Tony Stewart (Right) will be joined at the Parramatta venue by four-time World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz (Left).(Photo: BAM Media/Paul Carruthers)

Q: I've got to ask about Australian racing, have you seen any of the Australian racing, not just sprintcars but more so I guess but our premier class, V8 Supercars?

A: We get a little bit of it over there that we get to watch, it wasn’t televised as much this year as it has been in the past but everytime it has come on and I’ve had a chance to watch I enjoy watching it.

Q: There's no drivers that you can recall, we've had Jamie Whincup who has on two straight championships. There was some talk about him following Marcos Ambrose, obviously you don't know enough about him to know if he can do it or not.

A: nah, no idea.

Q: Do you like the Australian racing?

A: Yeah, it's fun. I mean, what is it - Bathurst that goes up the Mountain, that's one that I'd like to see in person. I've seen it on tv, it looks like a pretty cool event to go watch, looks like it is one of those events that you can't really appreciated it until you go live and see it once.

Q; How would you rate the performance over the past few years of Australian Marcos Ambrose in the NASCAR ranks?

A: Marcos has really done a great job. You can tell he wants to not just be there, but be successful there. And he’s done that. He’s won Nationwide Series races on the road courses, and he’s also gotten better and better on the ovals. Each year, you see him up front more often. He’s very motivated, and that’s the way you have to be in order to find success.

Q: How do the sprintcars compare to what you are used to with the NASCAR, I guess you're not exactly a stranger to sprintcars?

A: I get to run a sprintcar two or three times per year, so you know this trip I will double what I've got to do all season this year. It’s nice being in a car that you know is a third of the weight of our cup cars and has the same horsepower but I get to do it on dirt and have a wing that I can have control of in the car and have the ability to do it adjust it back and forward and go from there, so it's nice to be on a surface that I don’t get to race every week.

Q: Tony, you're 37 years old now.

A: 38 unfortunately, I like your number better though.

Q: Here in Australia in our V8 Series most drivers are pensioned off by the time they are your age. You still seem to be very competitive over in America. What are your thoughts about the longevity of racecar drivers?

A: I think it's how good car you take care of your self and passion and desire, you know all pro sports in the United States it seems like the ages are getting younger and younger of when guys are retiring but Mark Martin is a perfect example of our sport that you can go to you are 50 if you want. With that being the case I could race 12 more years and still if I take care of myself and don't have any major injuries that would allow me to still be competitive, I think it is a matter of as long as you still have that passion and desire, the racing itself isn't the gruelling part, it is the schedule that you keep, the media sessions, being at the race track three days per week, test sessions, commercial shoots, photo shoots, all of the things that go into it that don't necessarily pertain to driving a race car, that's the stuff that wears on you. It finally gets a chore and eventually gets it to a point where it is not fun anymore.

Q: As well as owning a team, you own a few race tracks and co-own a few race tracks. Can you tell me a bit about what it is like to own a track like Eldora.

A: I love it. My passion has always been dirt track racing and I love what I do with the NASCAR side of things but I love going back and some of the best times of my life was when I was racing sprintcars and midgets, now I get to drive dirt late models and winged sprintcars every now and again, which I never ever got a chance to do before I came here. The first time I ever ran a winged car was here in 95, it's something I’m passionate about I love being able to carry on the tradition that Earl and Denise Baltes has built and you know hopefully I can make it the next 50 years better than the first 50 years of the speedway.

Q: You've won 80 million dollars in prize money over your career, a) why do you still live at home and b) what do you want for Christmas this year?

A: (laughs) I’ve already got what I wanted for Christmas, I got to come here. That's my Christmas present, I still own the house that I grew up in Indiana and I also own 400 acres outside of town that I'm building a log home on. It's home to me, I didn't get caught up like some of the guys moving to New York or Florida. I'm right at home where I am, and am one of those guys who enjoys being home in my t-shirt and jeans in my tennis shoes, it is who I am and who I've always been and I'm proud of that. It's just what I'm into and what I like.

Q: You've got two and half weeks here, is it just Queensland and Sydney that you'll be traveling round?

A: I'm going with Donny, Donny is the tour guide. I got in the hotel a minute ago and started unpacking and stuff, he said wait a minute we're not staying here. I was like where are we going? He said just pack your bag back up, I don't even know where I'm going today. We checked in and checked out already (within the hour).

Q: Here in the V8 Supercar it is always talk about going it to be like NASCAR. Do you have any thoughts on what is need to take it to the same level as NASCAR?

A: I would have no idea because I haven't been here since 95 and you know when I was here I was strictly running dirt cars at that time. I think the thing that has made NASCAR so popular is marketing, getting corporate sponsors involved has definitely been a huge key in helping to grow NASCAR to what it is but at the same time getting the fan interest to what it has, those two keys have contributed to making NASCAR what it is.

Q: I see you're sponsored by Old Spice, can you measure what your driving achievements has done for that brand?

A: I know the numbers that they tell me. It boils down to advertising, it has to make sense to them. There is a budget that they spend with the race teams, they have to recoup that costs and make more to make that program work for them. It's not just an easy deal where you just throw a corporate sponsor on the side of the car, there are a lot of obligations you make for them - photo shoots, promotional shoots. Like I mentioned earlier, things that don't pertain to making the race cars go fast but it's part of what you do.

Q: How does it cost to run a NASCAR team?

A: A lot.

Q: How confident are you of you sweeping all four races in Sydney?

A: I would say that it is highly unlikely, if I could win one I would be happy. You’ve got to remember this is a type of car that I think I've ran a total of about maybe 18 races in my career in these cars. I only get to run them two or three times per year but the good thing is I've got our driver that won the World of Outlaw championship for us as a team mate. I've got the best team-mate you could have to ask advice to and he'll make me better than what I am.

Q: What are you looking forward to most while you are here in Australia?

A: Just having fun, I don't care what we do, just as long we are having fun doing it.

SOURCE: BAM Media