ON THE FAST TRACK

By SHAV GLICK

June 27, 1999 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SONOMA, Calif. — At first glance, it would appear that Tony Stewart’s remarkable rookie Winston Cup season has him well ahead of superstar Jeff Gordon in first-year development.

Stewart, with four top-five finishes, a pole at Martinsville and an outside spot on the front row at the Daytona 500--in his first-ever ride in a Winston Cup car--is sixth in the season standings after 15 races.

At the same stage in 1993, Gordon’s first full year in NASCAR’s elite series, he had no pole positions, no wins, five top-five finishes and four races in which he did not finish en route to 14th place in the series standings.

On the other hand, look at the comparison in another light: Gordon, with three Winston Cup championships, nearly $30 million in winnings, and 45 wins, is younger than Stewart. By three months. Stewart turned 28 last month. Gordon will reach 28 on Aug. 4.

“I don’t want to wake up right now,” said Stewart, who will start alongside Gordon on the front row for today’s Save Mart/Kragen 350 at Sears Point Raceway. “For a team with a rookie crew chief [Greg Zipadelli], rookie sponsor [Home Depot] and a rookie driver, I think it’s remarkable what we have accomplished in our first year.

“Before the season started, my goal was to be consistent, to just qualify for the races, keep out of trouble and finish consistently around 15th place. Competition is just so close, my expectations haven’t changed. I look at what we’ve accomplished as a bonus.”

The careers of Stewart and Gordon have many parallels. They are both from Indiana, Tony from Columbus and Jeff from Pittsboro. (Gordon lived his first 13 years in nearby Vallejo, but his family moved to Indiana before he entered high school).

Both were U.S. Auto Club multi-champions, Stewart becoming the first driver to win USAC’s Triple Crown, the midget, sprint car and Silver Crown championships in the same year. Gordon won midget and Silver Crown titles, but in different years.

As champions of open-wheel racing, both dreamed of racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They both made it, but in different ways, and both were successful in their first try.

Gordon had become a NASCAR driver when the Brickyard 400 was introduced at Indy in 1994, and he responded by winning the track’s inaugural stock car race. Stewart drove there in the 1996 Indy 500 and started on the pole with a 235.837-mph qualifying speed.

Curiously, despite growing up in the same area and around the same time, they drove in the same race only once, an indoor midget race at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Neither finished.

“It must be something in the water in Indiana,” commented Kenny Irwin, last year’s Winston Cup rookie of the year, who is also a former USAC champion whose home is in Indiana.

Stewart’s best finish this year was a second in the Winston, a non-points race at Charlotte. To get in the all-star event, he had to win the Winston Open, a qualifying race for drivers not eligible.

His average finish for 15 races is 12th, which includes three fourth-place finishes.

“Of all the things we’ve done, I am most proud of my consistency,” said Stewart. “I can’t emphasize that enough. My biggest goal was to run laps five or six races in a row with guys like Gordon, Earnhardt, Labonte, Burton, guys who are always up front, and I’ve been right in the middle of them at the end of the race. It’s a great thrill for me.”

In today’s race, Gordon and Stewart will start alongside each other on the front row. Gordon’s pole-winning speed of 98.519 mph was no surprise, as he sat on the pole last year. But Stewart, with no experience on a road circuit, stunned his peers with a lap of 98.277 mph in his orange and white No. 20 Pontiac.

The 218-mile race will offer the rookie a new test.

After a career driving short-track equipment in USAC and three years with the all-oval track Indy Racing League, he will attempt his first road race on Sears Point’s 10-turn, 1.949-mile hillside track.

“Joe [team owner Gibbs] sent me to the Bondurant school in Arizona and the Russell school here to give me an opportunity to learn what I could about elevation changes, right-hand turns, all those things we never think about.

“Outside of driving my passenger car on the street, the last time I drove on a road with right-hand turns was when I was 10 or 11 racing karts in Indiana, and that doesn’t relate much to driving my Home Depot Pontiac around this place. From what I’ve seen, road racing is like playing chess with a highly skilled opponent.

“You have to be able to anticipate every possible scenario as you head up a hill or turn into a corner in order to hold your position on the course. And if you don’t keep the RPMs up as you downshift and brake for the corners, you’ll lose all of your cornering speed and 12 guys will go by before you know what happened.”

In addition to attending the two driving schools and testing here for two days after the California 500 at Fontana, Stewart has been pumping his teammate, Bobby Labonte, for road racing information.

“I’ve worn Bobby out talking to him about what to expect. Having him around is liking having crib notes in high school. He saves me making a lot of mistakes. We’re a two-car team and we share information back and forth, but Bobby contributes about 90% and I fill in the other 10%.”

Labonte was Gibbs’ only driver last year as Stewart cut his stock car racing teeth in some Busch Grand National races while fulfilling his IRL commitment. There are only two road races on Winston Cup’s 34-race season and Labonte likens racing them to his golf game.

“I only play golf twice a year and I find that when I start out I’m not very good, but by the time we finish I’ve learned a lot. It’s the same way racing. I’m a lot better toward the end of these races than I am at the start.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

First-Timers

A look at the Winston Cup rookie seasons of Jeff Gordon in 1993 after 30 races and Tony Stewart in 1999 after 15 races:

GORDON

WINS: 0

Pct. of Races in Top 5: 23%

Pct. of Races in Top 10: 37%

Pole Positions: 0

Series Standings: 14TH

****

STEWART

Wins: 0