Stewart blasts NASCAR for using bogus caution flags
Quote selected text Published April 25th, 2007 in NASCAR News
Two-time champion Tony Stewart likened NASCAR to professional wrestling and accused it of using bogus caution flags to shape races in biting comments made on his weekly radio show.
Stewart’s comments on his Tuesday night show were his first since skipping a post-race press conference in Phoenix. He dominated Saturday night’s race but lost after a late exchange of leads with winner Jeff Gordon. Stewart said he refused interviews to avoid bashing NASCAR after officials threw four cautions for debris on the track.
“It’s like playing God,” he said on his Sirius Satellite Radio program. “They can almost dictate the race instead of the drivers doing it. It’s happened too many times this year.”
Stewart went on to say fans are complaining about debris cautions and NASCAR isn’t listening.
“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,’” he 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.
“I don’t know that they’ve run a fair race all year.”
NASCAR officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Stewart led a race-high 132 laps at Phoenix but lost the lead while pitting under the final caution, which came for an accident. He used an impressive three-wide pass to re-claim the lead, only to give it right back to Gordon, who drove away to victory.
Stewart called it the only legitimate caution of the day.
Bookmark to:
- Skinner wins Truck race at Martinsville
- Stewart blasts Goodyear once again
- Haas to plead guilty in tax plot, will serve prison time
- NASCAR defends decision that Biffle won Kansas
- Hamlin not happy over non-caution at Darlington finish
heck yeah tony!!! thanks for voicing the opinions many others have been having ever since nextel took over!! they might as well rename is the hendrick racing series.
WELL SAID TONY, MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY, KEEP TELLING TONY, THEY MIGHT LISTEN TO YOU CUZ THEY SURE AREN;T LISTENING TO THE FANS.
GO TONY GO
Tony if you don’t like Nascar get out already, geez you whine every week about something lately. Grow up and become a class act like Jr., Sr. and Gordon.
I’m not sure what races KK is watching, but if you watch NASCAR at all, you have to admit that some of these cautions are coming at just the right time to keep things interesting. And Really, lets be serious, Hendrick racing has won what the last 7 races? What are the odds of that? I guess they are pretty good when one guy gets to play “God” as smoke said or maybe NASCAR has hired Vince McMahon to call the shots for them. Anyway, Tony keep telling it like it is. Oh and 2 more things, never ever refer to Gordon in the same sentence and Jr and Sr, and last time I checked Gordon whines about everything every chance he gets.
as much as i think smoke is a whiny baby, i cant help but agree wit him 100% on this one. i been sayin it. nascar is suckin up to hendrick for some reason. the racin aint good no more cuz u kno wen a caution is gonna come out. the races now are like a naptime for me. i race on saturday nites and the action is great compared to wat it is on tv. im tellin u that hendrick is cheatin like hell and nascar is lettin them. notice how those DEBRIS CAUTIONS only come out wen it benefits a hendrick driver. watch for it this weekend.
Smoke is 100% right, and i can’t stand smoke on the track (off the track he has a heart of gold helping out people.)
Im suprised noone said anything about this last year.
I wonder whats going to happen now.
-Chris
I’m fed up of the Hendrick Racing series also. How much does a back-of-the-pack racer make if they throw something out there window when a Hendricks car has a chance to win????
The debris caution pops up whenever the 24 or 48 are near the front but it doesnt when a windshield tear off pops up into the grill of the 29?????
Congrats to Tony finally pointing out the obvious, and he has said what everyone knows is the truth. Hopefully someone starts talking about how much of a cheating wank Chad Knauss is. There is no way the 48 is that dialed in week in week out.
:::QUE the BANDWAGON JUMPING JOHNSON FAN WHINING AT MY COMMENT::: Its ok, we know deep down you think he is pretty…
stop ur crying tony geeez
You know the way to fix this problem is to stop going to the races-look around next week at the empty seats-no fans means there no one to look at the sponsers. NASCAR seems to forget that it is us the fans that they need to start paying attention to. We are the ones that drive sometimes over a 100 miles, get stuck in traffic, and pay lots of money to see the races only to have DEBRIS cautions that excuse me seem to only help gordon, jeff and johnson along with the little creep kyle busch. Like I said stop going maybe they will wake up and start to go back to just racing like the old days. Also I was very upset when gordon had the nerve to ride aroung the track with the three flag.
