Tony Stewart on the death of Dale Earnhardt at the 2001 Daytona 500 and More in Full Interview

race cars come in a variety of shapes and sizes  but as long as it has four tires and a steering   wheel my guest tonight has probably driven it  to a checkered flag since winning his first   racing trophy at age nine Anthony Wayne Stewart  has been a Mainstay in Victory Lan he's won   championships in usack indie car and three times  in the Nascar Cup Series but before racing in   the Indie 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same  day did you know he played trombone in his high   school jazz band work the McDonald's drive-thru  during his early racing days was nicknamed the   Rushville rocket tonight we'll learn what makes  this undeniable icon who he is a man who once   said I'm not a race car driver I'm a racer  please welcome the man they call Smoke Tony Stewart how are you as a passenger seat guy  so somebody else is driving you how are you   I can tell you just from the fiance alone I'm  a terrible passenger because I literally feel   like I'm taking my life in my own hands every  time she drives the car I've just learned if   I can find something to look at on my phone and  not see the accident that's coming up' be a lot   easier for me how close were you growing up to  the indd 500 literally 1 hour a 1 hour drive to   the Indianapolis Motor Speedway what was it about  cars that all of a sudden you went this is this   is who I am it's easy that was my dad that was my  dad's influence from day one I mean he was he was   a recreation racer I mean he didn't make a living  doing it it was a hobby to him and uh ever since   I can remember as a little kid we always went  to races he had go-karts in the in the garage   yeah when I started racing we had go-karts in the  garage and I would work on those with him how old   were you I started when I was eight what kind  of parent was your dad he was a warden when I   was young I was not uh I don't know I didn't get  in a lot of trouble but um he was he was pretty   Stern I mean especially when we started racing  he was uh he definitely wanted you to focus no   matter what it was we were talking about what we  were doing why we were doing it he wanted you to   be really focused on it sometimes though we do  what our dad does to get his attention or you   want love was that part of this at all no I just  what I could whatever I could do to get to keep   from getting yelled at I was happy so but that was  you know at the same time even though I got yelled   at a lot I mean I was doing something at the age  of 8 nine 10 with my father that none of my other   friends got to do with their fathers I mean to go  to the racetrack and to travel around to different   racetracks uh with my dad and to learn lessons  that you know a lot of times when you're a kid   you're you're just busy being a kid and and  you don't really think about the lessons that   are being taught to you you don't realize till  later on what you learned and uh but the things I   learned from my father were you know you couldn't  put a value to that and and to have that kind of   time together I mean he was he was very busy with  work uh but he always made time for our racing and   uh that was something that was very important to  both of us what was your mom like growing up she   was the polar opposite of my dad so she was she  was the one that uh was always happy when I got   in trouble she would do what she needed to do as  a parent but for the most part she was she's the   one that's just always always sweet and kind and  and uh is awesome but she said that you were so   competitive when it starts with she said she said  there's nothing good going come out this that you   were so competitive with everything especially  board games and she said that you wouldn't let   her go to bed until you were able to beat her in a  board game how am I doing so far we that's pretty   accurate it's pretty accurate it's the sad part is  it's still accurate to this day we we we still at   family functions still play the same board games  and uh and everybody in our family hates equally   hates to lose but they just know that I hate to  lose worse than anybody else so when I lose they   all take satisfaction and watching the agony of  defeat any other sports no it was always it was   always racing with me was everything I mean that's  that's all ever since I was a little kid that's   all I ever thought about was racing remember your  first sponsor at the age of nine I had Dairy Queen   as a sponsor so you got to go to Dairy Queen after  every race every Saturday night after we raced   at the fairgrounds we loaded up and took about 20  people to Da Queen and whatever trophy we won that   night whether we won or finished third or whatever  it went on the on the counter and stayed there   till the end of the year but I I thought I was the  coolest kid in the world because I got a $1 free   chocolate shake every Saturday night and I would  sit there and my buddies would have to pay for   theirs and I got mine in my hand and didn't have  to pay for it 12 years old you win a championship   y uh it's actually the first time we ever left our  our home track at our local Fairgrounds we drove   to uh Oskaloosa Iowa in 1983 and uh we get to this  race track and it was I mean it was first class   for a go-kart track you know normally at the track  we raced at at home we had 10 12 kids kids that we   raced against here we had 20 some odd kids that we  were racing against and I knew none of them so it   was the first time that ever got to race outside  of our home track raced with totally new guys and   uh a track that I'd never been to what was that  feeling like that first win I knew that one was   big I mean I cuz we we had planned on going to  that race for months then I realized from Mark   dismore who we bought our parts from at the time  uh from him and his family and and my father how   big this race really was and and uh what it was  going to mean there was a point where our where   my parents mortgaged their house just to go just  so we had money to go race go-karts and how old   are you probably 12 13 years old but the problem  was you can mortgage the house for it but go-kart   races give you trophies you're not making money  that's putting it back into the house so uh did   you realize they' mortgage the house that second  Mortage I didn't understand what a mortgage was   at that age even but when