Tony Stewart has worn many different hats in the world of motorsports. He is a NASCAR Hall of Famer who has won championships both as a driver and owner. He has driven all kinds of cars from IndyCar to dirt racing and now he has the Superstar Racing Experience, which is set to take place next summer and air on CBS.
The man who shouted a lot at Smoke caught up with CBS Sports to discuss everything in the car racing universe of Kyle Larson’s exile at NASCAR until this Sunday’s Indianapolis 500.
Here are some of the highlights from the interviews, such as audio from the full interview.
CBS Sport: Kyle Larson is not around the sport for obvious reasons and Erik Jones is also a free agent after this year. He (Jones) was released from the 20 cars just after the year. In your opinion of those two drivers, what gives you the best chance of winning a race?
Stewart: “I find that pretty easy. I mean, I think you know the answer to that yourself, even if we ask. I mean, if you have to choose between those two guys, you have to choose Kyle Larson for sure. The kids were hot in NASCAR and he did a great job.and then he has, since his problems, been sitting in a sprint car and absolutely just destroyed the field of the sprint car.I think that if you have to choose one at the moment , you have to choose Kyle Larson.
“NASCAR needs to get off their ass and do the right thing and give this kid a chance to get back in a car. I think he’s paid his fine and he’s done the punishment long enough, where you know we have had similar instances in the sport that happened and the penalties did not last as close as long as this lasted with Kyle.
“It changed Kyle’s world, it turned everything upside down and it did not only affect him. It affected his family and many other people who did not deserve to be. I think that has been the case long enough. “I think it’s time for NASCAR to get off their ass and do the right thing and allow him to come back to the series now.”
CBS Sports: I want to talk about someone who’s in your system, Chase Briscoe, extremely talented. As someone who has been watching NASCAR for a long time, he reminds me of you in terms of his driving style. What is the future for him in Stewart-Haas Racing?
Stewart: “Well, of course, we see what he does. I felt right at the end of last year. I felt like he started with big improvements. This year we see this year through the season. I’m very under the impression of what he has done this year and you apparently know that we are working on him through our system.I am proud of him, we will continue to develop him.
“I’m feeling like he’s going to be in a Cup car at some point. It’s just a matter of when and where it’s going to be. It’s putting a little bit of pressure on the guys who’re currently in that cars are, but I think the pressure is good for them.I do not think we have one of the four drivers who just take things lightly and complain about nothing but having that young man in the Xfinity Series who does what he does keeps that warmth on those guys to make sure they get the most out of every race. “
CBS Sports: I would imagine that Chase Briscoe, given everything related to the pandemic, is probably your backup driver. If he was not in the case, would you be willing to jump in the race car if backup driver God forbid something happened?
Stewart: “I would say that we would probably be more comfortable putting Chase in the car than we would be at this point. And that is, even though they are not the same cars, they are still relatively the same, the way they drive the same I have not been in a car for so long, it would take me a while to acclimatize back and get used to it again so I would feel better, feel like our best chance at this point might be to put Jage in “the car.”
CBS Sports: What has it been like to have a team owned during the pandemic and racing under these circumstances?
Stewart: “It was completely different, and especially in the beginning when we tried to get two shows every week. I think in times like this you kind of find out where your program is and I’ve never been more proud of it. our staff at Stewart-Haas Racing now to crawl out four great race cars every week for these four drivers without training to take to the race and be as competitive as they have been.It’s really a testament to how hard they work at the store.
“If you can get guys like Kevin who can go out, and you know Kevin, if that care is in the ball in the ballpark, he’s going to get it the rest of the way, but you have to get it in it. getting ballpark and for those guys to do that at the store I think it was just incredible. ”
CBS Sports: Another driver who has really proven himself is Chase Elliott, who became the first driver since winning three straight race track races. If you had to fight Chase Elliott right now, who would you win as Chase?
Stewart: “Well, of course I should have won, come on, we’ll be realistic. I love that kid. I’ve known him since he was a really, really small kid and to see where he’s ripe. I’m really proud of him … You know it’s hard to say, I think it’s different for each generation .. I remember thinking back, well, if I had Richard Petty in his prime, who would have been better “It’s bad to say.”
CBS Sports: You came to the race against Jimmie Johnson, and I think a lot of Tony Stewart fans probably wanted you to race in a different era, because you probably won a lot more championships and a lot more races. Have you not raced with Jimmie, how many championships do you think you have won?
Stewart: “I do not know how much it would have changed. It’s not that we won second at all those championships that Jimmie won, but the thing about Jimmie Johnson is that he’s a guy who’s so consistent and I will to be honest, like a race fan watching the race on sunday. Jimmie looking forward to running to the finish was something I was excited about. I know the passion he has. Probably the worst thing about this whole pandemic is that all over the world, motorsport fans can give him the right steering wheel he deserves. “
CBS Sports: You talk about winning and the first name that comes to mind Helio Castroneves, which you added to the SRX Racing lineup, which will take place next summer on CBS. How excited are you about the lineup you currently have?
Stewart: “When we started this we wanted to pick that guys, I think for me it was kind of a dream list of guys that who I would eventually like to join to race with. So far everyone has where we accepted invitations to send.
“We know what we want these cars to feel. We know what we feel like good races will set and if you can bring the talent to drive these cars we will bring. I want these drivers to have fun with to drive the cars, but I think we can put on a great race for fans. “
CBS Sports: It really will not be normal this weekend when we have the Indy 500. There will be no fans present, but I understand that you and Advanced Auto Parts help bring fans in person. Can you tell me that a little bit?
Stewart: “I think Advanced Auto Parts has done something really unique and something cool that, even though the fans may not be there, they bring the fans back to the race and make them a part of probably one of the most crucial parts of the event itself and that is the command to start your engines.
“The power that dissolves all 33 cars to start the race at the start of the day, from an adrenaline point of view, is probably one of the peaks of the day that this race starts. So to celebrate and to help create a promotion where fans can make their ladies and gentlemen’s start your engines.It’s going to be pretty cool to send that video to CallingAllDieHards.com and submit it and have the chance to watch their video to physically command those drivers to start their engines. And if they do not win and get a chance to do so, 50 of them will receive $ 200 gifts. “
