Tony Stewart: Actions Detrimental

I thought I was calmed down from the incident that caused my last Tony Stewart rant. I made the mistake of leaving my car radio on for a few minutes when the Tony Stewart show started on Sirius. Ten minutes later, I turned it off in disgust, as Tony began an anti-Gilliland lecture that was nothing but irrational and a pointed attack.

Then, while struggling to return to sleep (after a wrong number caller on my phone), I turned on the radio in the wee hours of dawn. Once again, there was the replay of Tony's vitriol. I listened as I drifted in and out of sleep.

Tony can't and won't let this go. He truly believes that he was totally in the right. His name-calling on the show tells me that he intends to try and crucify David, using his fans. He declared that after the incident, he was on the way to 'go find him (David)' and that Tony's handlers had to hold him back, reminding Tony that he was still on probation.

A caller asked him "If you know you have issues with him, why did you get so close to him?" Tony admitted he probably should not have been that close to him on the track, but would not admit why he was that close. (I am guessing it was an intimidation attempt.)

Today, while listening to David Poole and Mike Bagley on The Morning Drive on Sirius, the callers have overwhelmingly been against Tony's actions and Tony's conversations. One caller brought up something that illustrates Tony's lack of control.

Tony admitted at the beginning of the show last night that he was late to the show. (He apparently is late for almost everything.) And due to his lateness, he was driving, by his own admission, at 130 mph to get home in time to be on the air.

This is not the first time that Tony has bragged of excessive speed on the roadway. While (again) running late for the broadcast from Las Vegas, he bragged he was speeding at 100+ mph on the I15, a local highway that is 5 lanes of congestion and has serious accidents daily, with fatalities at least every month. We don't need an 'idiot' like Tony driving stupidly and putting innocents in danger.

Tony also complained he lost his hat and his sunglasses from his speeding last night. His comments about his sunglasses could well cause his personal services sponsor to read him the riot act. He laughed that the glasses only cost about 5 bucks to make, but they were sell for over $100 bucks. I am sure Oakley loves that cavalier attitude.

Tony continues to exhibit a distinct lack of control. If things do not go the way he thinks they should, he has a tantrum. If he seriously is concerned that David is a bad driver, he could take the time to talk with David, in a non-aggressive manner and HELP him. At this point the other drivers on the track are going to have to be cautious whenever they see Tony near the 38, because they know that Tony likes his little revenge games.

And thank you to Ricky Rudd for defending his team mate.

AS FAR AS DAVID GILLILAND GOES, TONY STEWART SUGGESTED LAST WEEK AFTER THEIR PRACTICE INCIDENT THAT HE MIGHT NEED MORE TIME IN THE MINOR LEAGUES. DO YOU THINK DAVID BELONGS IN NEXTEL CUP?
“I think he definitely belongs and let me kind of clear up something here. Tony is Tony. What else can you say? You can’t question his driver ability. Everybody knows he’s one of the best if not the best out there, but he kind of has a habit of running his mouth at the wrong time. David got blamed for that wreck, but that wasn’t David’s fault. No one ever came around and asked anybody else what happened, but the videotaped clearly shows what happened and Tony screwed up. He just misjudged his distance and ran into the back of David. David doesn’t really have a presence out here. He can’t fight that battle, but I can tell you one thing, that was not David Gilliland’s fault the other day. But the media seemed to jump on it and wrote it the way Tony spoke it, but, anyway, that being said, David definitely belongs in Cup racing. He has all the talents and he adapts quicker than anybody I’ve ever seen when we go to a strange race track. He’s right up to speed immediately. Our program and our team is not where it needs to be yet. They’ve been working very hard trying to get there and they’re making progress, but I think before you can make a judgment on David, the whole thing has to come together. Our speedway program is second to none. Our Daytona [International Speedway] and Talladega [Superspeedway] stuff, there’s not a team out there that has better speedway stuff, and if you look at it that way—and that’s the only really fair chance David’s had this year—and he’s been very competitive in all those races. He’s run extremely well.”

I do get tired of hearing that 'Tony is Tony' excuse, though. It is like excusing the school bully for beating up on kids for lunch change. It is a shame that we have a two time Champion acting this way. I can't help but wonder how Dale, SR would have handled this. Surely, not this way!

Tony Stewart: Champ or Chump

Tony Stewart is proving to me that he is a Chump, not a Champ. He had another on-track altercation with David Gilliland during Happy Hour practice at the Michigan venue. David had old tires, Tony had fresh tires. Tony managed to run up on David's rear, and David became loose and then Tony made contact with David.

First off, I watched the NCTS and the Cup racing at Michigan, and I marveled at the wide track, and views of three and four wide racing. You cannot convince me that Tony was forced to get that close to David, when they were the only ones at that point of the track. Tony was being an arse and trying to spook David.

Second, have you ever seen such a tantrum? Glares, Snarls, Stomping his way to the NASCAR hauler, and Slamming of sliding door at the hauler. Oh my! How fearsome! The only things missing were the holding of breath until blue in face, and the flailing of arms and legs while on the ground, and don't forget shrieking at the top of the lungs. I mean really, Tony, if you insisit on having a tantrum, I am sure there are several three or four year old children who can give lessons.

Third, David had one short interview about the situation. Tony wailed to any and everyone about it, and in fact held court on it with a posse of reporters. He declared that David had apologized, but that it wasn't enough.

Tony, after his last issue with David, used his radio show to declare that he and David had talked, but that he did not believe David was sincere. I have no doubt that Tony was still bearing a grudge. How ironic that David does not have a venue in which to rail against instances like this.