I realized that it was  putting us in a financial buy and doing that I   it wasn't it didn't even come across my mind why  we were in a financial crunch but um it it put us   in a bind after we did that your dad had to see  something special in you to do that what did he   say it was either that or he just was insane  and didn't realize what he was doing but I I   don't know I think every father wants to think  their son can be the next Jeff Gordon or Jimmy   Johnson or I don't know I don't I really don't  know what my father really saw I I think we just   enjoyed going racing together when when did  you know that you were good I just knew I was   having fun doing what I was doing I mean we when  you it's the racing ladder is kind of like the   business ladder I mean you start at the bottom  and you work your way up and and so I was just   having fun doing what I was doing and and luckily  we were winning races at the same time and that   created more opportunities but I think in in 94  when we won the our first national championship   with uh the United States Auto Club that was the  the first time that I was like we we might we   might be something we got the opportunity to drive  for a local guy in town that had build a brand new   car and didn't have a lot of money to run it and  I didn't have money to give him to drive it but my   dad gave him $500 for me to run five races in it  and we won two of the three races and ran second   in one of them so the guy kept me but to have a  job to where I could at least make money and gas   money and everything I needed to do I I had I had  to work somewhere so I worked at McDonald's I mean   I did every job they had at McDonald's um and in  that time period when I was racing three quarter   midgets I worked day maintenance so I I would come  in at 4:00 in the morning and work till noon and   uh that would give me the evenings off to go race  and there were times that I would get in at 2 or   3:00 in the morning from a race and literally get  in the shower get changed and go to work at what   point does Jeff Gordon come on your radar that he  has money or he has sponsors I actually saw Jeff   Gordon race at Bloomington which is a town uh 30  minutes from my house but I watched Jeff Gordon   run a Wings Sprint car when he was 16 years old  and I was 16 years old and I'm like man that's   that's what I want to do I want to be where he  is why did he get to do that so you were aware   of Jeff Gordon's greatness yeah absolutely were  you jealous oh hell yeah yeah who wasn't I mean   anybody that wanted to be a race car driver was  if you were around that age you were definitely   je jealous of Jeff and this is a money sport how  hard was it for you at that time where you're   struggling trying to make ends meet oh yeah  absolutely I mean I still lived at home with   with my mom my parents had divorced by then um it  was my my mom and sister and I and I used to get   in so much trouble because I was trying to I would  call Car owners left and right trying to get rides   to drive their cars well there weren't any of them  local so everything was long distance so literally   my paycheck went to paying for gas money and the  telephone bill how desperate were you to get from   one track to another because you're racing a lot  of different things yeah at the time we always had   t-shirts that we would sell at the races and um  after the races were over the fans would come down   in the pit area and there were times that if you  had a bad night you had to we would literally stay   till they would shut the lights off and make us  leave if there were if there was anybody that was   even remotely interested in what we had we that  was a lot of times the difference between making   it to the next track and not making it was selling  one more shirt to have that $20 for gas money to   get to the next race what kind of cars are we  racing at this time so sprint cars and then what   they call midgets which is a four cylinder car uh  that's a little smaller than a Sprint car that's   what we raced a lot in California uh we raced at  Bakersfield we raced in Hanford we raced Ventura   uh and those were the races when we when we came  out west uh and ran the TV races that's when   people really started noticing who we were but you  would do anything to race yeah absolutely and at   that time you still don't have money no working  every crap job you can imagine I mean I worked   at a ski resort in the summer that had go-karts  and an I know that I have to really quickly go   they had go-karts and an Alpine Slide but um yeah  it was I mean you worked really bad jobs I sealed   parking lots in the middle of the night I uh  I drove a recer for a buddy of mine that had   a couple tow trucks and how do you keep the dream  alive here just keep going I mean it was literally   just you literally it was whatever money you had  was spent to do what you were doing you didn't   have a plan B no thank God where would you be  without racing I have no clue I I honestly have no   clue do you have any other Talent no no that's it  that's it you uh you won the Triple Crown explain   the Triple Crown the importance of that I think  you were the first person to win the Triple Crown   in usack so the Triple Crown the United States  Auto Club has three National divisions they have   the [ __ ] series the Sprint Car Series and silver  crown series and we ended up winning all three   National championships in the same year and that  doesn't happen we were actually the second driver   to ever win all three divisions but we were the  first to win them all in one year what did that   mean for your popularity or potential sponsors or  team owners coming after you oh it was huge it was   huge that was the difference we had done something  nobody had done in the sport you nobody ever had   ever won all three championships in one season and  uh you know I'd been working with Lauren orer for   a year up to that point and his father was the one  that owned the 28 Hardies car that kale ybr drove   in NASCAR and they got out the sport and we're  coming back in and his son Lauren was and is a   Great Scout a great talent scout when it comes  to race car drivers and u i remember he came to   a lot of races and we spent a lot of time together  and we're working on trying to get something put   together to go to NASCAR in in '96 and so went in  the Triple Crown in that year that we were working   on all this just