The Greatest Of All Time… a sports debate as old as time. Every sport has its legends, who dazzled the fans or set unsurmountable statistics, and NASCAR is no different. However, what are the parameters that determine who is the Greatest of All-Time? Going by the statistics, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson are definitely in the conversation. That being said, there are also other factors which contribute to the debate and pitch other drivers as candidates. Among them is 3-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart.

Initially hailing from an IndyCar background, he is one of the few racers who is an IndyCar and a NASCAR champion. Many people often say that Kyle Larson is one of the most versatile drivers in NASCAR. This pretty much makes Tony Stewart the original holder of that title, and there were still others before him. Considering that he clinched championships in both series, doesn’t that also make him one of the Greatest of All-Time?

Sure, Stewart is still racing to this day, and has turned his attention to drag racing, thanks to his wife Leah Pruett. As it turns out, the 53-year-old is steadily finding his feet and finding success along the way. But when it comes to GOAT debates, he took a humble route while sharing his take on Rubbin is Racing podcast.

Tony Stewart eliminated himself from the GOAT debate

The conversation sparked by Large, the host of the show, pitted Stewart into a corner. He was asked whether he regretted not winning the Daytona 500 or the Indy 500 trophies. To which he replied. “I don’t know if you can call it regret or not. It’s not like I had a choice. We tried to win it and just didn’t accomplish it. I don’t know that I would call it regret, necessarily. Does it eat at me? Absolutely! You want to win the Crown Jewel events, and there’s been a lot of talk since we won the race at Las Vegas couple of weeks ago in the Top Fuel car. Where does that put me in motorsports history?”

USAC Triple Crown, IROC championship, SRX championship, IndyCar & NASCAR championship. These are the few highlights of what Stewart has achieved so far, but still, he feels that when it comes to versatility, he’s not the greatest ever to do it at the top level. “It’s pretty cool when people go, ‘Hey! You’re the GOAT!’ I’m not the GOAT. I’ve done some cool things, and I might be on a list of people that are considered for the GOAT. The Mario Andrettis, the AJ Foyts, the guys that did win the Indy 500, they won the Daytona 500, won Le Mans. Those are the guys I feel like are the GOATs, they won on the big stages.”

For many NASCAR drivers, a Daytona 500 win would cement their racing legacy. Many drivers would trade their multiple wins just to lift the Harley J. Earl Trophy. There’s a reason we saw Cup Series champ Martin Truex Jr. return to the Great American Race this year. 2-time champion, Kyle Busch, is in a similar boat where he’s also on the hunt for the long elusive trophy. So while Stewart isn’t losing his sleep over not winning marquee events, there’s always going to be drivers who will chase the ultimate glory, and you can’t blame them.

Ever since Smoke has parted ways with NASCAR, he’s been unhinged. Be it calling NASCAR’s economic model or the way the sport is being run. However, this time around, he ruffled some feathers with his bold take on the Daytona 500 race. According to him, the race doesn’t hold the prestige it once did, thanks to the one-time winners.

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Stewart’s brutal yet honest Daytona 500 take

Before we jump into what Stewart spoke about, the crown jewel race, let us understand why he had to make a controversial statement. In the last decade or so, the likes of Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have won the Daytona 500. Now, these aren’t title-contending drivers or ones who will have multiple wins throughout a season. And this seemed to be the base of Stewart’s argument that the race is losing its luster in the last decade or so.

“When it comes to Daytona, now I’m going to be crucified by a lot of people for this. In my eyes, it doesn’t mean the same now as it did 15-20 years ago. Anybody can win, I mean, you look at some of the guys that won the Daytona 500. I don’t want to go into the list of guys because they’re guys that I do respect and have friendships with, but they’re not guys that should have won the Daytona 500, and they’ve won the Daytona 50,0 and that’s all they’ve won.” He said during the podcast.

On the flip side, during the same period, you have Denny Hamlin, who is a 3-time winner of the Daytona 500. Joey Logano also won it in 2015, and from there on he would go on to bag three Cup Series championships. In the Next Gen era, William Byron became the first driver since 2020 to win consecutive Daytona 500s, and he is a title contender. So there are plenty of reasons why fans didn’t appreciate Smoke’s take on the biggest NASCAR race of the season. It’s hard to know if Stewart would have a similar perspective on this event had he etched his name in the history books.