NASCAR'S bad boy at it again
If Tony Stewart didn't know before that people listen to his Sirius satellite radio show, he surely knows it now.
Tony Stewart touched off a firestorm last week when he used his weekly program to question the validity of late-race caution flags for debris on the racetrack that has affected the outcome of several NASCAR races this season and in the past.
In doing so, the two-time series champion, intentionally or not, called into question the integrity of the sanctioning body and emboldened the conspiracy theorists in the sport's fan base who believe NASCAR favors certain drivers and manipulates its races to ensure close finishes.
After being summoned to a 6 a.m. meeting Friday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway with NASCAR president Mike Helton, vice president of competition Robin Pemberton and Nextel Cup series director John Darby, a subdued Tony Stewart apologized for his comments and admitted that in going too far, whatever point he wanted to make was lost.
"You know me. If I think I'm right about something, I'm going to say I'm right," he said. "And when I'm wrong, I'm going to say I'm wrong."
But his apology hardly ended the controversy. By letting Tony Stewart off with a scolding -- he was fined $10,000 for skipping the mandatory postrace news conference the week before at Phoenix but was not penalized for his radio comments -- NASCAR again opened itself up to allegations of favoritism.
NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter characterized Tony Stewart's criticism, which included comparing the sport to professional wrestling, as irresponsible. But Hunter said it didn't rise to a level requiring punishment beyond a retraction and apology.
"There is nothing wrong with being an outspoken individual," he told the media at Talladega, "but in this day and age, one has to be mindful of what they say, how they say it and when they say it."
The original story in The Star reporting Tony Stewart's comments drew more than 260 "TalkBack" comments in the first 24 hours after it was posted online.
Reaction ran the gamut, from labeling Tony Stewart a whiner to alleging all NASCAR races are fixed. Of those in between, the majority leaned toward Stewart, not surprising considering he was born and lives in nearby Columbus, Ind., and is extremely popular in his home state.
His allegations and subsequent apology were topics of debate on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," which seldom pays attention to auto racing beyond following the career of Danica Patrick. Of Tony Stewart's apology, panelist Michael Wilbon said: "I'm disappointed if he truly believed what he said previously, and if he didn't believe it, then I'm disappointed in him saying it in the first place."
Fellow drivers, many of whom in the past have expressed frustration over late-race cautions that might have seemed dubious at the time, carefully tiptoed around Tony Stewart's remarks.
Jeff Burton said concern about debris cautions is a reasonable point to raise but that didn't excuse Tony Stewart from comparing NASCAR to wrestling or alleging races aren't fairly run.
"It was counter-productive," Jeff Burton said. "But Tony didn't mean any harm by it. He was just trying to make a point. Tony didn't have malice in his comment. He was trying to make it better.
"The thing in all of this that drives me kind of crazy is any belief by teams or fans that NASCAR does something to help a particular team. I'd quit if I believed that."
Nextel Cup points leader Jeff Gordon, a four-time series champion and winner of the past two races, jokingly referred to Stewart as "the Rosie O'Donnell of NASCAR" for the way his words generate controversy.
Jeff Gordon, too, believes a discussion on debris cautions is needed but said blasting NASCAR on the radio wasn't the right way to go about it. "I think Tony is just bringing more heat on himself," Jeff Gordon said.
Until last week, Tony Stewart had used his radio show to mend fences. He had Helton as an early guest and a few days after the Daytona 500, where he and Kurt Busch crashed at the front of the pack, he had Busch on his show.
Then two weeks ago, after a frustrating finish prompted him to threaten in a postrace interview to retire, he went on the radio to reassure fans he plans to honor his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, which runs through 2009.
Defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who also hosts a radio show, said perhaps this will be a lesson to Stewart that his words travel far and wide.
"Tony is Tony and he's always been himself," Johnson said. "It's hard when you have a radio show. You're not sure who's listening and you want to speak your mind -- and it looks like he certainly did."
Tony Stewart is no stranger to trouble. On Sunday at Talladega, after a late-race crash, he gestured repeatedly in the direction of Jamie McMurray, frustrated over a missed opportunity to post a strong finish. For the year, Tony Stewart is in sixth place, but has yet to win a race.
He said the one thing he has learned over the years is that in most cases, he's his own worst enemy.
"You can't fix stupid a lot of times," he said. "I'm getting better about not saying stupid things at wrong the times, but I haven't totally cured it yet."
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