INDIANAPOLIS — The “Alumni Reunion” of the Indy Racing League continued May 7 and this time it was 1997 champion Tony Stewart who dropped by  Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Dario Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion, was at the speedway May 5.
Both drivers are now in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Stewart, a two-time Cup champion, and Franchitti a rookie who has been inactive since breaking his left ankle in a crash at Talladega Superspeedway during a Nationwide Series race nearly three weeks ago.
Stewart, who raced in the Indianapolis 500 from 1996-99 and 2001, was actually in town to help Chevrolet unveil the new midget racing engine that Tony Stewart Racing drivers Tracy Hines and Levi Jones use in United States Auto Club events.
Stewart was the topic of speculation in Talladega when the driver for Toyota’s Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR team said he is open to offers after his contract expires at the end of the 2009 season.
Stewart would love to return to Chevrolet in NASCAR and could even become involved in team ownership at Haas-CNC Racing.
But when the NASCAR star from nearby Columbus, Ind., arrived at Indy, he was asked if he would ever return to race in the Indy 500 again.
“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,’” Stewart said. “I don’t know if I will ever get in an Indy car 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.”
Stewart noted that when he is comfortable with the car and the people he is working with and can get up to speed, he could be a real threat to win the race.
But he can’t do that if he is doing a one-race effort while driving in NASCAR.
“As long as I am driving a stock car, that basically takes that part of it out of the equation,” Stewart said. “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. 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 do as good as the guys doing it every week.”
While Stewart all but closed the door on a return to the Indy 500, he is excited to see the unification of IndyCar racing that has brought 39 cars to the Speedway this year to battle for the 33-car starting lineup.
“I’m really excited to see everybody back,” Stewart said. “What’s the car count this year so far? Thirty-nine? That might actually make it fun and exciting to come here on Bump Day. That’s going to be cool. I think you’re going to see one of the most competitive fields ever at Indy this year.”