Tony claims that drivers should run a full Busch series first. Tony, you should have also. I am sure that at least one more year may have given you some more maturity before stepping up into the big leagues. In fact, you may have even had a win in the NBS, something David had, and you didn't before running in Cup.

You mentioned Kasey Kahne being wrecked by David at Vegas. No sir, Kasey wrecked himelf. He got loose, and spun. David never touched him. Yet, both you and Kasey show a distinct lack of class by claiming David must not be that good after all.

NASCAR.com had a headline that declare GILLILAND WRECKS STEWART. How interesting is that, as all of the damage to Tony's car was on the right front, ahead of the midline. David had damage on left rear. Who ran into who? And then, today we watched corporate shills on Race Day claim it was all David's fault, and that it was David's responsibility to apologize. (BTW, Mr. Excitement, he already had!) It is ironic though, that Jimmy and Kenny both were sitting there on a Home Depot stage, and surrounded by Home Depot hard hats. Jimmy Spencer used to speak up, now in the last few years, he only speaks what the sponsors want. At least the boys in the booth at the time of the incident, Kyle Petty in particular, declared that it was a case of old vs new tires. Mr. Spencer, I trust Kyle far more than I do you!

Finally, Tony....look inward. Since you have been racing in Cup, you have had issues with Gilliland, JPM, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Mike Bliss, Robby Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers, Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte, Scott Wimmer, Greg Biffle, John Andretti, Ryan Newman, Kenny Scharder, Bobby Labonte, Kenny Irwin, 2 Photographers, 1 Reporter, Several NASCAR officials
and who the heck else? At this rate, by the time you quit NASCAR, there will be no one left for you to harass.

Tony, you have TWO Championships. You have a chance to become a leader who can help new drivers, rather than one who verbally and physically attacks them. I am sure you are looking for respect, but at this rate, I don't see that ever happening. Right now, you are no Champ, but you are one helluva Chump.


Click to see video of incident

Tony Stewart's Prelude to the Dream

Yes, I did it! I paid the PPV for the Prelude to the Dream.

I have been rather peeved with Tony Stewart since Tony decided to put David Gilliland into a position of "he has to learn......" I even posted my anger on my blog, and was surprised that a long term blogster who is a fan of Tony agreed with me. In fact, Tony has been on the edge, again, and I am just counting the races until there is a major blow-up!

However, I paid the money to watch the Prelude to the Dream. Yes, it was Tony. But, in more ways than I can count, it was not about Tony.

It was about many 'names' of NASCAR joining up for a good cause. It was about, for many drivers, getting back to their roots. (OMG, I now know where Jeff Gordon, Kasey, Tony and several others get their car control!) For other drivers, it was a new learning experience. (Rumor has it that Harvick gave lots of advice to the newbies. I wonder if JPM ever trusted where exactly his clutch pedal was located! And why did Denny say..."I learned to not believe Harvick!" followed by a huge grin!)

Bill Elliott and Ryan Newman 'got into it' with awesome amazing twists, turns, and one upside down car. The drivers both got out of the cars. and started describing how it happened with great glee and HUGE grins!

Tony put on a great show. It took a huge amount of planning and a huge amount of commitment. As much as I 'have issues' with Tony, he did a darn good job.

And BTW, for those that missed it, Austin Petty did a wonderful presentation on VJGC, and that kid could easily have a future in broadcasting.

I really enjoyed watching this event, it was a great deal of fun!

Battle of Champions

Today, the NASCAR fan world is holding their breath over the impending doom to be applied to Kurt Busch, for his pit road transgression at Dover. While perusing the message boards, and listening to the commentary on "Morning Drive," I discover that there is a wide range of opinion on What To Do With A Man Like Kurt" (hum a few bars from The Sound of Music!) It is my turn to add my thoughts.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will remember from my Tony Stewart rant that I am no longer a Tony Stewart apologist. However, in this case, he was certainly the lesser of two evils.

Tony has a habit of being stubborn and unrelenting while in his car. This year, he is demonstrating a need to be proved right, and to teach lessons. For example, after David Gilliland moved out of line at Talledega, Tony feinted as if he was going to follow, and then Tony closed the gap. He then claimed on the radio "He (meaning David) has to learn to not do that." At the time, I marveled at Tony choosing to teach a lesson in this manner.

During Dover, he was an instigator in the situation. By insisting he was not going to give up a spot, when there was over 125 laps remaining. Tony himself has claimed folks race too hard too early in the race, and yet here he was doing the same thing. The battle then ruined two potential winning race cars.

However, my commentary on Tony in no way clears Kurt Busch of any blame. Kurt totally blew it by taking an aggressive stance on pit road, and putting a pit crew member in jeopardy.

Many Kurt Busch fans are taking a firm stance that is surprising. "The Pit Crew Guy had plenty of time to jump out of the way!" Huh? If it were me, I would have been jumping also, as I have no way of knowing if the angry driver is going to stop on time! When Carl Edwards spun Tony, he didn't get in much trouble! Another HUH? If you haven't figured it out from the penalties at the first race of the year, NASCAR has escalated the penalty process!

As I type this, I am hearing a rumor that Kurt will be forced to sit out Pocono. He will lose 175 points by not being allowed to race. I am also hearing a rumor that there were some issues with his car, that will cause a further point loss of 100, and a monetary penalty of 100K.

If the rumor is true, Kurt will effectively be out of the Chase.

It is a shame that two Champions cannot meet off track and clear the air. Now, there are negative consequences for one of the teams, and the sport as a whole.

I guess there is no way to fix idiocy!

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My condolences go to the family of Bill France, Jr. There is no denying the impact he had on the world of motorsports.