In a revealing interview about his frustration with NASCAR decision makers, racing legend Tony Stewart suggested fans are not that smart. However, it is not as bad as you may think.
The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion walked away from being an owner in the league last year. His decision to leave one of the most coveted roles in sports reportedly came down to the league’s changing business landscape, financial challenges for Stewart-Haas, and a shift in his personal and professional priorities. Which now includes racing for NHRA.
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However, various frustrations with NASCAR itself certainly played a role. He has long been outspoken about improvements the league could make, but won’t. It was a topic of conversation recently on “Rubbin is Racing.” But in explaining NASCAR’s lack of open-mindedness to softer tires and more horsepower, he took a shot at race fans complaining about those changes.
“Where do you think the fans got this? The fans aren’t even smart enough to know that’s what we need. It’s not their fault, they don’t drive the cars. We came up with that shit, years ago and went to NASCAR with it. They were so ignorant. The guy who was in charge of it vetoed it. He looked at 20 of us drivers, half the field, and we all agreed on five things that would make the racing better. One guy told us, the five things we said were the opposite. He goes, ‘Our data shows the other way.’ The guy that said that had never driven a racecar, never worked on a racecar but tells 20 drivers that had been doing this their entire lives told us we were all wrong.”
Tony Stewart
Although Tony Stewart doesn’t necessarily think NASCAR fans aren’t smart about the sport, he wanted to make it clear they weren’t smart enough to come up with those changes on their own. Could the racing legend have made his point without saying fans are not smart? Absolutely, but then he wouldn’t be the divisive driver and former owner he has become.
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