He's been fined and placed on probation after avoiding a post-race media session in Phoenix. He's accused NASCAR of manipulating races as if it were professional wrestling. And he's angrily accused driver David Gilliland of having little talent following a crash at Talladega. Is Tony Stewart's anger getting the best of him this season? SI.com's Lars Anderson and Tim Tuttle each offer their opinions.
By Lars Anderson
No. Tony Stewart's worst enemy this season? Try horrific luck
Let's review:
• At the season opening Daytona 500, Stewart clearly had the fastest car in the field until ... he was wrecked.
• Three races later at Atlanta and he again had the elite car for much of the race and he would have won going away, but a late caution came out, the field was tightened, and Jimmie Johnson passed him in the final laps; Stewart finished second.
• The next week at Bristol Stewart was hands-down the quickest on the track until ... his fuel pump gave out and he wound up 35th.
• A month later, at Phoenix, his Home Depot Chevy was one of the two fastest racecars in the field, and he came in second. Then last week at Talladega he had a car capable of finishing in the top-three, but was wrecked on the last lap and wound up 28th.
These near misses and wrecks have clearly frustrated Stewart, and who can blame him? By my count he should have at least three wins this season if he hadn't been wrecked, or if the caution flags fell in his favor, or if his equipment had held up. But these things happen in racing, and when they do, they tend to occur in bunches.
True, Stewart shouldn't have ripped NASCAR on his Sirius satellite radio show last week and he shouldn't have compared the sport to pro wrestling, but Stewart is simply incapable of sugarcoating what he's feeling, which is why I've always found him to be one of the most compelling personalities in NASCAR.
Stewart will be just fine this season, and I still think he's one of five drivers who has a legitimate shot at the championship; the others being Jeff Gordon, Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton. Over the next month you can expect two things from Stewart: One, he'll assume a lower profile; and two, he'll reach Victory Lane -- maybe multiple times.
By Tim Tuttle
Tony Stewart had a bona fide reason for being angry following Sunday's race at Talladega. He went from a chance to win and, at minimum, a top-five finish to 28th with a wrecked car after David Gilliland bashed into the No. 20 from behind.
You also can understand a little finger-pointing at the driver Stewart initially thought caused the crash, Jamie McMurray, and some critical words directed at Gilliland's driving talent.
But Stewart needs to get over it and get back to business. Often in his Nextel Cup career, Stewart has allowed the frustrations of racing to carry over from week to week, continually forcing him in front of the media. That becomes a serious distraction as he goes through race weekend preparations for the race. With the state of competition in Cup, even a driver of Stewart's greatness can't afford it; he's hurting his chances to win races and score more points.
This season has seen a string of disappointments for Stewart. Each week something seems to go wrong, a pattern that has seemingly sent Stewart boiling over the last three weeks. After contact and spinning out twice sent him to tumbling to a 25th-place finish at Texas, Stewart talked of retirement. Second place at Phoenix the next week didn't do his disposition any good, either. Stewart didn't speak to the media following the race, but blasted NASCAR for throwing cautions for debris on his radio show the next Tuesday. He thought the yellows cost him victory.
Stewart's accusation the story last Friday at Talladega, where NASCAR summoned him to its transporter for a 6 a.m. meeting. The Powers That Be fined him $10,000 and put him on probation, but worse was Stewart having to go to the media center to explain himself when he should have been focusing on his race car.
Stewart, obviously, is unhappy with how this season has gone. If he wants to get it turned around, Stewart needs to get over it.
By Lars Anderson
No. Tony Stewart's worst enemy this season? Try horrific luck
Let's review:
• At the season opening Daytona 500, Stewart clearly had the fastest car in the field until ... he was wrecked.
• Three races later at Atlanta and he again had the elite car for much of the race and he would have won going away, but a late caution came out, the field was tightened, and Jimmie Johnson passed him in the final laps; Stewart finished second.
• The next week at Bristol Stewart was hands-down the quickest on the track until ... his fuel pump gave out and he wound up 35th.
• A month later, at Phoenix, his Home Depot Chevy was one of the two fastest racecars in the field, and he came in second. Then last week at Talladega he had a car capable of finishing in the top-three, but was wrecked on the last lap and wound up 28th.
These near misses and wrecks have clearly frustrated Stewart, and who can blame him? By my count he should have at least three wins this season if he hadn't been wrecked, or if the caution flags fell in his favor, or if his equipment had held up. But these things happen in racing, and when they do, they tend to occur in bunches.
True, Stewart shouldn't have ripped NASCAR on his Sirius satellite radio show last week and he shouldn't have compared the sport to pro wrestling, but Stewart is simply incapable of sugarcoating what he's feeling, which is why I've always found him to be one of the most compelling personalities in NASCAR.
Stewart will be just fine this season, and I still think he's one of five drivers who has a legitimate shot at the championship; the others being Jeff Gordon, Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton. Over the next month you can expect two things from Stewart: One, he'll assume a lower profile; and two, he'll reach Victory Lane -- maybe multiple times.
By Tim Tuttle
Tony Stewart had a bona fide reason for being angry following Sunday's race at Talladega. He went from a chance to win and, at minimum, a top-five finish to 28th with a wrecked car after David Gilliland bashed into the No. 20 from behind.
You also can understand a little finger-pointing at the driver Stewart initially thought caused the crash, Jamie McMurray, and some critical words directed at Gilliland's driving talent.
But Stewart needs to get over it and get back to business. Often in his Nextel Cup career, Stewart has allowed the frustrations of racing to carry over from week to week, continually forcing him in front of the media. That becomes a serious distraction as he goes through race weekend preparations for the race. With the state of competition in Cup, even a driver of Stewart's greatness can't afford it; he's hurting his chances to win races and score more points.
This season has seen a string of disappointments for Stewart. Each week something seems to go wrong, a pattern that has seemingly sent Stewart boiling over the last three weeks. After contact and spinning out twice sent him to tumbling to a 25th-place finish at Texas, Stewart talked of retirement. Second place at Phoenix the next week didn't do his disposition any good, either. Stewart didn't speak to the media following the race, but blasted NASCAR for throwing cautions for debris on his radio show the next Tuesday. He thought the yellows cost him victory.
Stewart's accusation the story last Friday at Talladega, where NASCAR summoned him to its transporter for a 6 a.m. meeting. The Powers That Be fined him $10,000 and put him on probation, but worse was Stewart having to go to the media center to explain himself when he should have been focusing on his race car.
Stewart, obviously, is unhappy with how this season has gone. If he wants to get it turned around, Stewart needs to get over it.
