Stewart chastised by NASCAR,
apologizes for critical remarks
(AP) - Tony Stewart knows he can't fix
stupid. He only hopes NASCAR's image can be fixed after his scathing
accusations.
Stewart backed off recent comments comparing NASCAR to professional
wrestling, acknowledging Friday that he may have harmed the integrity of
the sport.
A two-time Nextel Cup Series champion, Stewart was called to a 6 a.m.
local time meeting with several NASCAR officials when the garage area
opened Friday morning at Talladega Superspeedway.
Addressing the media later in the day,
Stewart admitted the meeting was prompted by comments made on his
satellite radio show Tuesday, when he questioned the validity of debris
cautions and accused NASCAR of manipulating races.
A contrite Stewart admitted three days later that his accusations were
made in poor taste.
"I'm a lot of times my own worst enemy," he said. "You can't fix
'stupid' a lot of times. I'm getting better about not saying stupid
things at the wrong times, but I haven't totally cured it yet."
After finishing second behind Jeff Gordon in last Saturday's Subway
Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, a frustrated Stewart
skipped a mandatory post-race news conference.
But Stewart sounded off three days later on his weekly Sirius Satellite
Radio show, implying that results were orchestrated.
"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,'" Stewart
said. "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."
Stewart explained Friday that he missed the post-race conference because
he was disappointed with the high number of early cautions and did not
want to make inappropriate comments out of anger.
But he also realized how harmful his radio accusations were.
"I'm sure I did (hurt the sport)," Stewart said. "Everybody in this
building has made a living off of this sport. I've made a living off of
this sport. It's a lot of work and obligation. This is not a free ride
for anybody here."
Stewart claimed that the early meeting helped clarify several issues
regarding the use of debris cautions, and the fan favorite seemed
satisfied with the explanation he received.
"In talking to the officials I spoke to this morning, they assured me
that every time they call a caution for debris on the race track, there
is legitimate debris out there," he said. "And until there is something
that proves them wrong, that group of people I'm going to believe. I've
always trusted them and believed them in the past and I'm not looking
for something that's going to prove them wrong."
It certainly has been a frustrating start to the season for Stewart, who
had the dominant car at the Daytona 500 before being spun out by Kurt
Busch. The often irritable former champion also registered a runner-up
finish at Atlanta and is seventh in the Nextel Cup points standings.
Despite sympathizing with Stewart, Gordon thought his fellow racer was
out of line.
"I think Tony is just bringing more heat on himself," said Gordon, a
four-time series champion who owns a 74-point lead atop the current
standings. "If he wants to stay away from controversy and the media
center after a race, then he might want to be careful what you say on
Tuesday.
"I can understand why there can be a frustration. He's been in a
position to win a lot of races this year and it just hasn't happened.
And there have been some cautions that have been questionable to a lot
of us out there. But never once did I ever think that NASCAR was trying
to fix the race or change the outcome of the race."
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