Stewart Being Shown Favortism
Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 11:32am EDT
By Luke, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
Following last Saturday night’s event at Phoenix, Tony Stewart finished a strong 2nd. A position that 41 other drivers would have been ecstatic with. Well, not our ol’ buddy Flip-Flop here. Smoke was downright smoked after getting smoked with a dozen laps to go as he was passed for the lead which had only taken with a ballsy move a lap prior. It may have been a good points day, but according to Zippy [crew chief Greg Zipadelli] the team is feeling incredible internal pressure as they feel they should have had 4 or 5 victories this season but as a team haven’t capitalized.
Needless to say, Stewart left the facilities without a word to the media. He also failed to follow a NASCAR mandate where the top 3 finishing drivers have a mandated post-race media obligation in the media center, leaving his other two competitors (Gordon and Hamlin) to fend for themselves and answer “Where’s Tony” questions.
OK, so the guy was upset. We’ll give him that. He’d fought hard all night, and got beat. With a competitive nature that’s inherent in racers, it’s understandable to be upset over it. However, in the big picture he had a good night. Again, one that 41 other teams would have been thankful for if they couldn’t have had the top spot.
So enter the controversy with him ducking the NASCAR mandated post-race circus. With NASCAR being so focused on being in front of the media and getting attention, you’d think they would have threw a fit and brought down the wrath in the form of 12-4-A [Actions Detrimental To Stock Car Racing]. Yet, they won’t be doing so. Instead, they’ll be talking to Stewart and reminding him of his post-race obligations.
To be honest, we’re cool with that. But…
If this situation involved a different driver, usually one from the Hendrick camp, you would see the internet blasted with cries of favoritism and NASCAR conspiracy.
Since we like to pick on our ol’ buddy Flip-Flop here, we’ll make the cry for shenanigans just to stir it up a bit. Not necessarily because it’s a conspiracy. Just because 12-4-A is 12-4-A. Whether it’s tarnishing the image of NASCAR on the track during the race, pushing the gray areas of the law Rulebook, or making a “not so family oriented” comment (or gesture in Juan Pablo Montoya’s case) during an interview/media coverage; A violation which is “detrimental to stock car racing” is just that.
By blowing off the media, Stewart portrayed an “I don’t respect NASCAR” attitude. Whether intentional or not. Had he or any of the top 3 drivers jumped out of the car and been physically ill, and literally unable to meet these obligations that is one thing. But after a short 312 mile stint at Phoenix, and the “new and improved” fitness and health of Tony, he wasn’t dehydrated or anything of the sort. He was just flat out pissed, blew it off and we’ve seen nor heard any information to the contrary.
With his actions and portraying this attitude Saturday night, it indeed sent a signal to the media of a lack of respect for NASCAR. Intentionally portrayed or not, that’s the message received. A message that NASCAR doesn’t like, and responds with 12-4-A and a little monetary reminder that the driver needs them and not the other way round.
Montoya flipped a bird to someone he thought was a friend when horsing around, but it happened to be live TV, and he gets a $10k reminder. So disrespecting NASCAR by blowing off a mandated media gig post-race is less disrespectful to NASCAR and stock car racing? I don’t think it is, and so NASCAR has dropped the ball. Even if it were $5k, or half that, it would still be something. Although considering a bird cost $10k, $15 probably wouldn’t have been out of line. It’s not like he wasn’t aware of the surrounding circumstances, so it was deliberate.
As a NASCAR driver, you have a responsibility. Several, in fact. They just come with the territory, and it’s part of the job. Just like any other job on the planet, they all have certain responsibilities. From the fry cook at your local burger joint, to Steve Jobs running Apple (we like Apple, if you haven’t figured it out yet), to anyone else employed around the world. Whether it’s for someone else, yourself or whatever. If you have a job, you have a responsibility. You think the losing coach of the Super Bowl or the NBA Finals wants to sit down with the media after the game? No but they still do it regardless because it’s part of the job, and not every aspect of any job is always roses and happy happy, joy joy.
No matter which driver it is, the post-race media center interview for the top 3 is a known part of the job. From Derrike Cope trying to make a couple races a year, to Kevin Harvick, to Jeff Gordon, to Kenny Wallace and yes, even Tony Stewart.
Really there are two parties to question here. Stewart for blowing it off, and NASCAR for their response. Folks in the media that were sitting in the media center should have questions too. They had content to write for whomever they write for, and in general quotes from the top 3 are expected. So they were unable to deliver on that, so shouldn’t they have questions as well? Don’t they deserve an answer?