LMAO U THINK HES PRETTY!!
Ive been a Nascar fan since 74 and I will tell you this I hate it anymore. Its like Christmas it is all COMMERCIALIZED!! To hell with the racing lets make money. Commercials every 4 minutes!! Ticket sales skyrocketed since 1988! And I agree cautions for debris but when a car spins they stay green!! WTF!! Stewart your the best. You remind me of Dale SR. Maybe this is why I like Harvick too. Not for your driving abilities, but your tenacity to tell “THE MOB (so to speak) to straighten up!
Hendrick owns Nascar ( biggest share holder) When they want to win they will. I am by NO means a JJ or Gordon fan but give em credit They can Drive. I hate them both for there dont get there way attitude or excuses when things dont go their way, but they can drive. What are you gonna dobad publicity is, publicity. Nascars ratings declined so they need all the ratings they can get so tune in and support their networks because all in all they win millions.
Some of us drive a thousand miles to get to a race….
I think Hendrick pays-off Nascar. Give em Hell Tony!!
Umm Tony, you’re like a year behind, we’ve been talking about this since last year but thanks for finally getting frustrated enough to spit it out. It’s a conspiracy, man!
LOL, I always get a good laugh when I visit over here.
Tony has and always will stand up for the fans and what he believes in. while some people think he is whining, he’s not.. he’s keeping the fans in his mind all the time and he speaks his mind when there’s something out of line. I’ve been saying it over and over and over about the bogus cautions and this, as foxy put it the best way, ‘The Hendrick Motorsports Cup Series’. forget that! racing is a C O M P E T I T I V E sport. Nascar is playing god by manipulating everything that goes on to make things “interesting” and to turn the race around to benifit the hendricks motorspots drivers.
Tony is right and always will be in my opinion. he’s a great driver, and a loving, caring person.
HECK YES TONY!!!! NASCAR has died since Nextel took over and the person that mentioned Jeff Gordon with JR. & SR. that was the stupidist statement ever made, Who was complaining at Daytona when Jr. bump drafted him to the lead if it hadnt been for Jr. he wouldnt of won any points for that race Gordon complaines twice as much as any other race car driver. Because he’s Hendrick anything he say’s is voiced strait to Nascar it doesnt even need to be through the Media. Hendrick and Roush own the sport and it’ll always be that way. The Caution Flags were a waste of time debri should not included water bottles and trash its racing things are going to get on the track unless it can cut a tire or injure sumone then dont worry about it so GO SMOKE! Even though Im not a fan I support what he said.
Well, Tony may have thought all the caution flags were bogus, but had he hit some debris and it caused his tire to flatten or debris in his radiator, he would have complained up a storm that there hadnt been a caution. Seems you cant please him for anything. For someone that has been running soo well this year, and im not a Tony fan, he sure has his complaints!!
I can’t stand Stewart most of the time, but he hit this right on the head. I was at work two weeks ago and I was talking about going to the Texas races with one of my coworkers and he told me he has given up on NASCAR. Why, you might ask? For the very reasons that Tony mentioned above, and the fact that every race is 100% predictable as far as 1,2,and 3 go(Hendrick, Hendrick, and Hendrick). It’s getting very apparent as well. Cautions are thrown magically for debris, but two cars spin through the infield and wow, no caution. And every time Robin Pemberton tries to bullshit his way through a press conference with his propaganda, I wanna punch him right in the damn face.
if you dont like debris cautions maybe next time you can just run over the debris at 190 and see how you like that compare to a few minutes of cautions quit whinning tony
Everyone has pretty much proved a few valid points with this.
