Question:

Is this the tony you love, or the tony you love to hate?

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within the past couple of months, tony stewart has had his run-ins with the media and officials - first his attack on goodyear, then not only refusing to take marty snider's bait but then turning the hook back around and putting it in marty's mouth, and more recently his run-in with usac officials during last week's midget race.

but four interviews over the past few weeks have made it clear that tony has learned to bite his tongue somewhat, but has he really? don't get me wrong, i LOVE a good tony stewart quote and personally think these are some of the best he's ever given:

1) when asked weeks ago if it was true that he was going to buy into haas/cnc and take ryan newman as a second driver, tony responded "oh, no, no, no. I still have two arca teams I'm talking to, a [craftsman] truck team, and now the 5 car is available today. i still have a lot of work to do."

2) when asked about the pile-up at dover involving himself, elliot sadler and others tony immediately stood up and took the blame, "it's all my fault obviously. i should know better than to race within half a lap of elliot."

3) when asked about what he thought of the race overall at michigan in a post-race interview (just after nascar's "shut-up-and-drive" meeting), tony responded "i'd say ask mike helton. i don't know what we're allowed to say and what we're not. i'm just grateful to be a part of this."

4) at pocono friday, tony was asked whether the two 500-mile cup races at pocono, run just six weeks apart, are too long, he replied: “let me ask you a question: does my opinion really matter at the end of the day? and if I had an opinion, would it change anything? probably not. we’ll let dale (earnhardt) jr. do it, but i’m not sure my opinion counts.”

for me, i love this "lower-key" sarcasm that drips so thickly that the reporter asking often has to remove his shoes in order to be able to walk away.

what about you? is this the tony you love, or the tony you love to hate?

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21 ANSWERS


  1. Gotta love the "i dont care, up in your face" Tony.  I love his sarcastic wit.

    <still LMAO at #3>


  2. I absolutely love to love this guy.  His sarcasm and wit is priceless.  I love it that he stands up to the powers that be in NASCAR.  And look at #4....>>>>>>>>>>we’ll let dale (earnhardt) jr. do it, but i’m not sure my opinion counts.<<<<<<<<<<<<”

    Kind of brings to light what people have been saying all along...when even the people closest to Jr. believe he gets things his way at races.    I was so suspicious of the Michigan race...now there is no doubt.    

  3. i like tony. says what is on his mind, like you do but in a shorter version.  

  4. Tony is one of the only ones left that half way stands up to NASCAR... That's one of many things that makes Tony great in my book.  I would love to see more of the drivers say whats on their minds, instead of saying "NASCAR is doing all they can" and stuff like that!

  5. NO NO NO NO NO  i totally agree with tony sarcasm!......... i think tony is funny, i like tony new style, play low, but also give some low blows.............  i too get introuble all the time for doing that!  tony has learned to shut up, and he has learned finally what he can say and can not...... as far as him pushing the official, hey, stuff happens, when your in the heat of the moment, there stuff you can not control...... sometimes people do things and say thing they did not mean.... but life goes on!

    for his apolagy  i think tony did the right thing, that was a really big person to admit he was wrong, and offer to buy him a new uniform, and head set!

    i have been notices that, even at his picnics tony plays a low profile, and he is very sarcastic, and i like that, it good to see him have a great since of humor! prob his new woman ( Renee White ) robby gordon's ex-wife!

    i will always love tony i take the good with the bad, and that is what a true fan does, i might not agree with some of the stuff my driver does, put i have his back, i will support him all the way till the end! i would walk on hot coals for him, if i had to, that is how much tony means to me!


  6. I respect tony stewart for who he is & he will not back down from anyone or anything.

  7. I love this Tony.He is my favorite driver and was so glad he got 2nd today would have loved for him got him gotteton 1st But He did a Great job on the track today!  Tony would be boring if he tucked his tail in between his legs and walk away.

  8. Oh, no- you are absolutely correct. Nothing like well-placed sarcasm, I get in trouble for it all the time.

    I just hope the serious task of being an owner-driver doesn't tamper with his personality. I'd be mad. I count on Tony's comments every week! Hate? Never, ever. He is what he is, and there's nothing spiffed up a la Jimmy Johnson about him.

    But he took my drivers sponsor! I don't want to wear no duck!

  9. i love a smartass

  10. I LOVE THAT TONY! I love his sarcasm and the way he speaks his mind.

  11. It's the Tony we love, the humor he brings to NASCAR is priceless.

  12. he's alright

  13. He just destroyed Earnhardt Jr. Go TonY!!!

  14. Smoke is Smoke..you either love him or dislike him, ME>>LOVE HIM and the sarcasm he really does it well and often..wtg Smoke!  But for sure he does get his point across..

    Nice post, thanks!

  15. Tony is one those drivers who you love to see make a great quote!!

    NASCAR got me hooked in the 80's with all the personalities, Jaws vs. The Intimidator, Ricky Rudd, Cale vs Bobby and Donnie, my list could go on and on. With NASCAR curbing the enthusiasm so to speak now a days it's hard for drivers to show their personality. I respect Smoke that he's still brave enough to show his but disappointed he's getting more NPC==Nascar Politically Correct. If Nascar was like this back in the 80's would I be a fan today??? I want to say no but love it too much. NASCAR LET THEM BE WHO THEY ARE!

  16. I've never understood how anyone can NOT like him. He's a riot!!

    lol.@ #3 "I don't know what we're allowed to say and what we're not"

  17. That's the Tony I like to see, well not pushing of officials of any league/sanctioning body or media.

    But his comments are second to none in the garage area. He has that killer instinct on the race track which is what you need in this sport.

    Nascar needs to allow these drivers to talk again before they all become robots. They think if a driver like Tony talks about Nascar in the wrong way then fans won't come to the races etc blah blah blah, well news flash to Nascar, we the fans go watch the drivers, not to see what Nascar did or didn't do to solve an issue from a week ago.

    I have even seen Carl Edwards bite his tongue a few times, that is how far this robot personality that Nascar wants has gone.  

  18. Tony Stewart can't answer questions very well, and he doesn't  have enough wins lately to back up his sarcasm. Sarcasm is non-productive and that's what Tony Stewart is giving the viewing audience. Everytime he says something you have to sit back and "read between the lines" The guy has enormously hurt feelings and I don't know or care why. Maybe because he has Kyle Busch trying to be his mentor.Oh wait. That's right. Tony doesn't win until late in the season. What a joke. And people actually wanna go with that. Well, it's late in the season, and sarcasm isn't working too well. I don't swing either way on the love or hate poll, because it's way too obvious to me. I respect all the drivers, but you can't fool everyone with sarcasm. To me he just leaves himself hang out to dry. I would rather watch the guys from DEI than watch Tony Stewart. At least they have the power of ambition, which is what racing is all about. For every race Tony can't win, and for all the sarcastic remarks he makes about NASCAR, he just digs his hole deeper and deeper. Pretty soon his commentary is going to sound almost comical. Way to go Tony. A man with a powerful voice in the sport, and losing the ability to back it up. I hope Tony does better in the near future (with or without JGR) There's a reputation at stake here.

  19. I just think that this is way of giving it back to the idiots that run Nascar, without getting fined. I like the sarcastic Tony.

  20. Tony's definitely a brave guy to stand up to NASCAR like he has, and he's someone the sport needs for sure.

    So I would say that's the "Tony I love", even though I still call him stupid every time he says something, but that's because he does it knowing NASCAR will probably rage on him.

  21. peanut butter and Popsicles .

    however Tony did NOT buy into Hass-CNC.

    he was Given 50% ownership.

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