[SteelPhoenyx]

I don't know... he's looking a bit more trim than he did last year.

[Souporscotty]

Originally Posted by SteelPhoenyx

I don't know... he's looking a bit more trim than he did last year.

The weight just all went to his head.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Souporscotty

The weight just all went to his head.

So Scotty ... I'm just taking a shot in the dark here but I'm gonna guess your answer to the title of this thread is a resounding NO !!!

[meat]

Originally Posted by SteelPhoenyx

I don't know... he's looking a bit more trim than he did last year.

It must be those Subway sandwiches, or maybe the tv dinners he's been hawking in ads.

I admire Tony for the restraint he has shown with his anger the last couple of years. He was a hothead in the past, not doubt about it, but at one point he seemed to have calmed down. People in Indiana attribute it to him having a place back in Columbus, his home town. I think he hired a better PR firm to teach him how to react to situations.

Regardless of his temper, he is a masterful driver.

[LSC9901]

NASCAR's 'wrestling' tactics cost it fans
NASCAR "playing God" ... imagine that.

Want to find a competitor with the stones to opine that belief outside of his motorcoach?Then tune into Tony Stewart Live on Sirius Radio. Typically by the time the show airs on Tuesday nights, the two-time NASCAR champion has had enough down time to calmly and coolly deliver a well-crafted and concise review from the race before — even if "Smoke's" post-race temperament won't allow him the liberty to do so immediately after the checkered flag falls.

And last Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway was no exception, as Smoke left the building before the obligatory press conference. It was the safe solution. Stewart dominated the Subway 500. Despite leading 132 laps, he lost the point in the pits on the final caution and didn't have enough car to hold Jeff Gordon off at the end.
Stewart shared the agony of defeat with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, who forfeited the race lead on Lap 99 after NASCAR threw a caution for debris.
Stewart was concerned that the post-race comments he'd direct at the sanctioning body would be misconstrued through the media. So Sirius' King of all Media (NASCAR division) sounded off through his own medium.
"I was disappointed for Denny because I knew he had the fastest car and probably should have led the whole damn race but he had a penalty that he had to go to the tail of the longest line for and that was pretty early in the race when NASCAR was making sure they kept as many guys on the lead lap as possible," Stewart said.
"The aggravation for me was I didn't want to go in the media center and bash NASCAR. I don't mind doing it on my own radio show but you do it with some of these other guys and they're going to write it wrong and make it sound worse than what it is or whatever."
The drivers are sick of being persecuted by NASCAR after voicing an opinion or expressing a concern in public. They're tired of the at-track officiating that follows, whether it's not passing first inspection, being delayed during practice or by the convenient debris cautions that seem to pop up on a whim.
"Anybody that thinks this debris caution stuff is the right direction for NASCAR, I think you're crazy," Stewart added. "We caught the pack. We caught Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick and no (sooner) than we caught them when a debris caution came out. Well, why would you do that when you've got three guys in a battle for the lead?
"I was coming so fast it was inevitable I was going to go around those guys and, of course, NASCAR throws a debris caution."
The funny thing is, the TV cameras failed to find the debris — even at the insistence of Darrell Waltrip in the booth. If NASCAR wants to manipulate the action why not throw a competition caution? After all, isn't that what it is?
"After I got home everybody was telling me how the TV said if they could find the debris they would show it but they couldn't find it," Stewart said. "I don't know how long NASCAR thinks they can treat the fans like they're ignorant before the fans finally start turning on the officials and say, 'Listen, let these guys race.' "
Smoke is right. NASCAR fans are astute when it comes to the sport. There's not much that gets by the fans, especially with TV covering every aspect of racing from the drivers' lives to the drivers' meeting. Fans keep up with both the competitors and the rules. But if NASCAR is alienating its drivers, how long before it does the same thing to the fans?
"To me, it's not all about the money," Stewart said. "It's about the integrity of the race and the integrity of the sport and when I feel like our own sanctioning body isn't taking care of that it's hard to support them.
"It's hard to feel proud about being a driver in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series when they're throwing debris cautions. It's like playing God. They can almost dictate the race at that point instead of the drivers doing it. It's happened too many times this year and it's to the point to where you just get so frustrated."
If NASCAR can't police itself, perhaps it's time to organize an independent officiating body that would make honest calls that wouldn't be influenced by the party agenda.
"I would say yes to that if we get to the point when things can't be handled and come completely unraveled," said Lowe's Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler. "I don't really see that totally happening at this point. There are some negative things going on right now. TV ratings are down. Attendance is flat. Although I'm not sure with a few twists we couldn't turn that around.
"We got to get back to where the fans feel better about things and we've taken the thing off in directions that perhaps we shouldn't have."
For a sport that used to revel in its history, the new regime has forgotten its roots. And the core fans are dropping as fast as Smoke sped out of Phoenix.