First of all, if a person can’t see that NASCAR is Hendrick-Friendly, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell them. We all knew this for a while. I also find it funny that the media kept it’s focus on Gordon being the lead in cup points but never having a win, and VIOLA! He wins the race? I smell Hendrick B.S., and reading these comments pretty much summed it up for me. Thank you:)
I’m applying for Tony to adopt me as his son. If Earnhardt was here he would be saying the exact same thing. Hell, he would have been talking about it last year when it became painfully obvious that NASCAR loves to throw cautions when it suits them.
More often than not we don’t even get shown the debris on the television coverage. Not every piece of debris is caution worthy. Hell, not even every spin is caution worthy. If NASCAR is going to keep it up with the bogus cautions they should atleast let the drivers race back to the caution. Give us something. But, honestly, NASCAR needs to straighten up.
wow!! im glad i share the same p.o.v. as most of you other fans. i hope more drivers can stand up with tony and back him up..i know he has the fan support! nascar needs to remember the fans are their to support the drivers and watch good racing not for the sponsors and created drama with the same outcome. without the fans there is no income and no reason to have sponsors. jr said it himself at the bristol busch race…he had more fun racing the busch series because there wasnt pressure to perform well in the points race etc. for his sponsors it was for fun for him to just get to race and not have to take care of his car it was all for the win..if nascar doesnt resolve this soon fans will stick with their local racing.
Amanda you are sure a little conspiracy theorist..
Got anything interesting brewing in your lab?
The funny thing about theories… Sometimes they’re true. If NASCAR isn’t catering to Hendrick then they are definitely catering to someone. The facts say so. It is obvious. NASCAR will bow to anyone who gives them enough money. Did I say NASCAR? I mean Brian France and his crooked morals.
Well even though I don’t like Tony Stewart, I do have to agree with the man on one point that he made. NASCAR is acting like their God, by all the dictating they have been doing since the start of the 2007 season. NASCAR wise up, this isn’t the WWE!!!
Anyone who doubts Nascar doesnt play Hendrick favorites should have been at the Talladega race that all the fans threw beer and coolers onto the track when it finished under caution. You remember , the race that resulted in the grenn , white , checkers. That caution was brought out by Brian Vickers spinning out in turn 4 , never hitting anything and getting back up to speed before the cars were even out of turn 1. But , Nascar ran 8 laps under caution because Jeffy beat Jr. back to the line to get the yellow. 8 laps , no debris , no wreck , no nothing. And they wondered why the fans were pissed.
There is a historical president for a situation similar to this. In 1979 USAC team owners and drivers felt USAC as a sanctioning body was inept, so they split and formed Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and that worked for a good while (and would have worked great except the IRL was formed and has nearly killed North American Open wheel racing). Fans go to see drivers if the drivers and teams are at some other track that is ware the fans would be, the sponsor money will follow the fans. The real problem is NASCAR owns most of the tracks, but you could bring back North Wilkesboro, and some of the other old tracks (or run some dirt races, that would be cool) .
Tony may be right, but he’s still an ass!
ahh yes the drama queen is back!
I agree with the phantom debris cautions 100%!! It’s about time someone in NASCAR is speaking up. Us fans have been screaming foul for sometime now (on Dave Moodies program especially). But no one in the “Business” seems to agree. I am very glad Smoke spoke up. Maybe now they might think twice before they throw that phantom debris caution this weekend.
I agree with saying it looks more like the WWE. Funny how the Hendrick
cars are dominating. I do not even look forward to watching a race
except to see them lose.
