Friday notebook: Tony's pooch probs

Maybe Stewart should stick to something safer, like auto racing...

Stewart was chasing his dog PJ up the stairs of his North Carolina home when the six-month old dog suddenly veered in front of Stewart. In an effort to avoid stepping on the pooch, Stewart tried to jump over the animal only to injure his left foot upon landing.

Stewart visited the local hospital where the diagnosis of a sprained left foot was made on Tuesday evening. Doctors ordered Stewart to keep pressure off the injured foot as much as possible and to keep it raised.

Following Friday's first practice session, Stewart said he had a full-range of motion of his left foot and ankle but felt discomfort when he engages the clutch coming on and off pit road and while driving through the garage area. The Indiana native said the traditional left-foot braking method remains relatively fine because the Michigan track doesn't require heavy braking.

"It's not bad in the car on the brakes," Stewart said. "This track is a track where you don't brake heavily anyway. Where it hurt is when I'm using the clutch. There is a lot more pressure on the clutch to get it engaged all the way, so that seems to be the hard part right now."

Rumors that Stewart injured his foot in an auto race or other motorsports activity outside of NASCAR Winston cup are false, according to team sources.


When Robby Gordon's bid for victory in last Sunday's NASCAR Winston Cup race went up in smoke after a battery for a television in-car telemetry device blew up, Mike Skinner felt the frustration. Gordon was filling in as the driver after Skinner was injured in a crash at Chicagoland Speedway on July 15.

"I said, 'Well, it's not you,'" Skinner recalled. "How many times have all of us seen that car leading and then it fall out. I always thought it was my fault. I don't guess it was.

"I know Jeff Gordon had some problems with that device earlier in the year, but it was in practice. Poor Richard Childress (team owner), how many times has that blue-and-yellow car been in front where it looks like it is going to win the race. Then, a gear breaks or a piece of rubber gets in the alternator, or a box catches on fire or a tyre blows out. It's been a rough time."

Skinner's future with Richard Childress Racing is in doubt after the team signed Cingular Wireless as a sponsor for next season. According to the sponsor, a driver other than Skinner will be in the race car next year.

"I think it's terrible," Skinner said. "To be told you won't be the driver of this car the following year, what did we do wrong? We've been in contention to win several races and a lot of mechanical things happen, which is no fault of the driver. And, the driver has messed up some, too.

"I know Richard is doing everything in his power to keep me in the car. He has told me he thinks I'm the best race car driver out there who is available. That's a good compliment, but that doesn't change anything. Hopefully, all the luck will turn around. I would love to see a change of heart on their part and hopefully, make a choice that Mike Skinner has a shot at that thing. We are exploring our options right now and I have a chance to cover my own tail and talk to other car owners. If a good opportunity comes up to us, we'll go from there."