In a revealing interview with Kyle Petty, Tony Stewart discusses how his perspectives have changed as his roles in racing have grown.
“I’ve been at Eldora (Speedway) driving in my own car, in my own series that night at my own racetrack,” he said in the first episode of the new “Coffee With Kyle” series that will appear on the NBC Sports YouTube channel. “You get mad at somebody, where do you go? You just literally go to the mirror and look at each other.
“We’ve got one of those triple mirrors in our hauler in a small restroom. So I can look there and see three people, and it’s like that’s the best you can do is sit there and argue the point to yourself. I think that’s what helped me be a better (team) owner, track owner, be a better series owner. Because if you as a driver come up to me after a race and have a point you’re trying to make, I can understand it because I’m a driver, too.”
During the interview, the three-time Cup champion also riffs on:
--How a driver’s desire to retaliate quickly fades;
--His perspective on being called a “hothead”
--Why the new generation of NASCAR drivers have a different view on etiquette than the one he was taught by many veterans;
--And a disconcerting meeting he had with NASCAR several years ago that he left feeling “like we’re in bad shape.”
Watch the interview above or via YouTube here. The second part of the interview will be available Tuesday.