Stewart is right! NASCAR has become the new WWF. Why is NASCAR
trying to become global? MONEY! Why is the pre-race coverage over hyped and over hyped and over exposed? MONEY! Why does the same group of drivers
or teams win each race? MONEY! I’ve been following “Winston Cup”
racing for oner 30 years and I would noe rather watch a tape or
re-broadcast of an old race from the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s instead of being subjected to the same homogeneous, antiseptic and choreographed
racing of today. Why does NASCAR continue to support the building
os similar 1.5 mile tracks? BORING! The short tracks and super-
speedways produce more excitment. I would like to see this
current “manufactured” crop of drivers get in an authentic
“STOCK” car that had no power steering, drum brakes and the
aerodynamics of s brick and then compete. There are very few
current drivers that can be considered “Old-School” or a throw-
back to when the roots of NASCAR were unique and regional. NO
PERSONALITY! I would truly enjoy seeing someone other than
Gordon, Johnson, Stewart, Harvick…. win a race. Wouldn’t it great to see Reines, Gilliland, Petty, Mears, Nemechek or Schrader win a race
for a change? I forgot, it all about the MONEY! I recall racers
use to trailer their own car (NOT CARS) to the 50 or so races,
which by the way were run on dirt in some place. The cost of a
modern day car, hauler, R&D as well as race facility is more
than the entire Alaska Purchase! I’m sick and tired of this
Boogity, Boogity, Boogity crap. Remember, NASCAR (who’s roots
originate back to the moonshine running days) became prominent
after the Yarborough/Allison fight at the 1979 Daytona 500.
Drivers use to have cool names like “Fireball”, “The King” and
“The Intimidator”. All the driver comments after winning a race
sound rehearsed and programed like robots. NO PERSONALITY! How
soon we forget our roots.
Way to go Tony its about time someone took a stand and I’m sure you are the one to do it You an’t scared (as the saying goes). and Yes you have been my faviorte driver since the loss of Dale Sr. I have been thinking the sanme thing for years now and this has been a long time comming I beleive there is a lot of Nascar fans who will stand behind you on this statement… I know I will…20 all the way!!
About damn time!!!!! This is why I love this guy–he and maybe a couple others (Harvick) are the ONLY ones out on that track that have the balls to speak their mind!!!!! EVERY Nascar fan I know has been saying this, no matter which driver they support. In fact, most I know are saying that if things continue the way they are, they WILL stop watching! And it’s not only the cautions…How many people besides myself ARE SO FREAKING OVER listening to them talk about how wonderful Hendrick motorsports is, and pretty boy Gordon and his man Jimmy?!!!???!!! They do not pay an ounce of attention to any other drivers out there but them. It’s getting REALLY old!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (thank God for the mute button so I don’t have to listen to them talk about “Big Daddy”, or is is little daddy???)
WEATHER OR NOT WHAT TONY IS SAYING IS TRUE, MAYBE HE SHOULD HAVE WAITED UNTIL HE WON A RACE TO MAKE HIS COMMENTS. HE HAS HAD CHANCES TO WIN AND WAS OUT DRIVEN TO THE FINISH LINE. IT SOUNDS LIKE SPILLED MILK.
Just wondering— was it a debris caution that caused Tony Stewart to lose the race? Or was it that Jeff Gordon pushed him down and then took his lunch money!!!
The comment about Gordon and Johnson is true, NASCAR should go to the BEST DRIVERS AND TEAMS FOR INPUT. Get the hell over it you bunch of cry babys!!!!!!!! Stewert LOST and the BETTER DRIVER WON Just like Dale JR will never be able to hold a candle to DALE SR so quit bitchen and crying and lets watch some raceing SCOTT
I am a diehard Jeff Gordon fan but I do agree with Tony that too many caution flags are thrown for debris. Dale Junior was very happy that Jeff flew the flag of a legend. The fact that he tied Dale is because he is an awesome driver. He’s a class act off the field as well as on. I can understand Tony’s frustration. He has had a tough year but Jeff’s last 2 years have not been great and you don’t hear him whining. Tony you should try to be a good example for all the little ones that are your fans. Your time will come. Try to be a good sport until that happens.
Thank you Axel..second time you’ve backed me up on something :]
Know what’s funny? only about 7 or 8 of the comments on this story are from people who disagree with tony and continually call him a ‘crybaby’.
is your favorite driver standing up to say something that is bothering them or the fans?
Didn’t think so.
let’s have a lesson on ratios..
People who agree: 30
People who dont agree: 8
8 : 30
you don’t have to be a genius to understand that concept.
