Although neither would be drawn on definite plans to feature in the Indianapolis 500 again in future, both Tony Stewart and Chevrolet admitted that no veil had been drawn over the event either.
Stewart campaigned successfully in the early years of the the Indy Racing League before making a full-time switch to NASCAR, and even then made the odd one-off attempt to win the 500, but is now fully ensconced in trying to regain the Cup Series title for Joe Gibbs Racing. Twice a winner at the Brickyard in NASCAR, however, the burly veteran would not completely rule out a return to open-wheel racing.
"There's part of me that thinks running at Indy, and in IndyCar, is a chapter of my life that is closed - and then there is the emotional part of me that says 'never say never," he confessed.
"I don't know if I will ever get in an IndyCar again but, if that happens, it's obviously going to be a long way down the road because I have a lot of commitments on the NASCAR side. If I was going to come to Indianapolis again, I don't want to come and show up and run the month of May. If I am going to do it, I need to start at Homestead, and I need to run all the races leading up to the month of May to really feel like I am being fair to the team and being fair to myself, and have enough time in the car to where when we show up in the month of May, we are ready to go., where I am comfortable in the car, I'm comfortable with the people I am working with and feel like I am in tune and up to speed with the technology of the set-ups and what is going on.
"As long as I am driving a stock car, that basically takes that part of it out of the equation. I'm not going to be one of these guys who just shows up and runs the Indy 500. I've run the Indy 500, now I want to win the Indy 500. I honestly don't believe, in the era of the driver, that you can just come in on a one-off race and do that. It's virtually impossible. You can't come in and expect to be as good as the guys doing it every week."
