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“I Hated It”- Hot-Headed Tony Stewart Shatters Delusion Around His Badass NASCAR Moment

Published 04/28/2024, 3:41 PM EDT

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Tony Stewart aka Smoke is known for his fiery temperament and headline-grabbing confrontations. May it be his altercations during races or his off-track fights, Stewart’s actions have always managed to capture the attention of fans and media alike. After all, who can forget the race where Stewart hurled his helmet at Matt Kenseth? However, it looks like Smoke himself wants to forget all of that.

Has Tony Stewart changed for the better since the Helmet Saga?

From verbal spats with Jeff Gordon to physical altercations with photographers and fans, Tony Stewart’s temper has been a constant source of drama throughout his career. Despite facing fines and disciplinary action from NASCAR on multiple occasions, Smoke has remained unapologetic, often dismissing criticism.

However, during his recent interaction on SpeedFreaks, Stewart revealed that he now approaches things differently. During the interaction, Stewart talked about his love for drag racing and the challenges he has been facing while figuring out the cars. To this, the host asked how 35-year-old Tony Stewart would handle losing and not being on top of his game.

Explaining how a younger Tony Stewart would not be as excited to continue, Stewart said, “Gainesville was a perfect example…we were first pair of the day, we start racing at 10:00 in the morning and at 10:05 we’re start to load stuff up. It’s like dang it! So, I don’t think I would have handled it quite as well as we do now.”

Tony Stewart shatters delusions surrounding his badass image

After hearing Stewart’s answer, the host joked about the incident where Smoke hurled a helmet at Matt Kenseth. He questioned who would Stewart throw helmets at in drag racing. To this, Stewart immediately replied, “Well the good thing is I don’t have to throw helmets anymore. Everybody thinks I enjoyed that and I hated it.”

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Shattering his badass image, Stewart went on to explain that he did not like his own reaction to the 2012 incident. Emphasizing how much he hated it, Smoke went on to confess his love for helmets. He said, “I hated it back in the day. I don’t want to throw helmets. I love helmets… I mean I have a helmet collection. I collect helmets. So, if I get that mad that I’m throwing a helmet it’s not a good situation.”

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What do you think of Stewart’s answer? Do you really believe that Smoke has changed for the better? Let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Devyani Sharma

540Articles

One take at a time

Devyani Sharma is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. With a portfolio of over 500 articles, she is highly regarded for her ability to provide a nuanced and balanced perspective on the sport. With a Master's Degree in English literature, Devyani places great importance on the power of words and their ability to connect with readers.
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Edited by:

Shreya Singh