Take a ride on the Subway to the great Hoosier state

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Though it travels across the country, and sometimes across the ocean, the NASCAR world is very small.

Especially for us Hoosiers tied to the sport.

Such was the case this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, home to the Subway Fresh Fit 500.

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Jared Fogle, spokesman for Subway restaurants and classmate of mine from high school in Indianapolis, appeared with Tony Stewart, who is from Columbus, Ind., and the driver who gave me my first dirt-track lesson over onion rings at Dairy Queen, a regular hometown haunt for Stewart.

Well, that was the year (2005) Stewart won his beloved Brickyard 400 and a lot has since changed.

Stewart no longer frequents the DQ, evident by his diminishing cheeks and thinning waistline. He's lost 20 pounds and looks to lose 10 more.

Our once quite hefty Hoosier has even foregone McDonald's cheeseburgers, once a staple in Stewart's diet.

What changed?

"My stomach was hitting the steering wheel," Stewart said of his weight last season that was nearing the 200-pound mark.

Now enter Fogle, the man famous for shedding more than two of me (245 pounds) from eating Subway sandwiches and walking to class at Indiana University.

He and Stewart met last season at the Martinsville race.

"He pulled me aside and said he had lost weight eating Subway and that my people needed to call his people to work out some kind of deal," Fogle said.

A Subway commercial was created for the two Hoosiers who now both eat Subway sandwiches to maintain their slimming figures.

The three of us chatted about Indiana, North Central High School, diet plans and turning 30. Of course, Stewart is 36; Fogle is 29 and me ... well, Saturday (April 21) was my birthday, we'll just leave it at that.

Stewart said his success has come from eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day, help from his trainer, Marc Arnone, manual labor on his property and a new mountain bike.

"And I've gotten a lot of motivation from the people at the track noticing I've lost weight," he added.

Looking to get the skinny on his new girlfriend, Stewart denied she had anything to do with his new weight loss.

"No, not exactly, she interferes with my training," Stewart smiled.

Nevertheless, lots of great things come from my home state of Indiana: corn, Hoosier basketball, David Letterman, etc.

But two of my favorite Hoosier gems will always be Jared and Stewart.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.