I agree that the rest of the drivers need to back Tony up but lets also agree that Tony is only happy when Tony is winning. It’s just like the fact that they called Montoya on giving the finger and Tony has gotten away with it at least 3 times. I wonder how that looks to the children that follow him. Have you ever seen Jeff do that? I don’t think so. Tony has gotten away with a lot of things that others have been penilized for. Be honest Tony is a hothead and a poor loser. He is a fantastic driver he doesn’t have to use that kind of behavior.
I have read many of these blogs and here is the truth.
Many of you bloggers have made a few good points. However your decriminations for you favorite drivers shows up in them. I have been a fan since the sixties and it’s always been this way. A few facts for you.
First. NASCAR officials are similar to referee’s and umpires in other sports. depending on who you are pulling for as to wether you like the call or not. All fans are like that. That’s ok because we are rooting for our players and drivers to win.
It’s no differnet in NASCAR as it is in baseball or football.
I have seen almost every drivers from the Grand nationals, days, then Winston Cup Series and now Nextel complain about something almost every race for five decades now. people accused Petty of cheating. Then waltrip, then eranhardt, then Gordon, then Rouch, and now NASCAR. I don’t believe that is true at all. However I myself have seen and complained about cautions for years as well as other rules they have that seem to give drivers advantages week to week.
2nd, The real problem we are all having in all sports is consitancy with officiating. One week they throw a caution, next week we have a green white checker the next week race to the line. NASCAR needs to set the rules at the beginning of the year and not play it by ear each race. that will help.
3rd Tony Stewart is my least favorite driver out their but he is a good driver and one of the top five on the track. Tony wasn’t complaining the two years he won the championships.
Hendricks has always had a great race company all the way back to the days when Waltrip drove for him in the early eighties. The more cars you have the more info sharing the more engineering the more money and so on. Hendricks did it in the nineties dropped off a few years to Rouch Racing and now is back that’s all it is. As for the never ending blasts about Jeff Gordon Like him or not he is the best Driver out their and has been since 1995 in racing today. like him or not the numbers don’t lie. Compare them head to head with any other driver since 1995 and you will see for yourself. Stewart is second since he has two championships and so on. Not even the great Dale earnhardt could keep up with him head to head, but Gordon has to wiat till his career is over to compare with others ahead of him. Little E is popular but at this stage in his career he does not come close to compare with his father, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart or any other driver who has won a championship . When he wins one then he can be put in the same catagory.
4th, Everyone will complain when they have had a bad day or a call does not go their way so we should all remember that fact. Until NASCAR realizes they have to be consistant things won’t change and the fans will be frustated but we will all still be watching and pulling for our drivers beacause we love the sport. What we need is a national day of boycott say the next Daytona 500 to let NASCAR know who really is in charge. Are you with me on this? We are great fans, the best in the country for any sport. Let NASCAR know by emailing them and consider a botcott of one race then maybe email and boycott their sponsor products. that’s how you get their attention. Hit their pocket books. boogity boogity boogity Lets go racing!
I dare say that if you go back throughout Stewarts racing history, you will probably find that he has benefited from cautions as much as any one. Sounds as if he is trying to give a reason why he hasn’t won. If klhe put as much concern into his raceing as he does his complaints, he just might be the Dale Sr. that he thinks he is.
Tony is right. I haven’t been to a race lately and I am a Big Fan of NASCAR. It seems the races are staged anymore. We (The Fans) should show them by not watching until it’s fair. I have been a Tony Stewart Fan since 1999 and he has had a hard time being “The Chosen One” by NASCAR. He’s an underdog but, He is the BEST DRIVER on the track (any track) When Tony gets in a wreck, I turn off the TV. NASCAR doesn’t like it when he wins.
You should really write a sports column. Everything you said I agree with. I love Dale Junior. I was not a Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan but he helped make NASCAR what it is today and noone will ever dispute that. I know he taught Jeff a lot and he certainly gives him credit. I think that boycott sounds like a good idea. After all where would NASCAR be without all of us. Lets hope Tony did some good and the rest of the drivers back him up.