Could it be that Stewart was afraid he would say something “stupid” again, and have it follow him around in the media for weeks like his recent “retirement” comment at Texas? If that’s the case, it still doesn’t make it right and is no excuse. Any driver out there has been “groomed” for the media in one way or another. At the very least, they know to keep answers short if in a pressure situation.
Is it really that hard? For Stewart, who sometimes lets his emotions get the best of him, it certainly seems so. He does bring a passion and fire to the sport. The sport needs that. It needs passionate drivers, who aren’t emotional robots. It also needs drivers who are responsible enough to fulfill their obligations.
Filed Under: Drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing #20, Nascar, Nextel Cup, Phoenix, Teams, Tony Stewart, Tracks
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Luke with Stewart”s comments on his radio show piled on top of his actions at the track Saturday, it seems to me that Tony is actually attempting in influence the way that NASCAR runs it’s races. Shunning the post race interview could have been a show of temper. But couple that with the radio stuff–there seems to be too much there for a tantrum. Maybe he is really trying to force change. Might not be the right way to do it, but it’s a way.
I won’t disagree with that one bit.
I was reading Newt’s comments on it earlier this morning, and pretty much thought the same way. However, I don’t agree with the methods used.
Stewart says the appearance isn’t in his contract, but it’s on the entry blank that has his name on it.
If he was really that upset, why not confront it head on instead of hiding on his radio show?
I will agree with his point that there have been far too many “mysterious” debris cautions. When network television openly states that if there’s debris on the track, and that they will find and show it if it exists, to me that says there is a problem.
What I haven’t seen proof for, as of yet, is that NASCAR is orchestrating races through these cautions. Yes, it is one logical conclusion. On the flip side is it possible that through binoculars in the tower that debris which may be harmless looks more threatening? Perhaps.
A caution for a hot dog wrapper didn’t used to be an issue. With the COT we learned that even pulling up behind someone won’t drop the force on the nose enough for something to slide off. Unfortunately Jamie’s “bunny magic” couldn’t even get it off and he was forced to take a Top 10 car and stick it in the pits. OK, so that was a tear-off and not a hot dog wrapper, but still the same result.
In theory, that wrapper can now lead to safety issues if someone gets one on their grill and blows up in traffic. Now will NASCAR throw a caution for every little piece of junk on the track? They very well might. If that is the case forthcoming, it’s going to be a bad time for all involved. Unless you’re a lap down a getting a free ride.
Now if it’s a legitimate piece of junk on the track that could cut tires or cause damage (like pieces of the track coming up as witnessed at Martinsville and Bristol), then by all means make the track safe for racing.
I’m all for the fact that there are too many mysterious cautions, but I still don’t see anything concrete that they are intentionally B.S. calls from the tower yet. I’m not saying it isn’t possible, but there are a lot of people that would have to keep their mouth shut about it. You would figure that at least one person would leak it. After all, it isn’t like Brian, Mike, or Robin have death threats out to keep it quiet.
Say what you want but Reutimann blew last week & the race kept going until everybody was in proper?position.Hamlin was leading at Darlington & the yellow was thrown,then the red. Both times Hendricks was in position to take advantage of it. That’s not the only time this year.It is a little suspicious when the same teams get the benefits race after race. I’m glad that Denny won in spite of that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bill Strong said this on May 12th, 2007 at 2:46 am
Gee Bill, I’m really sure Bobby Labonte wanted to end up bashing the inside wall for that caution. And, they followed their precedence with the laps winding down, and the time it would take to get the mess cleaned up. So no, I don’t buy that.
I won’t disagree that the caution was a tick slow when Reut blew up at Talladega, but considering where it was it’s a long view from the boxes on the front stretch where the yellow’s called from. It wasn’t like a minute passed, but initially without TV it could have been a tire rub. I’m not making excuses for the Helton gang, mind you, but under the circumstances I don’t see it as anything of the sort. Even with Officials along the back, it still takes a few seconds to communicate up to the tower and get it out.
So it’s not a conspiracy, it’s simply the fact that the Hendrick cars are shit hot right now. The being the case, they probably will be close to the lead when a yellow flies. If it were any other team than Hendrick on a roll right now, this wouldn’t be a topic.
Give them credit where credit is due. They’ve been busting their butts and the effort is showing. They adopted the COT early on, and worked with it as much as they could. In turn, the other teams “admittedly” have said that they are behind the ball on it.
That being the case, it’s no surprise that while some teams didn’t take it serious as soon as they should have, those that did (HMS, Gibbs, etc) are running very well in the COT.
So, is it the fault of those teams that they embraced the COT early and the others didn’t? Nope, and lesson learned. They’ll catch up, eventually.