Tony Stewart says Indy 500 entry "not as it used to be"

Tony Stewart has expressed that accessibility to compete in the famous Indy 500 race is not what it used to be.

Speaking to Racer.com, the NASCAR legend says that he thinks that the series has become a lot more technical and it has become increasingly difficult to solely compete in the Indy 500 as a manufacturer.

"The hard part about doing the 500 is it's not like it was 20 years ago where you could put together a deal and have a really good Indy program," he said.

"You look at the teams that win at Indy and run competitively the whole month of May, and they're the teams that run competitive all year. So the IndyCar deal's probably as tough as it's ever been and you're not just gonna waltz in there on a one-off deal and make it work.

"That era's long gone. There's too many engineers and wind tunnels and engine dynos and everything else that have taken that opportunity away."