Pull for them or not, this is how you like to see our NASCAR drivers. Hats off to Tony.
NASCAR star Tony Stewart shows a different side of personality
Credit: Earl Neikirk - Bristol Herald Courier
Tony Stewart stops by the Small Miracles Therapeutic Riding Center
By: Allen Gregory | Bristol Herald Courier
Published: March 14, 2012
KINGSPORT, Tenn. --
The public image of Tony Stewart is that of a take-no-prisoners speed demon on and off the track.
The three-time NASCAR champion displayed a different side of his personality Tuesday afternoon.
Shortly after attending a high-stakes competition meeting at the Stewart-Haas Racing headquarters near the NASCAR epicenter in North Carolina, Stewart decompressed for over two hours at the Small Miracles Therapeutic Riding Center in the rolling hills of Northeast Tennessee.
Stewart not only chatted with a group of wide-eyed special needs children, he helped lead their horses around the barn. He also posed for family photos, signed autographs and shared personal stories.
This place is really close to my heart because I have a cousin who has a similar situation, Stewart said. To see how programs like this help children, its much bigger than what were doing with racing.
Stewart became so enamored with the young riders that he had to be pulled away at the last second to conduct a scheduled satellite interview with ESPN.
To see how these kids connect with their horses and ponies is pretty cool, Stewart said. We over complicate our lives a lot of times. Its neat to be able to detach from all that and make life simpler for a couple hours.
The pace gets much more complicated for Stewart this weekend. After his victory in last weeks Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas, Stewart enters Sundays Food City 500 hungry for his first victory at Bristol Motor Speedway since 2001.
Finding a way to snap that winless streak was the subject of Tuesdays session at Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart said the entire S-HR braintrust attended, including fellow teammate Ryan Newman and crew chiefs from both teams.
Were just trying to figure out what our gameplan is, Stewart said. Weve run terrible here the last two or three races. Were looking forward to trying a different package this weekend to see if we can get this turned around.
While Stewart has often had an adversarial relationship with media types, his popularity among traditional and younger fans has soared. According to Stewart, his kinship with fans is all part of a natural evolution.
This is a sport where theres a lot of emotion involved all the time, Stewart said. [Fans] didnt like Dale [Earnhardt] Sr., for a while, and then they loved him. It was the same with Darrell Waltrip. Its been fun to watch.
Stewart achieved a new degree of fame last year with his remarkable comeback run toward the Sprint Cup championship. He clinched the title on the final lap of the final race at Homestead.
As for his smoother dealings with NASCAR officials, Stewart said its a matter of understanding the big picture in motorsports.
One of the biggest things thats helped me is that now I own three dirt tracks and all these [racing] teams, Stewart said. There were a lot of times as a driver where I was right about what I was saying, but there was something else in the equation that I didnt see.
Being a track owner helps you kind of understand the way things are done the way they are.
With his many achievements and temper outbursts, Stewart is one of the recognizable and controversial athletes in America.
Stewart admitted Tuesday that he had a hard time simply tying his tie for last years elaborate NASCAR Sprint Cup awards banquet. Hes much more comfortable in the role of an Average Joe who wears jeans and a T-shirt while gobbling up fast food and hanging around gritty dirt tracks.
I didnt grow up in a rich family, Stewart said. Im just an average guy that has a really cool job on the weekends.
Stewart offered a theory on why hes been able to connect with fans.
We dont have a big habit of going out and wrecking guys, Stewart said. Thats been a big deal in the last year and a half, guys just going out there and taking each other out.
We race how we want to be raced. When youre not causing problems, the fans like you a lot.
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updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM