NASCAR Daily News Headlines * December 27, 2008

Stewart Wins Rumble In Fort Wayne

“It was my fault for screwing Lou (Cicconi Jr) up,” Stewart said after the race. “I wanted to get into him, but not that much. I made that mistake, so this was probably Lou’s win. I kind of stole it away from him there. I wasn’t trying to screw him up. I wanted him to know that I was putting the pressure on him to try to get him to make a mistake. I just got into him too hard.”

Seventeen laps into the feature race, Stewart had moved from seventh into second place, tailing Cicconi, who took the lead after pole sitter Dave Darland crashed into Mike Fedorcak of Roanoke.

Stewart made a break for the lead on Lap 21, nudging Cicconi from behind causing him to spin out as the pair headed into turn No. 4. Cicconi continued the race, but later dropped out with oil-pressure concerns.

“He just hit me and spun me out,” Cicconi said, chuckling. “It was a hit with love. We’ve been through this a hundred times. It’s no big deal.”

After failing to make the feature event in the first heat race, Stewart’s crew made adjustments to the car. Stewart had to secure his spot in the feature by winning a consolation heat. Stewart then watched as teammate Fedorcak also got in by winning another consolation heat.(news-sentinel.com)

McCumbee Waiting On Petty

McCumbee was on course to drive the No. 44 Sprint Cup car for Petty Enterprises in 2009 before sponsorship issues arose. "We were all good to go and everybody was happy," McCumbee said. "The economy affected sponsors obviously. It hurt everything."

In the past month, Petty Enterprises has laid off 65 employees and been involved in merger talks with Gillett-Evernham Racing. Then Bobby Labonte, the driver of the famed No. 43 car, parted ways with Petty Enterprises.

"I really don't know what's going to happen," McCumbee said. "I haven't tried to bother anyone and jump in there because I know they have a lot going on. Hopefully by the first of the year we'll know more."

So, McCumbee said he is keeping his options open, which means he could return to the Camping World Series (formerly the Craftsman Truck Series). He also said he has had "a few talks here and there" with teams in the Nationwide Series.(myrtlebeachonline.com)