E
EatMorePossum
Guest
The guy makes some good points here. Can't say I disagree with him.
Stewart and NASCAR should divorce
By SCOTT ADAMSON
June 30, 2004
There's a memorable scene in "Field of Dreams" where Shoeless Joe Jackson explains to Ray Kinsella why baseball immortal Ty Cobb isn't one of the players who materializes from the cornstalks and steps between the white lines.
"Ty Cobb wanted to come but none of us could stand the (SO
when he was alive so we told him to stick it."
It was a great line. Unfortunately, it's a line that probably could apply to NASCAR's Tony Stewart as well. The bad boy of Nextel Cup competition has evolved from a petulant child into a card-carrying jerk, and both he and the series would be better off without each other.
The rap sheet on Stewart continues to grow, with his most recent meltdown coming Sunday during the road course event at Sonoma. Although Stewart had no comment after the race - typical for The Home Depot driver - he apparently believed rookie Brian Vickers was trying to wreck him. While Vickers was sitting in his car following Jeff Gordon's victory, Stewart took a swing at Vickers and tried to pull him through the window.
Vickers, on the other hand, said it was Stewart who drove dangerously, hitting him early in the race then wrecking him later on.
"He said that I laughed about the situation and when I laughed it (ticked) him off," Vickers told Cox News Service. "I said, 'Yeah, I did laugh. I thought it was funny you were mad at me because you wrecked me.' Somebody is upset at me because they wrecked me and I thought it was funny.
"I'm not going to lie to him and say that I didn't smile about it. That's how I was raised."
Going through Stewart's list of transgressions would take far more space than this column allows for.
But I'll try.
A couple of weeks ago NASCAR penalized him for walking out of a driver's meeting before it concluded.
He was forced to undergo anger management counseling after a series of events that include knocking a tape recorder from a reporter's hand and shoving photographers.
And of course his big faux pas in Alabama happened a couple of years ago.
In a 2002 interview with a men's magazine based in Great Britain, Stewart said Talladega has the most obnoxious fans in racing. Why?
"It's in Alabama. Enough said," Stewart replied.
He also took some potshots at NASCAR in the same magazine, basically agreeing with a snowboarder who referred to it as a "Redneck Mafia." This came from the same person who nearly attacked a NASCAR official in 2001 and refused to meet with the media after his second place finish in the EA Sports 500 at Talladega that year because he was "too upset." Later he said his comments about Alabama fans were meant as a compliment, although I've never associated the word "obnoxious" with a compliment.
I think it's time for Stewart to get out of NASCAR completely.
Seriously.
At first I thought he couldn't handle all the outside duties of the sport, but now I'm not sure he can handle his on-track responsibilities, either. His boorish behavior has to be embarrassing to officials at The Home Depot, a company that really doesn't need a controversial "representative." And his driving is getting more dangerous by the week, or so it seems.
The thing is, a famous athlete - any famous athlete - is going to have to endure the spotlight no matter how hot or how bright it becomes. Right or wrong, that's part of the trade-off.
If you're going to indulge in the cheers and accolades of an adoring public, you better be able to deal with questions from the media and edicts handed down from officials in your sport of choice.
Stewart just can't do it. And since he can't, he and NASCAR should part ways.
Stewart likes Indy Car racing, and he's shown he's good at it. It's not as popular as NASCAR - not anymore, anyway - and maybe he would fit in better in a sport where the fans and media have a different kind of passion.
I'm not an expert on the IRL, but perhaps sponsors don't require as much from the drivers, perhaps the media isn't as overwhelming and perhaps the fans don't have quite the access to their heroes as NASCAR provides.
Then again, maybe Stewart just isn't cut out to be a public figure. Maybe he'd be better off mentally if he took his talents to short tracks and dirt tracks in Anytown U.S.A, racing in events and places that barely register on the motorsports radar screen.
Or the solution could be quite simple.
Could be Tony Stewart just needs to grow up.
It takes an adult to excel in the adult world, and Stewart hasn't demonstrated an ability or desire to be one.
Stewart and NASCAR should divorce
By SCOTT ADAMSON
June 30, 2004
There's a memorable scene in "Field of Dreams" where Shoeless Joe Jackson explains to Ray Kinsella why baseball immortal Ty Cobb isn't one of the players who materializes from the cornstalks and steps between the white lines.
"Ty Cobb wanted to come but none of us could stand the (SO
when he was alive so we told him to stick it." It was a great line. Unfortunately, it's a line that probably could apply to NASCAR's Tony Stewart as well. The bad boy of Nextel Cup competition has evolved from a petulant child into a card-carrying jerk, and both he and the series would be better off without each other.
The rap sheet on Stewart continues to grow, with his most recent meltdown coming Sunday during the road course event at Sonoma. Although Stewart had no comment after the race - typical for The Home Depot driver - he apparently believed rookie Brian Vickers was trying to wreck him. While Vickers was sitting in his car following Jeff Gordon's victory, Stewart took a swing at Vickers and tried to pull him through the window.
Vickers, on the other hand, said it was Stewart who drove dangerously, hitting him early in the race then wrecking him later on.
"He said that I laughed about the situation and when I laughed it (ticked) him off," Vickers told Cox News Service. "I said, 'Yeah, I did laugh. I thought it was funny you were mad at me because you wrecked me.' Somebody is upset at me because they wrecked me and I thought it was funny.
"I'm not going to lie to him and say that I didn't smile about it. That's how I was raised."
Going through Stewart's list of transgressions would take far more space than this column allows for.
But I'll try.
A couple of weeks ago NASCAR penalized him for walking out of a driver's meeting before it concluded.
He was forced to undergo anger management counseling after a series of events that include knocking a tape recorder from a reporter's hand and shoving photographers.
And of course his big faux pas in Alabama happened a couple of years ago.
In a 2002 interview with a men's magazine based in Great Britain, Stewart said Talladega has the most obnoxious fans in racing. Why?
"It's in Alabama. Enough said," Stewart replied.
He also took some potshots at NASCAR in the same magazine, basically agreeing with a snowboarder who referred to it as a "Redneck Mafia." This came from the same person who nearly attacked a NASCAR official in 2001 and refused to meet with the media after his second place finish in the EA Sports 500 at Talladega that year because he was "too upset." Later he said his comments about Alabama fans were meant as a compliment, although I've never associated the word "obnoxious" with a compliment.
I think it's time for Stewart to get out of NASCAR completely.
Seriously.
At first I thought he couldn't handle all the outside duties of the sport, but now I'm not sure he can handle his on-track responsibilities, either. His boorish behavior has to be embarrassing to officials at The Home Depot, a company that really doesn't need a controversial "representative." And his driving is getting more dangerous by the week, or so it seems.
The thing is, a famous athlete - any famous athlete - is going to have to endure the spotlight no matter how hot or how bright it becomes. Right or wrong, that's part of the trade-off.
If you're going to indulge in the cheers and accolades of an adoring public, you better be able to deal with questions from the media and edicts handed down from officials in your sport of choice.
Stewart just can't do it. And since he can't, he and NASCAR should part ways.
Stewart likes Indy Car racing, and he's shown he's good at it. It's not as popular as NASCAR - not anymore, anyway - and maybe he would fit in better in a sport where the fans and media have a different kind of passion.
I'm not an expert on the IRL, but perhaps sponsors don't require as much from the drivers, perhaps the media isn't as overwhelming and perhaps the fans don't have quite the access to their heroes as NASCAR provides.
Then again, maybe Stewart just isn't cut out to be a public figure. Maybe he'd be better off mentally if he took his talents to short tracks and dirt tracks in Anytown U.S.A, racing in events and places that barely register on the motorsports radar screen.
Or the solution could be quite simple.
Could be Tony Stewart just needs to grow up.
It takes an adult to excel in the adult world, and Stewart hasn't demonstrated an ability or desire to be one.
