Stewart doesn’t conceal his emotions. Even when he has a legitimate gripe, he often hurts himself by expressing it in an ill-advised manner.
Losing control in competition is nothing new. From the Little Leaguer–or his parents–throwing a temper tantrum after striking out on a bad pitch to Marty McSorley brutally slashing Donald Brashear with his stick and facing criminal charges, anger takes on many faces during the heat of the battle.
In auto racing, that heat is elevated to a higher degree–or at least, a higher temperature. Because there are no timeouts other than a caution period here and there, drivers are strapped into cockpits that are more like saunas for three to four hours. As the race wears on, the blood begins to boil, and so do tempers, especially in the closing laps.
A racecar easily can become a weapon with a nudge here and a bump there, and retaliation is never far away. Because of television replays and pictures, many of those incidents are ingrained in our memories.
For me, the 1979 Daytona 500 stands out. Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison, fighting for the win on the last lap, banged down the backstretch until they wrecked. Then more fighting took place–outside their cars. Bobby Allison parked his car and joined in.
Almost every sport has ugly incidents–Kermit Washington punching Rudy Tomjanovich, Roberto Alomar spitting in an umpire’s face, McSorley’s slashing–though most are isolated. The offenders are fined or suspended or both, and the games go on.
Only if that offender winds up back in the doghouse or shows a pattern of misbehavior is there potential for a greater problem.
Which brings to mind Tony Stewart, easily one of the top talents in Winston Cup–and easily agitated. Is Stewart simply a hothead who has trouble controlling his temper, or do his repeat offenses suggest he needs help managing his anger?
Stewart’s recent outburst at Daytona, where he slapped a tape recorder from a reporter’s hand and was restrained by his boss, Joe Gibbs, from a NASCAR official, was surprising to no one, which speaks to Stewart’s problem. He already was on probation for driving into Jeff Gordon on pit road earlier this season at Bristol.
Those types of incidents have been characteristic of Stewart’s behavior since his earliest days in racing, from USAC to the Busch Series and now in Winston Cup. This is stock car’s major league, not some weekly bullring in Pennsylvania. Not only is Stewart representing Joe Gibbs Racing, but Stewart’s sponsor, family-oriented Home Depot, is supporting the team’s multimillion-dollar racing effort.
“What’s different here compared with the NFL or the NBA is that you represent the corporation,” Gibbs says. “It has got to be someone Home Depot is comfortable with, someone they think is a good representative. I think they look at the total picture like I do: Here are all the great things that have happened, but there have been some negatives we don’t want happening again.”
Gibbs says a car owner, like a coach, must look at the entire individual, not just the periodic episodes that might disrupt the team, when making a decision about committing to a driver or signing a player.
“I look at whether they are good people first,” he says. “Do they have a good heart, and are they going to be good representatives of our race team, or in the past, the Redskins? People ask me about John Riggins. He might have done a lot of things that didn’t fall in line with me, but I felt like he had a good heart and was a great team guy.
“People don’t see the Tony I know who does charity work or is so good with kids. They don’t see the total person. In racing venues where he is faced with severe disappointment, sometimes he’ll go off.”
Gibbs stops short of linking Stewart’s emotional outbursts to a lack of maturity. Stewart is 30, still a youngster in racing circles, and although Gibbs never wants Stewart to lose his passion, he hopes his driver learns from experience and understands the spotlight will be on him.
“It’s usually through our mistakes that we learn the most, and it’s what you do with those lessons that matters,” Gibbs says. “We’re in a very competitive sport, and chances are that over time you’re going to do something you wish you hadn’t done or said.”
Al Shuford, a former trainer for the Carolina Panthers and now a consultant for the Gibbs team, says he noticed a positive change in Stewart in May, when Shuford placed him on a fitness routine to prepare for his day of double duty at the Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500.
“Stress is virtually eliminated with proper nutritional habits along with good sleep habits coupled with a strong workout,” Shuford says. “During physical activity, there are social changes that take place as well as physical changes. Some of the social changes include renewed self-esteem and positive reinforcement of directions, goals and ideals.”
Indeed, there was much made of the kinder, more gentle Tony Stewart in May, but somewhere on the way to July, it was back to the old Tony. So, at what point does Gibbs decide enough is enough?
“Every driver out here knows the only thing that can cost him a job–if he’s a great driver–is to misrepresent the corporation,” Gibbs says, “or do something that would embarrass the corporation.”
