Stewart hasn't decided

But Hendrick's No. 5 is tempting

LOUDON, N.H. -- Two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart is still mulling over his racing future.

In the wake of Friday's announcement that Casey Mears will not return to the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet next season, Stewart was asked how close he is to making his own announcement about whether he will stay with Joe Gibbs Racing or move on to another team.

"I don't know, it may be pushed back even more now," Stewart said. "We'll wait and see. It's however long it takes to make the right decision."

Would he consider driving the No. 5?

"Absolutely," Stewart said. "You've got to. There's no one in this garage area that's not going to look that direction, so you've got to look at that."

MAKING UP GROUND: One week after failing to qualify for the road race in Sonoma, Calif., things are looking up for former open-wheel champion Dario Franchitti.

Last year's IndyCar Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, now a Cup rookie, qualified a season-best seventh here Friday and was among the fastest drivers in both practice sessions Saturday on the 1.058-mile New Hampshire oval.

"The results don't show it, but we ran really well at Pocono and really well at Michigan, and we really expected good things to happen at Sonoma, and we didn't qualify," said Franchitti, who is just about fully recovered from a broken ankle that also kept him out of five races.

"That was a real low point for us, so to come back here, come back strong, was really, really good. It was a big confidence boost for everybody on the team and gives everybody a spring in their step again."

Asked what would a good finish for him today, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver said, "Finish where we start would be awesome."

CANADIAN FEAT: Patrick Carpentier, who will start from the front today, is only the second Canadian to win a pole position in the history of NASCAR's top stock car series.

Lloyd Shaw, from Toronto, won the pole for the 1953 International 200 at Langhorne, Pa., Speedway. Shaw averaged 82.2 mph on the mile oval, while Quebec native Carpentier's speed was 129.776.