Weekend That Was: Chicagoland Speedway (cont'd)

When one brave reporter protested that "this group of people" can't question him on his show and that he should let the media call in, Stewart shrugged and added: "Call in."

Um, let me think about that.

Nope. I choose not to do it.

I've got better things to do, like taking out the garbage or something like that.

Lap-by-Lap

Tony Stewart got by Matt Kenseth for good on Lap 233 and went on to win the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland.

• Lap-by-Lap, click here
• Race Video, click here

When yet another reporter tried to break the tension by changing subjects and asking Stewart if he was concerned about Hendrick Motorsports building a super-team by recently adding Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony the Tiger didn't take the bait to lighten the mood.

"We don't worry about it because we've got enough to worry about keeping our own cars going," Stewart said with an edge to his voice. "That's why you have a job -- so you can worry about the stuff that none of us want to worry about."

Well, actually, no. That's not why anyone in the media has a job. The job of the media is to report objectively about what we see -- and what we see with Stewart sometimes is quite baffling. It's almost always interesting, and for that we are grateful. At least he doesn't spout boring pre-packaged comments like a great many of the other drivers out there.

He definitely got on a roll later in the weekend after the Friday incident. First he got on a roll on the track, where he won for the first time in 20 races this season by capturing the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

That brought out the Good Tony, who got on a roll in the Chicagoland media center afterward (Press Pass).

He wasn't just Good Tony. He was Tony the Tame.

Well, more like Tony the Stand-up Comic.

He was downright jovial, initiating jokes and one light-hearted comment after another that had much of the room rolling in laughter, and the rest rolling their eyes in disbelief.

Asked if he wished he could take the momentum from his dominating victory at Chicagoland right into another race weekend instead of taking the week off before the next race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Good Tony grinned.

"You have no idea how glad I am to have a week off," he said. "I'm taking this momentum on vacation.

"And I've got a case of Schlitz that I fully intend on getting to the bottom of the cardboard box on tonight, even if I have to do it by myself. I don't care, it's going to happen. That's if I don't pass out first."

Then he punctuated the air with a burst of laughter before continuing.

"You guys laugh at me like nobody drinks Schlitz anymore," he added. "The good thing is they stock it close to home and it's only about eight bucks a case, cold. And if you've got a couple of roommates and you've got seven in the fridge when you leave, you've got seven in the fridge when you come back. You're not supporting everybody else's drinking habits.

"Mike Arning, my publicist, taught me how to drink responsibly. Thank you, Mike. Mike will be available for one-on-one interviews after this."

Then Good Tony laughed heartily again. It was funny stuff. And before anyone takes it the wrong way, he was joking -- and after all the driving he did earlier Sunday, he obviously wasn't planning on driving anywhere after his mass consumption of cheap beer.

It made everyone think: geez, when was the last time you even saw a can of Schlitz beer, much less drank one? And geez, when was the last time you saw Good Tony on such an engaging, entertaining, comedic roll?

And then it hit you: geez, it had been long time since Stewart won a race, enabling Good Tony to emerge for all the public to see.

The guy should think about bringing him out more often, regardless of what's happening on the track.

Happy teammate
Hamlin seemed genuinely pleased for Stewart and the No. 20 Chevrolet team after Sunday's race, drawing a comparison between their collective state of mind to what his No. 11 team's state of mind was before they registered their first win of the season two weeks earlier at New Hampshire.

"I'm really happy for them. I know they're kind of stressed out like we were," Hamlin said. "To finally get a win and do it in the dominating fashion that he did was really good for that team. It seems like they always bounce back. Whenever there is adversity, it always seems like they're able to pull together and come back and get a win. It's good for them. We got ours a couple weeks ago and they got theirs this week."

As with his team, he said he thinks Sunday's victory for Stewart will propel the No. 20 team to greater achievements this season.

"I think it's going to be a huge boost for that team," Hamlin said. "They were getting frustrated, similar to what we were. They're not going to try any harder. They're doing everything they can every week. And I think confidence goes a long way in this sport, and I think this is going to give them the confidence that they need." (Continued)