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Tony Stewart sure has had an interesting couple of weeks!

First, Tony talks about retiring after the Texas race because of his ‘misfortune’ which has dogged him all year. Then he skips the post-race interview with NASCAR after Phoenix because he asserts that NASCAR is fixing the race, essentially.

Here’s a quote from Tony:

“It’s like playing God. They can almost dictate the race instead of the drivers doing it. It’s happened too many times this year.”

“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.”

Ouch!

Then he really tries to endear himself to NASCAR by saying this:

“There’s nothing, zero, in my contract that says I have to do that,” he said. “We do that as a courtesy to NASCAR and the media. The thing with the media is they think it’s our obligation to do those things. It’s not our obligation. It’s a privilege that they get to do that. NASCAR is the ones that always ask us to go to the media center, so instead of doing what they wanted, they don’t do what we want to do and run the race fair,” he said. “So why would I go to the media center and make them happy?”

I like the fact that Stewart isn’t afraid to say how he feels in an age where…well…you can’t say what you feel! But I think Tony is pulling a bit of a whiner here…partly. Let me explain.

On his rant about retirement after the Texas race: He was frustrated, got tangled with Juan Montoya and spun. His emotions got the best of him and he whined. It happens. Tony, get over it!

Now the Phoenix deal: I think there are a number of people out there that are, shall we say, dubious on how NASCAR ‘officiates’ its races from time to time. There are examples of this. Take this quote from MSNBC

Think about way-past-his-prime Richard Petty winning his 200th NASCAR race at Daytona in 1984 in front of President Reagan on Independence Day weekend. Indiana native Jeff Gordon winning the inaugural race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994. Dale Earnhardt Sr. winning his first Daytona 500 late in his career in 1998, on the opening day of NASCAR’s 50th anniversary season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning the Pepsi 400 in 2001, the first race after his father died that same Daytona track. For that matter, Juan Pablo Montoya, the only Latin American driver in the race, winning this year’s Busch Series event in Mexico City.

It makes you pause, does it not…if even for a moment?

Now some (many?) will say it’s just coincidence…that it would be impossible to stage or manipulate a result because of the large number of people that would have to be ‘in on the fix’, so to speak.

Consider this: Could a day come where enough people get fed up with NASCAR because, in their view, they ‘cheat’ to obtain the results they desire? And could this lead to lawsuits…even major ones? After all, NASCAR races are wagered on in Vegas. And we’ve already seen that the government does not view manipulation in sports too kindly.

And in the end, even NASCAR is not above the long arm of the feds.