Tony Stewart had to put in a lot of recovery time after suffering a serious leg injury in a sprint car accident last August, but the multi-titled NASCAR star clearly isn’t going to let it blunt his determination to compete in open-wheelers. After testing a sprinter this week for the first time since his accident, Stewart told reporters on Friday at Dover International Speedway that he intends to race sprint cars again – although he says he won’t tell anyone about it ahead of time to avoid maiking it a media circus.

“I will be able to tell you how it went. Let’s put it that way,” Stewart said. “You won’t know when it’s coming. When I do go, nobody is going to know about it. I’m going to just slide in and do it.

“I want to enjoy it. I don’t want it to be a cluster. Judging off the fact of how many people showed up just to talk to me about going and testing for a couple of hours, I can imagine what the group is going to be like after I run my first race.”

Stewart said he is baffled by the level of attention NASCAR beat writers have focused on his injury and whether he should compete in other forms of racing.

“I’m smiling because I am laughing at you guys, because it’s like, ‘My God, I went and tested a sprint car,'” Stewart said. “I still laugh about how big a deal this has all been. We had Cup drivers get hurt last year. One had a broken wrist, one had a broken back and nobody said anything. It was all minor news. I’ve made more news by getting hurt in a dirt car than any of these guys. It’s bigger news than the guy that had the same injury I had falling off a bicycle last week. I get chuckled.”