felt fell right into play but  at the same time then Tony George developed the   IRL which is the Indie Car Series and I had tested  with AJ Foy so I get the test for my all-time hero   and here's the legend of the sport yeah and and a  guy that was my hero ever since I could remember   as a kid and um I I made it through the test he  offered me the job to race in the IRL the next   year and like I said I'd been working with the  reneer family to to do something in NASCAR and   so I asked the reneer family I said hey would you  be upset if I ran these five races for AJ and then   ran whatever races you wanted on the side because  they didn't want to run a full-time schedule that   first year they were all for it AJ on the other  hand was not all for it he said you're either   Racing for me or or nothing and I'd put a a year  of investment into working with these guys and and   it was coming along really well for the NASCAR  side so uh I actually had to to turn my alltime   hero down on an opportunity to for him how was  that conversation that was one of the hardest   decisions I ever made in my life but but it was  uh I went to Australia that winter uh I got hired   to run a [ __ ] over in Australia for three weeks  and uh while I was over there I actually signed my   first NASCAR contract with the rers and literally  the day that I got home from Australia Carrie   agajanian called and U you know car's family had  been involved in racing for years and Carrie goes   you need to be on the first plane you can be  on tomorrow to to go to Orlando why why am I   going to Orlando he goes you're testing an indie  car for team manard so uh I literally got home   on a Sunday was on an airplane Monday morning at  7:30 and flew down that's when they had the uh the   racetrack at Disney world that's where they were  going to run the first IRL race give us a sense   of getting behind the wheel of of one of these  cars how complicated is it well everything about   it was complicated for me CU I'd never even been  around one other than than just a couple test days   and they kept it very simple then all of a sudden  you go down and and I show up at the racetrack and   Eddie chever driving the car he tests the whole  first day and and so I kind of just stand back   and watch and listen and meet the crew guys and  I remember having my uniform on and it was just   like the opening scene of Days of Thunder I I was  standing at the wall had my helmet in my hand my   gloves in my hand and Eddie chever gets out of  the car at noon after he gets done with his test   literally climbs over the wall pokes me in the  chest and he goes if you if you crash this car or   put a scratch on I'm going to kill you doesn't it  never said a word to me the whole time I was there   that was the first words he said to me and turned  around walked off and went straight to the airport   so I'm scared to death getting in this car like if  I do anything this guy I wasn't really scared that   he was going to kill me because I was pretty sure  I could kick his ass but but I didn't want to have   to be in that position but um yeah what really  made him mad was when I went a tenth of a second   faster than he did at the end of the day nice so  it was a good test but you're getting in how did   they know that you could drive this everybody had  known that we did the test with AJ but but you've   driven all these different cars but now now you're  behind something like these are Big Boys big boy   cars this was a 950 horsepower turbocharged rear  engine car and everything I'd driven the motors   were in front of me now to get in something where  the motors behind me and you're way down in it   was completely different than running dirt tracks  in Indiana put us in the cockpit what's it what's   it look like the instrument panel crazy it was  crazy cuz you have an electronic Dash and there   were buttons there that I literally did not know  what the buttons did and most of them I didn't   know what they did and they're not labeled no not  at all they're just different colors and this and   that but there's bars that you can change change  all kinds of settings on on sway bars in the car   and boost knobs and everything else so I mean they  literally would have to it was so overwhelming I   couldn't remember everything thing in such a  short amount of time CU When we did the test   all I did was drive the car but you have to learn  on the job and it can be a painful lesson learning   on the job in in driving yeah I've got plenty of  titanium rods and screws in my body to prove that   any fear when you get behind the wheel no are  you allowed to have fear well I I think I think   there's a little bit of it that is constructive  keeps you from making really bad mistakes but I   think that's more learned than it is natural I  mean I I never got behind the wheel of a race   car and was scared to be in the race car I think  the fear is that you're not going to be fast if   there's any fear at all let's take a look at your  first IRL race it takes place in Orlando back at   the front of the field buddy lazir the purple  91 car and that's Tony Stewart in the 20 car   that bright yellow and orange machine closing  up coming by and Tony Stewart is going for the   lead and he's got it boy there's the dream of the  short trackers come true and now Falin makes his   move on Stewart and boy he just comes around him  now out we've got two cars into the wall in turn   one one 11 laps to go did you see what happened  up thereon Scott went around between the wall and   Scott sharp he went between him he's got to be  careful whether he pick up a pun the emergency   vehicles blocked him and he had to go there and  he decided if he had to to treat it like a dune   buggy or a tank go over that stuff around I don't  blame Falcons chase by Stewart this is a run to   the finish at a brand new racetrack Walt Disney  World Speedway and Buzz Falin has taken it and   Tony Stewart comes up and gives him a salute as he  finishes in second place pretty impressive second place it it wasn't bad for a uh for first race  in an indie car I wasn't I I was I was beyond e   static about the finish of that but that wreck we  uh the scary part is and I didn't realize it it's   my first indie car race I have no clue that the  carbon fiber body parts are really sharp and to   drive over that wreckage could have cut a tire  down well those cars at that speed if the tire   goes down you're going