“People thought I was just trying to be an a****** all the time to be an a******. No, I was uncomfortable. I just didn’t like the position I was in.” That one statement from Tony Stewart has many more layers to it than one sees on the surface. Through his time in both NASCAR and IndyCar, Stewart had a relentless hunger to win. Add to that his fiery, uncompromising temperament and several on-track rivalries, and his nickname ‘Smoke’ fits the bill perfectly.
But beneath it all was a man creating his legacy the hard way, toiling for years to achieve one of the most remarkable careers in motorsport. But the accompanying fame and the larger-than-life persona he assumed in the eyes of fans became a point of discomfort.
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“Part of my frustration, and part of the reason I was so mean to people, is I just wanted to be a normal person,” Stewart said on Tuesday’s episode of the “Door Bumper Clear” podcast. “I wanted to be the person I was, and you were larger than life.”
Stewart highlighted that the NASCAR schedule in the early 2000s was even more unrelenting than it is currently. He pointed out that unlike modern-day NASCAR schedules, when practice and testing aren’t part of the calendar anymore, his time in NASCAR was even more grueling, leading to the all-important point: today’s NASCAR drivers shouldn’t be complaining about anything.
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“When I raced in NASCAR, my head was there 24/7. There was no break from it. Back when we were doing it, we would test 40 days a year,” Stewart said. “It’s like these guys complain cuz I got to show up on Friday.
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“We would test Monday and Tuesday after a race. Wednesday was your only day off. You had Thursday morning to finish up whatever you needed to. And you were back on a plane early afternoon. Go to a market, go to a Home Depot appearance for two and a half hours. You were at the track Friday, Saturday, Sunday, get on the plane, go to another track, start the cycle over, test Monday and Tuesday again.”
That routine got to Stewart, he realised in hindsight. The three-time Cup champion admitted that he was always in the moment and never understood what it would be like to just let go of his competitive edge away from the track.
Having his head in NASCAR 24/7 was exactly what made Stewart as successful as he was. But when asked if he would have changed anything about his approach, Stewart’s answer was that of a driver who understood that he might have pushed himself and the competition too far.
“Absolutely. And 1,000% if I had the ability to go back, I would do it a lot different,” Stewart revealed. “I would have been a lot nicer to people. I would not have been so locked in all the time. That’s the one thing.”
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The 49-time Cup race winner also believed he might have been more successful if he knew there were things he could change. The introspection on Stewart’s part is something he credits to his wife, Leah Pruett. A drag racer herself, Pruett’s entry in Stewart’s life was one that allowed him to discover a much-needed balance as well as helped him break down walls he had built around him.
“I did not have a wife; I did not have a family. I dated some great girls during my Cup career,” Stewart said. “But I was so focused on racing that I never even put solid effort into any relationships. And that was my fault, not their fault. Knowing what I know now, I would love to go back and do it all over again. And I think I would be just as good, maybe even better, because I’ve learned how to focus at the right times.”
Tony Stewart also revealed that he enjoys his time at drag races now because of how open and interactive it is, with fans allowed access everywhere apart from the start line. And with an inspirational figure as his wife, Stewart also enjoys the fact that when they are at restaurants, people come up to say hello because of Pruett and not because of his own NASCAR fame, something the Hall of Famer finds rather relaxing after a career where he never turned the switch off.
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The post “I Just Wanted to Be Normal”: Tony Stewart Expresses Intense Regret Over Infamous NASCAR Persona, Calls Out Modern Drivers’ Complaints appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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