Stewart, Blaney gearing up for NES appearance
NEW EGYPT — Excitement is building in the Garden State as reigning NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart and fellow Cup driver Dave Blaney get ready for a return visit to New Egypt Speedway on Wednesday— the only New Jersey appearance the NASCAR superstars will be making all year.
Stewart, one of the hottest properties in motorsports today, propelled himself from Indiana go-kart champion to NASCAR’s 2002 Winston Cup titleholder by the time he was 30 years old. Along the way, he honed his talent while racking up championships in USAC Midgets, Sprint and Silver Crown cars, as well as on the IRL series.
Blaney, too, cut his teeth racing on the country’s short tracks, winning championship titles with both the World of Outlaws and USAC before signing on to drive NASCAR’s Busch circuit in 1998. Both Stewart and Blaney still have a love affair with dirt tracks and down-home racing — and they’re looking forward to getting back to grassroots in the Garden State on New Egypt’s half-mile clay tri-oval.
The Aug. 20 appearance features a night of autographs, interviews and wild "Down & Dirty!" racing action, all sponsored by CARQUEST Auto Parts.
Early in the night, Stewart and Blaney will climb into big-block Modified stock cars and take on some of the best mudslingers in the Northeast, squaring off in a winner-takes-all 12-lap Challenge of Champions against the likes of dirt-track hotshots Billy Pauch, Kenny Brightbill, Frank Cozze, Doug and Keith Hoffman, and more for a lucrative $1,000.
A two-hour autograph session will find champion Stewart and his winning Winston Cup crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, greeting New Egypt fans and signing for a very good cause: Zippy’s Crusade for Kids, a nonprofit charity Zipadelli and his wife, Nan, are spearheading to assist children in need. The first 800 New Egypt Speedway fans to make a minimum $10 donation to Zippy’s Crusade for Kids on Aug. 20 will each receive a numbered, collectible autograph card and the special opportunity to have Tony Stewart sign it.
Blaney, meanwhile, will battle it out with the locals in Knoth & Hastings’ big-block Modified, looking to take down the $6,000 top prize in the scheduled "Down & Dirty!" 100-lap feature event. Tickets for CARQUEST’s "Down & Dirty!" night with Stewart and Blaney at New Egypt Speedway are $25, and can be purchased at the track on Saturdays from 6-8 p.m., or on race day, starting at 3 p.m. Racing action on August 20 will begin at 7:30 p.m.