to crash and we literally  were within I think we had six laps to go when we   took the green and Larry Curry is like did you  run over anything I said yeah I I ran over lot   of stuff he goes do you think you have a flat I  have I said I have no idea I have no clue I said   it doesn't feel like anything's flat doesn't  feel like any tires soft but I wasn't sure I   would have known what a soft tire felt like  anyway but you know luckily I mean literally   they looked at at the tires after the after  the race and there were a couple slices in it   that didn't go deep enough into the tread to  create a problem but I mean it it could have   been the difference between running second and  be being a second team in our car that crashed   so you've established success in IRL but what  are your goals right now you know at that point   we didn't know what was going to happen in in  the IRL it was a new league um they went from   five races to 11 races the second season uh I  had a three-year contract with manard to drive   there and then after the first year with reneer I  pretty much crashed every race car that we had on   the NASCAR side that first year I just couldn't  get couldn't get it figured out and I don't know   I don't know what was wrong I just never I think  a lot of it was all the tires that I had raced on   up to that point are what they call a bias ply  tire versus the indie car tires and the NASCAR   tires were a radial tire so they they had a a  lot stiffer feel to it and when when it would   break free and lose traction I it was like when  it went it just went and I didn't see it coming   like like I would a bias play tire and it took me  a little longer to to get used to those tires no   control over well I just for some reason couldn't  get the feel of it and you know finally one day   it clicked and it all started coming around but  it took a little longer to to get used to those   tires than anything so competitively you have  to look at this that I want championships now   oh yeah that was probably some of the most fun  that I ever had in racing was that period of time   because I was I had a NASCAR job I had my indie  car ride I was still racing midgets and sprint   cars and anything that I could get in but to be  able to be an indie car and NASCAR at the same   time nobody was doing that so you're on the verge  of your first IRL championship and this is how   it played out for Tony here we go with the battle  for the championship green is out here we go both   Hamilton side by side everybody crowds up behind  Stewart and Robbie Fuel and there goes Salazar   under Hamilton Here Comes Stewart trying to get  Hamilton as well Hamilton has to keep Stewart well   behind him Salazar comes off the corner he'll see  that white flag Tony Stewart's going to breathe a   little easier too W boy this Championship comes  right down to the wire while Tony Stewart takes   the championship they've got to be celebrating  down in the Menard pits as well with Tony Stewart see that is proof  that I was skinny at one time but it wasn't long ago you're working at  McDonald's yeah and here you are Champion   what' your dad say about that moment that was  a proud father that was one of the few times   I ever saw my father cry so uh that was that  was a moment that uh that was pretty special I   I think the only time before that that I had  ever seen him cry was September or the year   before Las Vegas when I crashed and but that  was that was a pretty cool moment to go from   the worst injury up to that point that I'd ever  had in a race car and then to go a year later at   the same Racetrack and win the championship  was pretty amazing you signed with Joe Gibbs   when did you realize this relationship was going  to be special uh I think in 99 was my first year   in the cup series with him driving for Home  Depot that was that first year was amazing   and it that was the year that I really you know I  finally got to race against Jeff Gordon I got to   race against uh Dale Earnhardt senior Rusty  Wallace all these big guys that I'd looked   up to this was my my chance to finally race  with those guys Tony Stewart who led 225 of   the 500 laps at rol has caught Jeff Gordon  didn't take him long no it did boy does he   have a great race car tonight a rookie has not  won a NASCAR Winston Cup race since 1987 here   comes Tony Stewart off the corner and in his 25th  NASCAR Winston Cup race Tony Stewart wins at Rich   International Raceway becomes the first rookie in  Winston Cup racing to win since Dave Allison at over see I I was still skinny yeah yeah I didn't  like that angle there but but I saw you really   looking really I did I looked a little longer  than I should have I appreciate you appreciate me   how did that feel it was awesome I mean you know  every Sunday I turned on the TV and was watching   all the NASCAR races when even when I was racing  go-karts we that was what you did I mean well we   hadn't won a race at that point but we had led  333 laps of 400 lap race and that was that race   alone gave me the confidence that I could and  every time we made a pit stop I would drop back   I would get the lead we'd come into the pits I  would come out Sixth and then have to pass those   guys and I would pass them every every restart I  would finally work my way back to the front and   every every time I did that I just gave me more  confidence during the race satisfaction of beating   Gordon loved it loved it I mean he didn't want me  beating him and of course I wanted to beat him so   uh you know to to finally get in a position where  you know pass him for the lead and and win a race   was was something I look forward to how did the  idea how was it hatched that you were going to   do brickyard and the Coca-Cola in the same day  a total of 11100 100 miles Larry Curry who was   our competition director at Menard and myself and  another gentleman uh formed TriStar Motorsports   and had our own Indie Car team together and so  the big part of that was they wanted me to run   Indie 500 that day so you go to Indianapolis you  run the 500 and then you fly down to Charlotte   and you run the Coca-Cola 600 that evening why  was it so important to you because Indie was   important to me the Indianapolis 500 ever since  I was a kid did I mean that was the race that I   wanted to win and so I had a three-year contract  with Menard and and you know the first the first   year there I led 44 the first 44 laps of the race  and blew a motor um ran fifth the year before and   uh but still didn't win it so I wanted to go  back and try to win that race one time and so   when we had our team it was like I'll come run  the 500 and I had to get Gibbs to sign off on   this um which was hard CU yeah he said he wasn't  pleased no well there were a lot of things I did   that didn't please Joe but you know Joe was still  he was still in that football coach mentality of   you know he didn't want his just like you don't  want your football players going out playing flag   football in a park game worried about him getting  hurt he was worried about he was a worried about   me getting hurt then B worried about me not  getting down there in time to start the race   because you have to start the race to get the  points how are you feeling after 500 terrible   I was so worried about being dehydrated that all  I did all race morning was just drink water and   then when we started the 600 it was it was really  really hot that day toward the end of the race the   last 100 miles of the race I was I needed to be  anywhere but inside a race car I was wore out it   I was hot tired um but we finished fourth yeah  so you went ninth fourth and the first driver   to ever finish both of these races we had the  record at that time at running 1,90 mil in one day 2001 Daytona you end up crashing the sport  lost dard senior in that race looking back on   that what do you remember about your crash all  I remember I was we were three wide coming off   a turn two I was the car on the very bottom um I  think Robbie Gordon was next to me and Ward Burton   was outside of him or vice versa but whoever the  outside guy was hit the wall they came came off   hit the guy next to him that guy hit me and it  turned me to the right in the wall and that's the   first thing I remembered after hitting the wall  was the car being stopped and kind of coming to   and not really knowing what's going on and Bobby  lebani is staring at me through the window going   are you all right I'm like yeah I'm fine he goes  you know if we got to cut the top off we can cut   the top off and I'm like I I don't no I don't want  to do that I don't want to hurt the car he goes   I don't think you need to worry about that I had  no idea what had just happened and what what the   stat was but I I I said what happened he goes  you landed on top of me I was running third he   was running 23rd and I landed on top of him so I  but I had no idea I said you're oh it was pretty   I'll tell you about it later yeah that you go to  the hospital M uh when you're in the hospital when   do you find out that dor Hart senior is in an  accident uh when they accidentally rolled me in   the same room he was in so I had I had already  been there I they had done all the scans on me   uh they went to put me back in a room and they  had already put Dale in the same room and they   accidentally put me in there and I was only in  there a second but I I knew when I saw Dale it   wasn't good how's that affect you I thought I had  a bad day I realized that my bad day wasn't a bad   day at all and if you see the crashes yours is  horrific senior just when he crashes at the angle   that he crashes in that was you know and that  accident after Dale's accident sparked a whole   new Revolution in driver safety in our sport  but at that time I we didn't have soft walls   we didn't have head and neck restraints um and  like I said my crash looked a lot worse than his   his just he went and he hit with such force and  it just stopped mine just kept going and going   and going and it dissipated the energy I had one  cut and a bunch of bruises and his was a lot more   dramatic so 2002 you have three wins you set your  sights on winning the cup yeah I think 10 weeks   from the end of the season you know we were we  were right there it was us and Mark Martin and   uh you know it just seemed like every week you  literally didn't care about anybody else where   you finished I mean you wanted to win the race  each week but wherever we finished after we got   out of the car it's like where did Mark finish  and you're trying to compare how how many points   you either gained or how many you lost if you  beat you so I was a basket case cuz it was it   literally was down to Mark and I I mean one of  the two of us was going to win it nobody else   mathematically could even win the race this is  how it ended at Homestead That season we're in   the final laps of the final race of the NASCAR  Winston Cup season Tony Stewart leading Mark   Martin by 57 points in the championship  Tony Stewart working his way through the traffic and Tony Stewart will be one lap away  from finishing off with a champion Celebration   The Rush rocket from Indiana is the 2002 NASCAR  Winston Cup champion that's a big sigh of relief   and Tony Stewart is now just the 25th man in  history to wear a NASCAR Winston Cup champions   ring who would have thought at lap three of the  Daytona 500 Tony Stewart would be Champion but   when it's all said and done after 14,353 miles of  racing Tony Stewarts the champion how'd that feel   that was awesome I mean that's um you know  obviously getting getting in the sport and   winning my first race in 99 that was your goal  after that and we finished it off with winning   a championship so all right the next couple of  years feels like there's some friction going on   with your team members uh what what what's going  on personally or what what's what's behind all of   this when you're a competitor and you win it's  like feeding a beast all you want to do is win   more so I felt a lot of pressure after winning  that first championship that I needed to back   it up and it just seemed like the next couple  years I couldn't do anything right it's like I   just kept I got in a portion where I we had a a  slump and then it got to the point where I was   trying so hard to make things happen that I was  forcing mistakes that shouldn't that I shouldn't   have forced myself into but I forced myself  into mistakes got into it with other drivers   you name it it was it was a bad period who kind  of brought you back to your senses well I think   it was a combination of people I mean Joe Joe  was a good calming influence the best he could   be I got invited to the NASCAR hauler a lot which  is that's like going to the principal's office at   school so when when you finish the race and they  say yeah you need to go to the huler it's like oh   [ __ ] you know and so when you saw Mike Helton  in there that was that was the principal and he   didn't smile and he didn't joke around and they  always had the same seat for me which ended up   becoming my seat in the holler when they got their  new trailer they embroidered my name on that seat   so uh but you know I spent a lot of time with Mike  and Mike was actually the one I think that of most   people that was around me at the time Mike was  able to kind of put things in perspective and   eventually start calming me down a little bit and  at the time your your crew chief I think helped a   lot yeah zipadelli was um Zippy was a he was like  my big brother and I mean we would we would argue   on the radio during races and you would think  that when the race was over we were going to   kill each other but he nine times out of 10 when  I would get wound up he would notice it and he   would see it come and and he would say something  to try to kind of get me to reset in the car are   you enjoying racing at this time no not at all  it it it had become a job and like I said the   pressure to perform at that time in the sport  was incredible I mean it was like I said after   you win a championship you feel like if you're  not winning races and not winning championships   that you're going the other direction you're going  backwards did you ever talk to other drivers about   that pressure was there anybody an elder driver  veteran driver Mike Wallace came to me one day and   uh I didn't know Mike and Mike's Rusty Wallace's  brother and he came over to my motor home and he   goes hey can I talk to you I'm like yeah so  we went outside and we sat in two lawn chairs   outside the motor home and he told me a story  about um his first son and he was backing out   of his driveway and backed over his son and killed  his son and he goes I don't know what's bothering   you he goes I know something's bothering you he  goes whatever it is it's not that bad and I have   never forgot that conversation and Mike and I are  great friends but you know for him to come nobody   made him come nobody reached out to him I mean he  just noticed I was struggling and U you know for   him to come and tell me his story was uh if it put  a lot of things in perspective it's he's like you   know you get to do what millions of people want to  do every week drive a race car how did it change   you as a driver it just put in P H I think it just  helped me focus and it didn't it took a lot of the   pressure off I I'd forgot why I was driving race  cars and why I when I was 8 years old I started   driving race cars what's the next goal Brickyard  400 yeah you know when those attempts to win the   n500 went away the the next best option for an  Indiana driers is to win the Brickyard 400 at   Indie so that was every year that was my indd  500 again how much pressure are you putting on   yourself to win that all of it every every bit of  pressure I that you can think of was I carried I   carried around 1,000 pounds on my shoulder of  pressure every every Brickyard Jeff Gordon won   the first Brickyard 400 2005 this is how it ended  boy he laid back and got that run between one and   two Kane trying to hold him off can't do it side  by side in front of his sweep they sweep into two   and onto the backstretch Tony St takes the lead at  Indie stort has been the next T Cup bad boy for so   many years until this year through turn four  the last trip down the front stretch Tony St   a native hooer his dream comes true Tony St wins  the All State 400 at the Brickyard let the party begin folks there's one happy race  car driver who's interested in the L that a little shout out to Helio ker Nevis  yeah Helio started that that is proof that fat   guys do not need to be climbing fences by then  I'd started gaining some weight um you know that   what was really cool about that race was I we  had a suite in turn two and the turn two Suite   is literally less distance from here to the wall  it's literally about 15t from the balcony of The   Suite to the edge of the racetrack and the level  where our suite was when I came through turn two   I could see our suite every lap because where my  focal point is or was to the center of the corner   lit literally right above that was where our suite  was and my dad was right on the railing for 160   laps how cool is that never moved it was really  cool except for one lap I uh I was leading and I   came off a turn two right in front of him and  got really sideways got really loose and about   lost the car and I remember coming around the  next lap and my dad is about to fall over the   railing he's leaning forward over the railing  poting to my head like think and I'm in the car   like hey dumbass I've been doing this my whole  my whole life you know I don't need you telling   me how to drive right now I got this just let me  drive and he's not even talking to me but I mean   it's it's it might as he might as well had a  radio that day what do you think it meant to   him oh God I think it meant as much every bit  as much to him as it did to me to to win that   we when we race together we always race with the  bare minimum we didn't have have funding to have   extra spares and extra Motors and extra tires we  we made do with what we had and I think that was   just for him it was it was what all that was about  it was it was the end point of what his vision was   initially it was what we started together and  what he knew could happen and to me along the   journey it was just the journey to him it was  the end of the Journey of this was the goal was   to win at this place you had five wins that year  you win the cup again so how's your disposition   personality a lot better you know we had a lot  of other things going on racing wise outside   of the cup series I was a a car owner in two  different dirt track teams that I owned and had   a lot of things going on outside the car but it  was uh you know it it it wasn't that bad around   then 2008 you have to have a conversation with  Joe Gibbs that you're going to be leaving him   to become an owner how's that conversation take  place I remember the night before I went to talk   to him and could not sleep cuz if it weren't for  Joe I would never have had the race teams that I   have on the side a lot of the projects and a lot  of the things that I had done up to that point I   did with the knowledge of what I learned from Joe  and how he did business and how he ran his teams   what happened he was Furious cuz I and Joe's  demeanor is he's pretty calm most of the time   but Joe Joe's a big guy still I mean Joe's six  foot tall and big hands and big head and he gets   he he he can get animated and I just I had never  seen him that mad I'd seen him mad a lot um well   people said this was career suicide for you yeah  everybody did everybody but Rick Hendrick and it   was Rick Hendrick's fault he was the one that I  remember remember him calling me and saying hey   I got I got something that you might be interested  in but what's this need to own I think you have to   look outside of driving the race car and saying  one day I'm not going to drive a race car what am   I going to do and ever since I was a little kid  all I thought about was racing I didn't have a   backup plan so I I knew in my heart that the day I  quit driving race cars wasn't going to be the end   of my racing career I was going to do something  in racing and this was a really good opportunity   to and this was the part of the conversation  that I had with Joe that actually calmed him   down a little bit and he because he couldn't do  anything about it he he goes why why do you want   to do this and and he kept asking over and over  why do you want to do this and I told him I said   I this is my opportunity to be you and he and he  stopped he couldn't there was nothing he could say   after that and that's that was really what I was  thinking he told me he said up until that point he   had your attention and he thought that maybe you  were going to reconsider but when you said I want   to be you Joe he said I how could I not let him do  what he really wants to do that Joe thought maybe   I'm being selfish here if that's what he wants  to do and he wants to be who I am isn't that   a compliment I would have liked to have started  that conversation with that quote because I mean   I I felt like I was this tall during that whole  conversation until I said that to him and when he   stopped it was like it it flipped the switch and  how do you how do you try to discourage somebody   from trying to do what you've done 2009 new car  new number knew you yeah scared me I sat there   every day going what have I done but it was what  I had learned from Joe that let me go there go   through the process that we went through starting  this and taking existing team and bringing in new   people uh it was such a humbling feeling to see  guys that I knew were important people in the   industry that left existing organizations that  they had been with for a long time to come be   a part of this with us and those people are what  changed the complexion of that race team so 2011   you accumulate points to get into the chase with a  chance to win the cup yeah we won five of the last   10 races going into Homestead but you're sitting  there and you're trying to think of how how do you   get i' had been in that position numerous times  of runner for championships and Carl had a couple   occasions where he was running for championships  as well one of the two of us was going to win it   nobody else mathematically could even win the race  but you realize that psychological warfare is a   very valuable tool when it comes to that last race  because I'd been in that position enough times to   know that doesn't matter how good things were  going into it there's all that last race always   feels different than a normal race it plays out  different than a normal race what are the kind   of mind games that are being played here well  Carl and I got along just fine well he's such   a nice guy yeah it's hard to not get along with  Carl but um I sent him a picture because I had a   German shepher and uh he was sponsored by afflac  and they had those little stuffed animal ducks and   we took one of the ducks that they were passing  out the racetrack and we took a black Sharpie and   we blackened one of its eyes we took Band-Aids  and put it on its wing and I had it in the dog's   mouth and took a picture and sent it to Carl the  Night Before the Race I said just wanted you to   know I'm thinking about you so he didn't respond  this is how it ended at Homestead That season for   two a head-to-head fight in the final race of  the season for the championship the Ford 400 is underway just joining a Stewart had  a hole punched in the grill opening   on the bottom of that car and went from  eighth all the way back to 40th making   repairs they're going to feel like after  we kick their after this oh yes this is not over we see Tony St dive the inside he's  going to try to make this pass three wide   right in front of them how about four Stewart  to the bottom wow up front TRX 56 Stewart for   the lead in the 14 that guy's on a mission  final La St and Edwards first and second on   Thursday Tony Stewart said he'd wreck his  mother for a championship 2002 he was the   champion 2005 he was the champion those  he's going to become a three-time NASCAR   Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart wins it  truly a classic championship fight resulted   in a truly classic Championship finale  where you had to win the race to win the title would you really have wrecked your mother  my mom knows I would wreck her to Winship   oh yeah absolutely I wouldn't wck her to her  her but I would wreck her for sure you win two   cups with Coach Gibbs how important is that  third one to do it on your own you know you   can't take anything away from anytime you win a  championship because they're all special but to   win the third one with my own team and the way  that we won it was I mean I don't I don't know   that you could ever if you ever took a one took  one race and scripted it for a movie that would   be the race that you would script for a movie I  want to bring up your quote because I I'd like   for you to try to Define it for us where you said  that you're not a race car driver I'm a racer what   does that mean you know there's people that are  race car drivers but you know there's people that   are mechanics that I say are Racers and there's  people that are uh track owners and promoters and   I just feel like I'm one of those guys that just  being a race car driver doesn't Define me in the   sport you know I I'm still a race fan I still  go to races when I have chance and watch races   as a fan and love it just like a spectator and  and a race fan does I'm a car owner now I'm a   track owner now I'm a series owner and I have  the Cup