Tony Stewart tries his luck on the hardwood

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Every year Tony Stewart finds racing success in New York when he hits the track at Watkins Glen.

Last year's winner, who has five NASCAR victories at the track, tried to find success of a different kind in the state on Wednesday as he took part in a "Living the Basketball Dream" event at the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center at Syracuse University.

Stewart gave it a try on the hardwood as he competed with fans, Watkins Glen International President Michael Printup and Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim in shooting contests.

"Growing up in Indiana, if you didn't carry a basketball around six months a year, you were considered an outcast," Stewart said.

While Stewart didn't grow up in New York, he certainly understands the success that Boeheim and the Syracuse basketball program have had over the years.

"You don't have to live in Syracuse to understand Syracuse basketball," Stewart said.

While Stewart may not have the height to be a star basketball player, Boeheim was surprised by his ability in the sport.

"He's got a good release," Boeheim said. "I thought I was going to have to give him a shooting lesson, but he was pretty good. He's a lot better at this than I am at driving a race car. I would be in the wall on the first turn."

Stewart was just happy to get a chance to interact with some of his fans in a different atmosphere.

"It's nice to do something away from the race track," he said. "They get to see a different side of me. It's fun to be able to interact with the fans like this. Watkins Glen does a great job with setting these things up.

"It's really great to get the fans involved."

A NEED FOR SPEED

Jim Boeheim will serve as the Grand Marshall for the Zippo 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Watkins Glen, and he is looking forward to the opportunity.

"I'm probably the only basketball coach in the country that really likes racing," Boeheim said. "I'm going to be there the whole day and I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens."

Boeheim said that in his past he has reached some high speeds in a car. "I can tell you, as long as there's nobody listening. I've gone over 100 before sometime in the past. Not recently. I think the statute of limitations has run out. I haven't driven 100 in the last 10 years."

STEWART DOESN'T MIND NASCAR CLAMPDOWN

Often outspoken in the past, Stewart doesn't mind NASCAR's decision to clamp down on public criticism of the sport.

NASCAR warned teams during the offseason that critical comments would no longer be tolerated, and Stewart said Wednesday that isn't a bad thing.

"I honestly don't have a problem with that," Stewart said. "We all know the reason why it's been done in the NFL and the NBA.

"In the heat of the moment we can say a lot of things to the media and it transfers to the people."

At least two drivers have been fined for comments this year, but no one, not even Stewart, is sure who they are. While Stewart isn't sure who was fined, he knows who wasn't.

"I can tell you it was not me this time," Stewart said. "Which I am proud of."

BOEHEIM READY TO COACH YOUTHFUL TEAM USA

Boeheim is one of the assistant coaches for Team USA as they get ready for the World Championships, and he knows that with an extremely young team this year, it's going to be a challenge.

"We've got a big challenge," he said. "This is a young team. We have our work cut out for us. All those star players and we only beat Spain by four points and Spain has just about the same team."

This year's team is one of the youngest since NBA players started playing, and will be led by young stars Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose.

Only a few veteran players are on the roster this time around.

"We are really young; we have a few veterans like Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom," Boeheim said.

TWO POINT GUARDS FOR SU?

Scoop Jardine recently told Yahoo Sports in an interview that he expects to start at point guard for Syracuse next year, with last year's point guard Brandon Triche moving to shooting guard.

While Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said on Wednesday that he never told Jardine to start, he hinted that two point guards in the backcourt may be a possibility.

"I would say both guys we have could play," he said. "Some of our best teams we have had we used two point guards. Those two guys will play a lot together, like they did last year."

And Boeheim has been happy with the way both players have improved this summer.

"Both of them were down at Chris Paul's camp and Paul said they played well," Boeheim said.

IndyCar TO SWITCH DATES?

Next year's IndyCar race at Watkins Glen is still up in the air, and Watkins Glen President Michael Printup knows how important it is to keep the series coming to the track.

"It's very important to me and important to the track," he said Wednesday. Printup is hopeful that something can be worked out to keep WGI on the schedule.

"I'm still very hopeful we will make it work," he said. "I'm amendable to moving the date to a week before, or a week after the fourth."

PERFECT WEATHER FOR NASCAR?

One of the first orders of business in preparing for this year's Helluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen race was making sure that the weather would be nice.

Watkins Glen president joked that the weather is already set and will be perfect come race weekend.

"This race weekend is the pinnacle of our race season," Printup said. "We are ready. The first order of business was to order up the weather. Sunny and nice, 81 degrees with a cool breeze from the west. It's all ordered and set."

A SET OF KEYS FOR STEWART

Over the years Stewart has established himself as the best driver Watkins Glen has ever seen, winning on the track more times than any other individual driver.

"There is something about The Glen," Stewart said. "From day one, I picked it up right away. It's a lot of fun. It's very demanding. There's something about that place that I feel comfortable there."

So comfortable that last year, after he won the race, Printup slipped him his set of keys for the track. While Printup didn't let Stewart keep the keys, he joked that he may need to give him a set in the future.

"No one saw last year, but I slipped him the keys. I told him this is your place. I have to get him a set of keys to Watkins Glen, because it's his track."