The Helmet Saga: What Happened When Tony Stewart Threw His Helmet at Matt Kenseth On-Track?

The 2012 NASCAR season got heated when Tony Stewart sent his helmet flying toward Matt Kenseth. Also known as Smoke, Stewart was true to his name as his fuming anger rose way above the track in the form of his flying helmet.

During their battle for the lead at the Irwin Tools Night Race, Kenseth and Stewart made contact on lap 333. Following the contact, the impact sent the two of them on the insides and into the wall. Owing to this, the #14 and #17 drivers lost their momentum in the race. 

Although Tony Stewart could not complete the race, Matt Kenseth went on with the race for a bit. During the very next lap after the incident, Stewart hurled his helmet at the #17 of Kenseth’s. As Kenseth was not driving that fast, his Ford did not suffer much damage.

Surprisingly, the governing body did not fine Tony Stewart. Although they did confiscate his helmet. Kenseth, on the other hand, finished the race at the 25th position while Stewart finished at 27. But the squabble between the two did not end there. Tony Stewart was clearly upset with Matt Kenseth during the race. However, rather than the wreck, Stewart was disappointed with Kenseth’s blocking strategy before it.

What happened with Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth after the race?

In an interview after the race, Stewart revealed, “We got by Matt there, and it probably wasn’t the ideal pass, but we made sure to try the same thing (every time).”

“We ran on the restart faster than him each lap, so we just learned our lesson that next time just drive through him, not even be patient with him. We’re not going to give him that chance again.”

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Following this, Stewart continued to talk about the confiscation of his helmet. He said, “I don’t give a crap! The hell with the helmet. I’m going to run over him every chance I’ve got from now until the end of the year—every chance I’ve got.”

However, it is interesting to know where exactly the helmet is now. In one of the interviews, Stewart revealed, “I know exactly where that helmet is. I won’t say where it’s at, but I know who has that helmet.”

Further, he said, “I will say this, I was in his office one day and I almost took the helmet.” Talking about his plans after that, he said, “I was going to do a deal where I took it to different locations and took pictures of it and then sent him messages saying, “If you want to see your helmet alive, you’ll comply with all of our demands.”

However, in 2016, Matt Kenseth returned the much-coveted helmet to Stewart. As a retirement gift, the two of them who had already set their differences apart put an end to the entire incident.

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While returning the helmet, Kenneth said, “Hey Tony, for your retirement, I wanted to get you something. I think this accidentally slipped out of your hand at Bristol a couple of years ago. Thought you should have it back.”