FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 3, 2002

Bloomington, MN - Hundreds of race fans converged on the Mall of America Tuesday, June 2nd to see NASCAR Winston Cup driver, Tony Stewart. Stewart's two day Minnesota visit included autograph sessions at Mystic Lake Casino and Mall of America, a special guest race at Cedar Lake Speedway and simulated racing at NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway at Mall of America.

Thirty three race fans won a chance to race against Tony at the NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway. Each of the winners got to spend time with Tony before their race, asking him questions, posing for photos and getting autographs. The fun loving NASCAR driver joked, "The only rule is that I get to win!"

The first race saw Tony get a good jump on the field. However, an incident in turn three with the 24 car sent him back to 8th place. By mid race he had moved up to 4th place and was making a serious charge for the front. On lap 11, he got spun by the 21 car, hit the outside wall and ended up on his roof. Although he recovered quickly, he had to settle for a 7th place finish.

Stewart didn't fare quite as well on the second race. After a good start, he quickly fell back to 9th place. Tony and Mari Jensen (21) formed a two car draft and pushed their way up to the 7th and 8th spots. A late race spin took Tony out of contention and he ended up in 19th place.

The third race provided race fans with excitement from green to checkered flag. All drivers got off to a clean start and by lap 2 Stewart was leading the charge. On lap five Jeff Jones driving the 88 car stuck his nose under Stewart's back fender and slipped past him for the lead. Ken Watts picked up Stewart's draft and the two of them shot past Jones one lap later. The fans cheered as drivers went two and three wide jockeying for position late in the race. On lap 12 Jones, Jeff Taylor and Bryan Young slid under Tony forcing him to the outside groove. Jones later took the checkered flag for the win. Stewart finished a respectable 4th.