Tony Stewart is a man with multiple talents. He can hop in anything that runs on four wheels and an engine, and he is likely to reign supreme. Be is USAC Sprint cars, the open wheel racing in IndyCar, stock car racing in NASCAR or the drag racing at NHRA. Smoke has his name etched in the history books of all these series. But he’s equally polished and up for the task when he has a mic in his hand instead of the steering wheel. This was evident from his stints at NASCAR covering the Busch Light Clash and the Daytona 500 in 2022 from the FOX booth.

But his big broadcasting break came this year when he was invited by FOX to cover the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. “I’m going to enjoy it. It’s gonna be fun to be back at Indianapolis and be a part of it with them.” And enjoy he did. After the painful split from NASCAR, shutting down his team, Stewart Haas Racing, he looked back at his career in IndyCar, and it was the perfect opportunity to relive the excitement and thrill of the biggest racing event in America.

Stewart attempted to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing five times, and his best finish was a 6th-place finish in 2001. The year when he completed the double. He does have an Indy 500 pole to his name, so FOX made the right call in roping him in for the broadcasting duties. But for some reason, an ill-informed critic wasn’t able to process why a drag racer was calling out the biggest racing event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

On May 26, 2025, X user @MI_Sprints—threw shades at Tony Stewart: “Why is a drag racer covering the Indy 500?” For starters, he is an IndyCar champion. He lifted the trophy back in 1997, and with two wins in 1998, he came agonizingly close to making it two championships in a row. There’s the historic Double, which makes him the only driver to achieve this milestone, and the pole win on his Indy 500 debut. Well, Stewart didn’t waste any time in shutting down this troll and came up with a savage response.

Stewart’s NHRA team, Tony Stewart Racing Nitro, didn’t just respond. They nuked the narrative. A single tweet—a photo of Smoke hoisting his 1997 IndyCar trophy with the caption “This is how…” and a side-eye emoji just knocked the online hater out of the park, and the fans had a field day with their bantering on social media.

Fans rally behind Stewart’s savage response, questioning his spot at the Indy 500

The backlash was instant. NASCAR fans, IndyCar loyalists, and even casual observers piled on with stats, memes, and sheer disbelief.  “Bro really tried to cancel a guy who’s won at literally every level. Clown behavior,” tweeted a fan, summing up the outrage. Smoke has won the USAC Triple Crown, championship at IndyCar and NASCAR, and he’s not done even at the age of 54. He is now competing for the NHRA Top Fuel championship after a humbling rookie season last year. So questioning his spot in the broadcast team was indeed a huge blunder for the online hater.

Others sliced through the troll’s ignorance with wit: “Questioning Tony Stewart’s IndyCar creds is like asking Picasso why he’s holding a paintbrush. Sit down.” The analogy stung because it was true. Stewart’s 2001 “Double” attempt—a grueling 1,100-mile gauntlet—remains one of motorsport’s most daring feats. Only five drivers have tried to complete this feat, yet he is the only one to be successful at it. Even NASCAR’s modern-day superstar, Kyle Larson, failed twice trying to tie this record with Smoke.

But the real punchline? The troll’s meltdown. After Stewart’s team posted the trophy photo, @MI_Sprints deleted his tweet and groveled, “Love you @TSRnitro. Hope we can still be friends,” a retreat so swift it left skid marks. “Dude folded faster than a lawn chair at a tailgate,” joked a user. The irony? Stewart’s NHRA team had just won at Route 66 Raceway days earlier, proving he wasn’t just defending his past; he is still making history.

“Didn’t know Smoke could clean up so well,” clearly, this fan was shocked. But this wasn’t a surprise. Remember how Stewart dealt with the questions from a reporter after the conclusion of the 2012 Richmond race. He was asked if he was amazed that three weeks in a row there were no wrecks, and Smokes’s response was just pure gold. “David, only you think about stuff like that. I don’t know about what you thing of during the race but I try to figure out how to go win the race and make my car go fast.”

Well, from 2012 to 2025, be it NASCAR or the IndyCar stage, Tony Stewart hasn’t lost his spark, be it behind the wheel, holding a mic, or be it savage responses on the internet. He literally can do everything.