Tony Stewart Makes Surprising Admission About NASCAR CEO Despite Bitter Feud

Tony Stewart has not forgiven Steve O’Donnell
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In fact, Stewart made it painfully clear that a Christmas morning text from NASCAR’s CEO did little to repair their fractured relationship. He still resents what happened in the past. He has no interest in helping O’Donnell. And if the two crossed paths right now, Stewart suggested the encounter could turn physical.

Then came the part no one would have expected.

After unloading on O’Donnell during an appearance on “Door Bumper Clear,” Stewart put his personal feelings aside and gave NASCAR’s top executive genuine credit for what he has seen since O’Donnell took over.

“I do think he’s making a difference now and I do think he’s trying,” Stewart said. “I genuinely think he’s making a genuine effort to try and make it better and not because of an ego; I think he genuinely cares about it.”

It would have been easy for Stewart to stop at the anger. Instead, one of NASCAR’s most outspoken former champions drew a sharp line between what he thinks of O’Donnell personally and what he thinks of the job he’s doing.

And somehow, both things can be true.

Tony Stewart still hasn’t moved past his history with Steve O’Donnell

There is plenty of history behind Stewart’s frustration.

Their relationship became a public storyline after communications involving Stewart’s Superstar Racing Experience surfaced during the legal battle between NASCAR and Cup Series teams 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports.

O’Donnell had been critical of NASCAR competitors participating in SRX, the short-track series Stewart co-founded and owned.

After Denny Hamlin announced plans to race in the series, O’Donnell wrote in one message: “Oh great, another owner racing in SRX.”

O’Donnell later testified about his concerns surrounding the series.

“I thought this looked more and more like NASCAR. … I was concerned with what was happening on the racetrack,” O’Donnell said.

Stewart hasn’t forgotten any of it.

He revealed on “Door Bumper Clear” that O’Donnell eventually reached out on Christmas morning. Considering the history between them, Stewart wasn’t impressed by the message.

“Steve O’Donnell sent me a text message on Christmas morning last year. We haven’t spoken for a long time and it wasn’t, ‘Hey, just want to say sorry about the past but, hey, if we can put this behind us, maybe we can work together?’ He goes, ‘Oh, Merry Christmas. This and that. We’re trying to get the needle moving in the right direction, you think we could get together?'”

For Stewart, something important was missing.

An apology.

“I’m like you can’t even say sorry yet and you want my help now? Piss off. I’m not ever going to help him,” Stewart said.

That’s a long way from reconciliation.

But what Stewart said next made the conversation far more interesting than another chapter in a NASCAR feud.

Stewart gives O’Donnell credit where he believes it’s due

Stewart could have allowed his experience with O’Donnell to shape everything he said about NASCAR’s CEO.

He didn’t.

When the conversation shifted from their personal history to O’Donnell’s leadership, Stewart’s tone changed with it.

NASCAR has undergone significant change with O’Donnell in its top executive position, including the return of the Chase format. Stewart believes there is something else happening behind those decisions, too: a sincere attempt to improve the sport.

That isn’t Stewart burying the hatchet. Based on everything else he said, the hatchet remains very much above ground.

It’s something arguably more revealing.

Stewart is willing to separate his personal resentment from his judgment of where NASCAR is headed.

There is no friendship behind the compliment. There is no repaired relationship or newfound willingness to work together. Stewart had just said he would never help O’Donnell before acknowledging that NASCAR’s CEO appears to be making a difference.

That makes the praise harder to dismiss.

Stewart doesn’t have to like O’Donnell to believe he’s doing something right.

And after everything that has happened between them, he certainly didn’t owe NASCAR’s CEO the compliment.

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