I can’t believe how Tony just keeps on whining. You have to give credit where credit is due. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are very good drivers. They have a great team and they work together. Blame it on the caution flag, but Tony had the lead and lost it…It wasn’t the yellow flag that time! Way to go Jeff.
hang in there tony.nascar has pushed you around long enough.i have notised the caution
flag deal in the past,,wrong man leading lets fly the caution.
i use to watch nascar everytime it came on and now the car of tommorrow is here
i have no interse of watching it anymore the cars look like crap and handle like
their on ice you know i was rased if it ant broke dont fix it its not broke
leave it alone any more if i want to watch a race i go play with my kids
on the gocart at lease that theres no debrie cautions i really dont like tony
but hes doing a good job voicing things that are wrong get out hendrick
your screwing a good thing up nascar needs to shape up or ship out the fans
will decide
I to agree with toni but I don’t watch the race to see him win .He may be one of the best on the track today.He’s a great guy on and off the track .but i watch the race every week just to see him sin out and cry about it…………..lol….keep up the good work toni.
hope to see ya lose another one this week……his worst day is my best day
Frustrating & Irritating, Why bother watching the last 30 laps of the race. All of the stupid cautions that get
thrown out during the last laps. Never mind you can see garbage like cups flying through
the air during the race. I am surprised they don’t have cautions out for that now.
Well said, Randy in Nashville!
Get a life Tim. If everything is even, Jeff Gordon will win most of the time. The reason, he applys patience. Tony is an angry driver. God forbid that you are in his way. I’m not saying that Jeff is perfect but he gets the job done using patience. Hendrick Motorsports doesn’t have to pay anyone off. They get the job done using technology and skill. Tony and Hamlin both need to realize everyone has a bad day. Deal with it like a good sport. Remember the kids are watching.
Oh my god, Mary, class act and Jeff Gordon should NEVER be used in the same sentence! Tony is right. Nextel has ruined Nascar. Jeff whines everytime he does not win. Everytime something goes wrong he blames someone else. What planet do you live on? Tony does not complain everytime he loses, only when its not fair. Nascar will lose a lot of fans. I love Nascar and will hate to give it up, but if it doesn’t change, I guess I will. I bet you that FOX announcers to NOT even mention what the fans are saying on tv, they will just bash Tony for speaking out. Funny, how they never speak negative about Michael Waltrip because his brother is up there with them. Let’s play fair. You will make just as much money.
I have suspected this was going on for several years, and I am only a casual observer. It has cost many drivers with superior performances on a particular day the benefit of a victory. Plus as Waltrip has often said on the air, “Cautions breed cautions.” So there is probably a safety issue here as well.
I to beleive this to be true. I tape the race and watch it later. So i have plenty of time to catch these things, or just go over it. If you watched the race last weekend. You would have heard Waltrip say about debree cautions that when they happen, they try and find it and show it. This i believe was said after the 3rd one. These cautions happen at some of the strangest times. Just makes you go Hummmm. Or just were’s the debree
I agree with every word Tony Stewart said! Hendricks drivers don’t do squat for
3/4 of the race,struggling ccording to the announcers,then ther they are in the
top 5 or 10 at the end. And anybody who doesn’t think Rick Hendrick will cheat,
just ask him about his felony convictions years back which he bought his way out
of.It’s about time the fans wake up and tell Nascar where they can stick their
races! The races are fixed as is every major sport in this country…there is too
much money involved for it not to be!!!!!!. At least the WWE admits they script
it and they don’t seem to be lacking fans(maybe its because they were honest bout
it)
thank you Tony for standing up for what is right —- TRUTH and HONESTY - and a good clean race
Damn right skippy
I too have to agree with Tony about the race in Arizona last week , there was a plastis bag on one of the turn and it remained there for atleast 10 laps , all they have to do is replay the race and see how long it took to finally call a caution and who would have benifitted from it,it has been going on for awhile even a tire incidint on pit road a few weeks back ,never got called ,only because they wanted a certain person to win.
The sad part about a lot of posts on here is that everyone should recognize that you are going to stick up for your driver. In many people’s mind Jeff Gordon is a class act and leave it to Dale Jr to be classy enough to admit it. To say that Rick Hendrick is a cheater is a rediculou