SYRACUSE -- NASCAR Sprint Cup star Tony Stewart got a chance to shoot hoops Wednesday afternoon, at the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center, with longtime Syracuse University men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim offering some pointers.
So does that mean we're going to see Stewart give advice next week as Boeheim speeds around the road course at Watkins Glen International in a stock car?
Not quite.
"I'd like to try (a stock car). Except I'm a little challenged -- I can't drive a stick shift, so I guess I might not be able to do that," Boeheim said with a laugh.
"He's a lot better at (basketball) than I would be driving a race car, I know that. ... They wouldn't let me drive one. I'd be in the wall on the first turn."
Although Boeheim did admit to topping 100 mph in car more than a decade ago, he'll leave the driving at Watkins Glen to Stewart, who will seek to add to his course-record five Sprint Cup victories when he competes in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen on Aug. 8.
Boeheim's role as grand marshal of the Zippo 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Aug. 7 will be to give the command for the drivers to start their engines.
Oddly enough, the pairing of Boeheim and Stewart for a home-and-home series was a natural fit.
Boeheim, 65, with a career record of 829-293 in 34 seasons as head coach of the Orange, said he might be the only college basketball coach in America who plants himself in front of the television to watch NASCAR.
Stewart, 39, is a native of Columbus, Ind., a state in which even auto racing can't compete with the popularity of basketball. Stewart grew up a Purdue fan, so Boeheim didn't have to worry about any gentle trash talk from him regarding Syracuse's last-second loss to Indiana in the 1987 national championship game.
"It was great to meet (Stewart). I've admired him and his competitiveness when he races," Boeheim said. "I'm looking forward to coming down to Watkins Glen and being there for the whole day and the whole race. I'm very excited about that."
Boeheim and Stewart teamed to win one of the friendly shooting competitions that also included WGI President Michael Printup, media members and four Stewart fans invited by officials from Watkins Glen International, who came up with the idea for the event.
When they weren't shooting hoops, Boeheim and Stewart engaged in friendly chat and swapped jerseys. Stewart gave an Office Depot Old Spice racing shirt to Boeheim, who responded in kind by giving up an orange Syracuse jersey with Stewart's No. 14 on it.
Stewart, who has 37 career Sprint Cup victories and two series points championships, said he hadn't played basketball in a long time. But the left-hander swished plenty of shots and hit the rim on most of his misses, wearing a smile on his face the whole time.
"It's nice to do something away from the racetrack and that shows a different side of us they don't get to see when we're focused on racing at the racetrack," said Stewart, who will join the other Cup drivers in Long Pond, Pa., for this weekend's race at Pocono Raceway.
"I'm glad these guys were not pros and didn't embarrass me by sinking everything while I was bouncing off the rim every direction. But it's fun. It's fun to be able to interact and Watkins Glen has done a great job of getting the fans involved and giving them an opportunity like this to come spend the day with two pretty cool guys."
Printup said he would have liked to have invited even more fans.
"If I had my way, we'd fill this basketball court with all of our fans," he said. "But we've got to be sensitive to Tony's requirements and coach's requirements.
"This was great fun. I was hoping I'd be able to beat Tony, and obviously that wasn't the case."
One of the Stewart fans who participated was Patrick Gilboy of Elmira, who said he appreciated and enjoyed the chance to hang out with his favorite driver.
"This is kind of like a kid at heart's dream, to play with somebody that you follow, somebody that you recognize from a sport you really like," said Gilboy, who has been a regular at Watkins Glen since NASCAR returned to the track in 1986. "This is quite exciting to be able to get out here." - By Andrew Legare - www.stargazette.com
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