Gibbs says he doesn’t think Stewart has crossed that line yet, and the team is doing all it can to make sure that doesn’t happen. Sources close to the team say Stewart is working with a psychologist. Gibbs won’t comment, and there is no word about which party initiated the contact.
Which leaves you and me to read between the lines. Stewart wasn’t talking after either of the past two races.
“We have a plan in place. It’s just about taking the right approach,” Gibbs says. “And we’ve all talked about it.”
Stewart is too good of a driver to let his temper get in the way. He has all the support he needs. Somewhere along the way, it’s up to him to take the next step.
M@IL BONDING
LEE SPENCER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS
Don’t you believe Terry Labonte is done? When Dale Earnhardt wrecked him on the last lap at Bristol (1999), it appeared to suck the competitiveness right out of Labonte. He might not want to leave, but I’ll bet Kellogg’s might be making some noise about getting a better driver in that car.
Robert M. McAdam, Roanoke, Va.
Robert: I think Terry Labonte is far from done. Yes, he’s 44, but that’s not too old in this sport. My sources tell me Kellogg’s adores its driver, which is easy to understand. He is a sponsor’s dream–intelligent, articulate and a man of principle. The driver is not the problem on this squad. There needs to be a stronger sense of direction coming from whoever is leading this team. The chemistry isn’t there at this point.
And before anyone speculates that Jeff Gordon, one of Labonte’s teammates, receives better equipment, I can tell you that’s just not true. Rick Hendrick doesn’t operate that way; he knows he has two championship-caliber drivers. Remember, Labonte won a title driving for Hendrick in 1996. Although Labonte is mired in the point standings, he has the ability to win at any track.
Owner Cal Wells denies reports that there were additional layoffs last week at PPI despite news that the No. 96 Ford and driver Andy Houston would not compete at New Hampshire or this weekend at Pocono. “Things in racing always evolve, and you have to be prepared for them,” Wells says. “That’s what we’re doing.” Word spread in the garage last weekend that as many as 30 workers had received pink slips. PPI laid off 14 employees earlier in the season. The team will attempt to qualify for the Brickyard 400…. The New England 300 was probably a preview of the rest of the season: Robert Yates drivers Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd battling for the Winston Cup title with Jeff Gordon trying to horn in. “I would love for it to go down to the last race of the season,” Yates says. “I just don’t want to be there.” … NASCAR was scheduled to hold another safety meeting this week when teams tested at Indianapolis. Teams were expected to watch the videos on taking precautions that were viewed in February and to see the new carbon-fiber seat developed by Matt McArdle, PPI’s technical director. Tony Eury Sr., crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr., says he’s not sure the new seat will be embraced. “There’s no way of telling if the seat is cracked after an accident, and if the car is wrecked, then NASCAR would put a sticker or a stamp on it to make sure it goes back to the manufacturer for repairs,” Eury says. The cost of the seats has not been revealed, and that is a concern because composite seats would have to be custom-fitted and moved from car to car. Current seats range from $400 to $600…. Lots of teams had engine trouble at Chicago, but it was the third time this season for Bobby Labonte. The team made changes last week to address the problem. “A valve spring failed at Chicago,” crew chief Jimmy Makar says. “The material that we’ve been using was part of the old design. We’ve decided to go with a better grade of steel on the new parts.” … Mike Bliss is the second driver to bite the dust with Eel River Racing in the last three weeks. Kenny Wallace was the first. The team has missed six races, including the last two with Bliss attempting to qualify. Sources say Rick Mast will be in the car at Pocono…. If Chip Ganassi finds proper backing, he might have a third Cup team in the works for next season…. Tommy Baldwin, crew chief for Ward Burton, and former Evernham Motorsports G.M. Eddie D’Hont are joining forces to build a Busch Series team for next year. D’Hont and Baldwin hope to field Dodges but might run Pontiacs if manufacturer money is packaged with the driver. Although the new Dodge Busch engine is expected to be approved soon, the team might run Dodge bodies and General Motors engines until the Dodge engines are up to speed.
3 WIDE
1 Just a good ol’ boy. Ron Hornaday did his best Dukes of Hazzard impression, riding with two wheels on top of the concrete wall after colliding with Stacy Compton. As Bo Duke would say, “Yee-haw!”
2 He loves me, he loves me not. After three weeks of musical chairs, Jim Smith put Mike Wallace back in the No. 7 for the rest of the season. Wallace rewarded him with a top-10 run, Wallace’s first since Talladega.
Coming attractions. With Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon and Ricky Rudd dominant at New Hampshire, we saw what we’ll see for the rest of the season: a three-way battle for the Winston Cup title.