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closeStewart gets too sick to continue, yields to Yeley
JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Saturday, Jul. 05, 2008
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Tony Stewart's already frustrating Sprint Cup Series season took another bad turn.
Stewart fell ill early Saturday morning with flu-like symptoms and wasn't able to finish Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, exiting his No. 20 Toyota under caution on Lap 72 and being replaced by driver J.J. Yeley.
Between multiple visits to the infield care center, Stewart participated in his hospitality functions Saturday, attended the mandatory drivers' meeting and prerace introductions.
However, before the race, Joe Gibbs Racing team president J.D. Gibbs told The Charlotte Observer and ThatsRacin.com it was unlikely that Stewart would be able to finish the race. "He's pretty sick," Gibbs said at the time.
Stewart tried, running in the top 10 virtually the entire time he was in the car. He was running seventh when he pitted under caution and got out of the car.
"He had an IV before the drivers' meeting, then two more after the drivers' meeting. He was progressively getting worse throughout the day," team spokesman Mike Arning said of Stewart.
"He has a weak feeling, uneasy stomach, bad headache. He thought he could get through it. He did all he could, but obviously he couldn't make it to the end."
Yeley ended up finishing 20th after getting caught up in a late-race incident. Under NASCAR rules, the points scored with Yeley's finish belong to Stewart since he started the event.
"Tony didn't feel good this morning and hat's off to him for getting in the car and doing what he did," said Stewart's crew chief, Greg Zipadelli. "We're happy to salvage something good out of here and stay in the top 12 in points."
Stewart entered the race ninth in the series standings and has narrowly missed out on wins despite consistently strong runs in several races this season.
Yeley, who drives the No. 96 Toyota for Hall of Fame Racing, failed to qualify for the race but was at the track participating in hospitality functions on Saturday and agreed to stand by, then serve as a relief driver. He was even able to get one of Stewart's driver uniforms.
