Stewart regrets wrestling comments;
Fined $10,000 for skipping press conference
(AP) - Before he was allowed in the
racetrack, NASCAR made sure Tony Stewart knew the rules.
Summoned to a 6 a.m. meeting Friday morning with top series officials,
the two-time champion retracted every bit of the sharp rant he launched
against NASCAR while admitting he damaged the sport's credibility by
likening it to professional wrestling.
``I'm sure I did hurt the integrity of it, and unfairly,'' he said.
Although Stewart wasn't punished for the comments he made on his weekly
Sirius Satellite Radio show, NASCAR did fine him $10,000 for skipping a
postrace news conference in Phoenix last week. He also was placed on
probation through the end of the year.
``I can assure you, Tony Stewart knows where he stands with NASCAR right
now,'' spokesman Jim Hunter said.
That was obvious as a humbled Stewart
issued several mea culpas after his hour-long meeting with NASCAR. His
team was forbidden from unloading Stewart's car until the meeting
concluded, forcing his crew to wait at Talladega Superspeedway while the
driver met with president Mike Helton, competition director Robin
Pemberton and series director John Darby.
``It's a little tender for me to sit down right now,'' Stewart
deadpanned after the meeting.
But Stewart otherwise was serious about the controversy he started by
accusing NASCAR of using bogus debris cautions to orchestrate the races.
The comments were made on his Tuesday night radio show, and in comparing
NASCAR to wrestling, Stewart perpetuated every stereotype that NASCAR
battles in mainstream America.
For that, some believed Stewart should have been punished severely.
``He's a spoiled little brat,'' rival car owner Felix Sabates said.
``NASCAR should suspend him -- park him for the rest of year.
Irresponsible comments like that affect the entire sport. If he was my
driver, I would have fired him on the spot.
``If he wasn't driving a race car, he'd be pumping gas at a service
station because his personality wouldn't get him hired anywhere else.''
But it's Stewart's personality -- and his willingness to speak his mind
-- that has made him one of NASCAR's most popular drivers. His nine-year
career has been rife with on-track dominance that's often overshadowed
by his off-track blunders.
``He's like the Rosie O'Donnell of NASCAR,'' four-time series champion
Jeff Gordon said. ``Controversy is something that he's used to. To me,
it brings a flavor to the sport.''
In this case, though, it also brought unfavorable attention.
Weary of untimely debris cautions this season, Stewart used his radio
show to question the validity of them. He alleged that NASCAR calls for
them when the leader is running away with a race or when a favorite
driver is about to be lapped.
``It's like playing God,'' he said on his show. ``They can almost
dictate the race instead of the drivers doing it. It's happened too many
times this year. I guess NASCAR thinks, 'Hey, wrestling worked, and it
was for the most part staged, so I guess it's going to work in racing,
too.' I can't understand how long the fans are going to let NASCAR treat
them like they're stupid before the fans finally turn on NASCAR.
``I don't know that they've run a fair race all year.''
NASCAR officiates its races from a tower above the track with an
eight-member team that includes Helton, Pemberton and Darby. Stewart
said the trio viewed his comments as a personal attack on them, and they
apparently spent much of the meeting explaining to Stewart how and why
cautions are called.
When it was over, Stewart was backpedaling.
``They assured me that every time they call a caution for debris on the
race track, there is legitimate debris out there,'' he said. ``Until
there is something that proves them wrong, that group of people -- I'm
going to believe.''
Stewart, who also said on his radio show that he had no contractual
obligation to speak to the media and NASCAR could not force him to, said
he learned Friday morning that also was wrong.
``I was 100 percent wrong on that one,'' he said.
NASCAR officials were frustrated they've had to resort to punishing
Stewart to get him to cooperate with their media policies, but insisted
Friday's fine was not retaliation for his radio rant.
Hunter said NASCAR tries to speak to drivers before issuing a penalty,
and in this case, Stewart would not return several phone messages left
for him during the week. Helton finally made contact with him Thursday
night at the track and called the early morning meeting.
The timing of the meeting was not lost on Stewart or his rival
competitors, who noted how difficult it must have been for the
notoriously nocturnal driver to make it.
But Stewart emerged from it with a clearer understanding of NASCAR
protocol, and a wish that he had voiced his complaints privately.
``I think I just went overboard on my delivery,'' he said. ``I've always
been rough around the edges and there hasn't been sandpaper or buffer
yet that can smooth me out. But that's what makes this sport what it is.
``If you have 43 guys all the same and all polished, all you got is
bunch of marbles running around out there.''
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