Videos emerged late Friday night that showed Tony Stewart confronting a fan in the stands at the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Witnesses on Twitter stated that Stewart was confronting a fan who heckled him.
In one video, the fan appears to tell Stewart “I don’t like you” after Stewart walked up to him in the stands. They grabbed each other’s hands and Stewart slipped down a step as fans chanted Stewart’s name. Stewart and the fan argued briefly before it appeared the fan pushed Stewart back and then fell backward. Stewart then leaned in to continue the discussion.
Stewart is not competing at the Chili Bowl Nationals, which has more than 300 drivers competing in midget car races. He is helping with track preparations, something he did last year. Earlier this week, Stewart said in a press conference there that he plans to return to racing in dirt events when he retires from driving in the Sprint Cup Series after this season.
While many of Stewart’s altercations have happened with fellow competitors, he did have an incident five years ago that had him in a holding cell in Australia after an incident with a track co-owner. Stewart was held for questioning after he was alleged to have tossed his helmet at the track co-owner when they argued about the condition of the clay track. Stewart was not charged.
USAC fined Stewart $10,000 and placed him on probation for the rest of the year after a July 2008 incident at Lucas Oil Raceway when he knocked a radio headset off one official and shoved another in a dispute. Stewart later apologized for his actions.
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Tony Stewart with the fan that flipped home off! pic.twitter.com/kBpbpbMkGl
— Kyle Slader (@KyleSlader19) January 16, 2016