Stewart figures he’s lead weight for his team in go-kart event

Stewart was trimmed up last winter for this photo shoot, but has since reverted to being an unshaven scruffy looking Pillsbury Doughboy

Tony Stewart believes he carries two disadvantages into Sunday's celebrity go-kart race at Conseco Fieldhouse. One is his relative inexperience driving such machines. Second is his weight.

"I'm probably the heaviest driver in the field, so that probably won't be an advantage," Stewart said of the Indy Karting Classic field. "I'm weighing in at a modest 180 right now."

Stewart clarified.

"That's on a bad day," he said. "I'm between 178 and 180."

A.J. Allmendinger, whom Stewart considers the best go-kart racer among NASCAR's contingent in the race, is listed at 155 pounds on his website.

Amateur racing is from 1-4 p.m., with the pro race featuring six NASCAR and six IndyCar drivers at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and available at the Fieldhouse box office.

Scheduled for the pro race are Stewart, Allmendinger, John Andretti, Scott Speed, Camping World Truck Series champion Austin Dillon and his brother, Ty, on the NASCAR team, with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ed Carpenter, Tomas Scheckter, Jay Howard, Alex Tagliani and Josef Newgarden on the IndyCar team.

Stewart isn't sure he's as fast as any of them.

"I haven't driven a go-kart in a long time," he said. "I think the IndyCar guys train a lot with go-karts. Us (Sprint) Cup guys are used to a lot heavier car, so it's not much of an advantage." IndyStar