teams so I I'm engrossed in the sport   I'm not just a race car driver I'm I'm a racer  I have a lot of different angles to to my life   now August 9th 2014 track and Upstate New York  you're driving dirt track and Kevin Ward ends   up dying he uh gets out of his car and your car  hits him and he dies what do you want us to know   about that night my worst enemy I would I hope  they would never be put in the position I got   put in that night I remember passing Kevin and  I remember half a lap later the caution comes   out and we come around and and uh I see his car  and I was looking because I'm like I that's the   guy I just passed and I'm like we didn't touch  each other and I was trying to figure out what   happened and trying to figure how bad it was  if he was going to you know he had a flat tire   for sure I'm like I I was looking at his car  trying to see if you know he was going to be   able to get it fixed and look up and there he is  on the racetrack I had no idea he was out of his   race car when did you know he had died I knew  so after we made contact they they they have   oneway radios that we run in and they're  screaming red on the radio so everybody's   to stop and so I'm past them and they're  behind me and I I can't see what's going on and the guy that was the uh series owner came  up on a four-wheeler I said is he all right he   goes it's it's it doesn't look very good it's  pretty bad and so they pushed everybody off   the racetrack and I knew at that point it was  really bad you settled a wrongful death lawsuit   April of 2018 you can't get closure on something  like that but but how do you move P you know you   still have to drive how does that affect you as  a driver there were so many moments outside the   car when you weren't busy that you were always  thinking about it you're always thinking about   what if and if I'd have been looking here not  there um because it's one thing to affect you   as a driver obviously as a person well you just  you can't hide from it no and you can't change   it that was the worst part about it there was  there was nothing I could do to change what   happened and it's like you you sit there and  you try to rerun it in your mind over and over   and then you see the media get a hold of it and  then you read comments that on social media that   people are writing and then you start questioning  what you saw and what you what happened you start   questioning it off of what other people that  weren't in the car and weren't even at that   track or saying and you you catch yourself getting  engrossed in all that did you talk to your parents   oh yeah about that absolutely any advice from  them how could a parent have any advice for   that it it's like I say it it's a scenario  that my most bitter worst enemy in the world   I wouldn't want them to have to go through that I  wouldn't want anybody to have to go through that it's you can't replace a life and if I'd have  known that was going to be the outcome of that   night I'd have stayed in Watkins Glenn and raced  the Cup race the next day and skipped that night   racing because I was just I was there to have  fun and and then this happens you win one more   Race 2016 uh your your final three seasons with  NASCAR how tough was it to walk away from Nascar   as a driver I think everybody I think when that  time comes everybody's reasons are different are   you officially retired no I never said I was  retiring from anything I just quit driving   in Nascar and went back to driving dirt track  cars will you drive in a NASCAR race again I   would say it's possible I might do a one-off  race here or there what's next for you aside   from a oneoff well at at this point in my season  I've ran 63 races already this year and should   have ran probably 70 except for rain outs where  the weather got us but um you know I I'm having   a last racing still and everybody jokes with  me I'm I'm busier now than I've ever been um   you know I I breed white tail deer in Indiana  um I've been working on my fishing lake you   name it we're into it and uh but I'm I'm gone  racing all the time and I love it I mean it's   it's what I love doing you have a fishing  pond inside your house uh no not a fishing   pond but I have a if you've ever been inside  of a Bass Pro Shops or a Cabell does and see   those big tanks yeah I have a 5600 gon tank  inside my house now do you fish in that no   you just have fish in there if you have to fish  in that tank it means you are not really a very   good fish that's like shoot it's technically  shooting fish in a barrel okay so so you you   have fish you just don't fish for the fish there  you go outside I try to do it the traditional way   okay all right just want to make sure all right  got some fun questions what pisses you off how   much time do we have um just because we're in  LA right now anybody that owns a Prius pisses me off because anybody that drives a Prius and sits  in the fast lane and runs the speed limit really   pisses me off they must not have mirrors and  Priuses what's on your playlist that we might   be embarrassed that we would be hearing or  that you would know we would be hearing my   fiance caught me and I just had it playing  random songs I didn't have a playlist and   an ABBA song came on there and I was like  oh my God I was driving of course and she goes like oh boy what makes a great racer I think  and we've seen a lot of them but it takes kind of   racers to recognize it when you when you have  a guy that has a car that maybe a fifth place   running car it's not a car that should win the  race and that guy can take it and figure out how   to make it win that's that's a racer it's a long  way from go-karts dirt tracks three Winston Cup   Series Championships and now you're an owner and  maybe not done driving ladies and gentlemen Tony Stewart

Channel: Youth Inc.

Views: 165,854

Keywords: Undeniable with Joe Buck, Joe Buck, Joe Buck Undeniable, Tony Stewart NASCAR, tony stewart funny moments, tony stewart daytona crash 2001, tony stewart interview, tony stewart all american racing, tony stewart wins, Tony Stewart SHR, NASCAR Tony Stewart, Daytona 500, Daytona 500 NASCAR, Nascar Daytona 500, Stock car Racing, stewart-haas racing, Tony Stewart Championships, Dan Patrick, 2001 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Death, Dale Earnhardt crash

Id: 5he7pcwrZTo

Length: 55min 7sec (3307 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 29 2024