It Looks Like a Guy With Time to Spare

Imagine Tiger Woods showing up in disguise at a club tournament, then taking off the disguise after winning it.

That’s sort of what two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart did a year ago when he competed unannounced in a 60-lap U.S. Auto Club midget-car race in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Stewart’s entry was never announced because he wasn’t sure he would be able to compete after he and some friends came up with the idea during a poker game. They all threw in a few bucks to buy an old car and sponsor it.

“Tony had a few laps in practice,” USAC spokesman Dick Jordan told the Associated Press. “The thing was popping and banging like it was going to blow up. [But] they dialed it in and got it working.”

Stewart easily won the race and when he took off his helmet in Victory Lane, the announcer said, “That guy looks like Tony Stewart.”

It was announced Tuesday that Stewart would be back to compete in the same event Dec. 29-30 -- in the same car.

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Trivia time: John Heisman coached at eight colleges during a 36-year career. His longest tenure was at what school?

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A different era: Reader Michael Dudnikov of Union, N.J., e-mailed to say that the first Heisman Trophy winner in 1935, Jay Berwanger, was made the first No. 1 choice in the first NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, but instead chose a career in business.

“Just imagine that scenario today,” Dudnikov wrote.

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Party time: Terrell Owens may be unemployed, but he threw himself quite a 32nd birthday party Monday night at rapper Jay-Z’s 40-40 club in Atlantic City, N.J.

Such celebrities as Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson and the Rev. Jesse Jackson were on the guest list. Michael Irvin led the crowd in singing “Happy Birthday.” Some Eagle players were there, although Donovan McNabb was not one of them.

Former Eagle Freddie Mitchell, among the early arrivals, said, “I would go to battle with T.O. any day of the week. A lot of people don’t understand him.”

Said Owens: “I’m still a Philadelphia Eagle until the end of the year. I love Philly, I love my teammates and thank you to everybody who came here tonight and showed me their love.”

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Looking back: On this day in 2002, Michael Jordan of the Washington Wizards matched his NBA low by scoring two points, despite playing a season-high 40 minutes, in a 95-82 victory over the Toronto Raptors. Jordan, 39 at the time, made one of nine shots.

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Trivia answer: Georgia Tech, where Heisman coached for 16 years, beginning in 1904. His record there was 100-29-6, and in 1916 the Yellow Jackets defeated Cumberland, 222-0, in the highest scoring game in college football history.

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And finally: Dan Daly of the Washington Times, on Shaquille O’Neal’s becoming a reserve police officer: “Shaq will be able to carry a gun ... as long as he doesn’t shoot it from the free-throw line.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.