[i]Lee Spencer is a senior NASCAR writer for FOXSports.com.

[trollmc08]

LSC that sounds like what we have been saying for a while.

[tbalt]

Yes to answer the original question in the post title, he is a very good driver and as a fan I too wish he would keep quiet sometimes to stay out of the media except for this week.
But there are other extremes when interviewing such as Mark Martin, it just pains me listening to him talk.

[dbljmj]

Tony Stewart is that kid that we all grew up with that got mad when he didn't get the football and cried about it.

[thunderfoot]

An old chief told me once to give credit where credit is due, even if the zero (officer) is a jerk. Well here is a shining example. Tony is a very gifted driver. But then if I had the seat time he has I would be that good. I would just have a better head when it comes to the press. If Tony wasnt such a jerk at times what would we ***** about? We have a sport that is rich every week with controversy. We have the possibility of having a crew chief fined or suspended, owners and drivers docked points, and a multitude of other things that the home office can all of a sudden say is against the rules. Or my favorite, "Detrimental to the sport of stock car racing." Just like the UCMJ's article that covers everything else the previous article's dont.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by thunderfoot

An old chief told me once to give credit where credit is due, even if the zero (officer) is a jerk. Well here is a shining example. Tony is a very gifted driver. But then if I had the seat time he has I would be that good. I would just have a better head when it comes to the press. If Tony wasnt such a jerk at times what would we ***** about? We have a sport that is rich every week with controversy. We have the possibility of having a crew chief fined or suspended, owners and drivers docked points, and a multitude of other things that the home office can all of a sudden say is against the rules. Or my favorite, "Detrimental to the sport of stock car racing." Just like the UCMJ's article that covers everything else the previous article's dont.

Well said T-foot. Well said. I will totally agree that Tony is a very gifted driver. I'm not so sure that many of us or even the current crop of cup drivers match up to his ability and drive to win. He just needs to stop looking at the world through his belly button.

[PettyBlue]

Tony is a pure driver not a PR guy.He puts his sponser's car on TV a ton during races.If FRANCECAR makes him go to the media after a race all he has to do in response is say two words and keep saying them to every question asked,No Comment!That would burn the France powers up,lol.

[thunderfoot]

Originally Posted by PettyBlue

Tony is a pure driver not a PR guy.He puts his sponser's car on TV a ton during races.If FRANCECAR makes him go to the media after a race all he has to do in response is say two words and keep saying them to every question asked,No Comment!That would burn the France powers up,lol.

Now that idea I would applaude Tony for doing. Not many drivers has the nut sack to do that. But Tony might.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by PettyBlue

Tony is a pure driver not a PR guy.He puts his sponser's car on TV a ton during races.If FRANCECAR makes him go to the media after a race all he has to do in response is say two words and keep saying them to every question asked,No Comment!That would burn the France powers up,lol.

I have to believe that his sponsor wants their name mentioned after the race as much as possible. My guess is that pleading the 5th won't work with the sponsors.

[checkerboard_charly]

Depends on what day it is.

[rich1va]

I only support Tony because he is direct. Says whats on his mind!


As far as racing I'd rather have a toothache.