CONCORD, N.C. -- The happiest face at Charlotte Motor Speedway for Tuesday's press conference to announce tweaks to the May 19 Sprint All-Star race didn't belong to track president Marcus Smith, who hopes the changes will spark a more competitive race and more ticket sales.
It didn't belong to NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton, who talked about rewarding drivers for winning the event's first four segments instead of how it felt to have penalties against Jimmie Johnson's team overturned.
It didn't belong to one of the invited fans; thanks to one of the tweaks, fans have a chance to win the opportunity to introduce their favorite driver before the main event.
It didn't belong to 2008 All-Star winner Kasey Kahne, although he was happy to finally get through a race -- even if it was rain-shortened -- without wrecking.
No, the happiest face belonged to Steve Addington, the crew chief for Tony Stewart.
Addington's demeanor had nothing to do with the All-Star Race changes, one of which will allow the drivers who win the first four segments to line up one through four in pit lane for the mandatory stop prior to the final 10-lap segment. It had everything to do with the 14 car winning two of the first five races, and how the self-imposed pressure Addington felt after replacing Darian Grubb following an amazing championship season has gone away.
Typically one of the more relaxed crew chiefs, as one would have to be to deal with Stewart and before that the Busch brothers, Addington didn't realize just how much pressure he felt until he and Stewart won for the first time at Las Vegas.
"That was all myself," Addington said. "I did it [to] myself. That was something I thought I wouldn't do. I was doing it and not really knowing it. I was working myself up for no reason. I was working a lot of hours, not getting home from the shop [until late].
"I was, 'Man, you can only do so much. Calm down.'"
He did.
Now, for the record, Addington and Stewart lead Grubb and his driver, Denny Hamlin, 2-1 in wins after Sunday's victory in California. But Addington isn't counting, he and expects both teams to win their share the rest of the season.
He also expects to remain happy.
"He tried to explain that to me, that we're going to have fun and we're going to race hard and take what it gives us," Addington said of Stewart before the season. "He said, 'Don't put pressure on you.'
"Well, I did put pressure on myself, and I felt like we needed to win."
The only pressure now is to win a title. That count remains Grubb 1, Addington 0.
But who's counting?