.

"Really, if I meet the queen, it'll probably be a nod and that's as far as it will go. Because I don't speak English. I speak Southern American and I don't know if she would understand that or not. I know who she is, but I doubt very seriously if she knows who I am. ... And she wears them great big hats. She might outdo me on the hat deal."

Who is Jim Stewart?

Good question. He's the fan from a small town in Louisiana who won a contest with Crown Royal to have Saturday night's Nextel Cup Series race named after him.

Stewart, 34, of Houma, La., was selected as the grand-prize winner of Crown Royal's "Your Name Here" promotion. That's how the official name of Saturday's race became the "Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400."

In addition to seeing his name on everything from tickets to race merchandise, Stewart also entertained the media at a news conference Friday that also was attended by Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 26 Ford bearing the race sponsor's name. And on Saturday he'll get to attend the pre-race drivers' meeting, ride in the pace car, serve as the race's grand marshal and even deliver the trophy to the winner in Victory Lane.

"It has not sunk in yet," Stewart said at mid-afternoon Friday. "When I got here [Friday] morning I saw the logo that was about 80 foot long with my name on it, and I just couldn't believe it. I've done four TV shows and nine radio shows just since [Friday] morning. I'm going on about an hour and a half of sleep but I'm not tired yet.

Stewart won the contest after submitting his favorite "Crown-worthy" moment and becoming one of nine finalists selected by a panel of judges. The finalists were flown to Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona 500 in February, where Stewart was selected as the winner in a random drawing. (Continued)