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Tony Stewart Confesses Falling Prey to the Intimidator’s Mockery After Soul-Sucking Indy-Charlotte Double Debut

Published 01/14/2024, 4:01 PM EST

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In 1999, Tony Stewart became the only driver in the history of NASCAR to pass the checkered flag two times in a single day, one at the Indy 500 and the other at the Coca-Cola 600. But do you know what’s more shocking? Well, Stewart did that again when he piloted his #20 Joe Gibbs Racing car on another double duty in a single day in 2001. 

However, it was his previous double-duty stint that resulted in a more soul-sucking experience. In a bid to share the pain with the community, he unraveled an 8-word jibe straight from The Intimidator‘s arsenal of mockery.

Tony Stewart unfurls Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s satirical jibe at his gut-wrenching condition

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From finishing P9 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to flying all the way to Charlotte Speedway and securing an impressive P4, let alone completing NASCAR’s longest race on the calendar, Stewart’s 1999 double debut was nothing short of extraordinary. Regardless, the P4 finish at the Coca-Cola 600 came at a massive cost, as Stewart aptly puts it.

While opening up about his NHRA, Indy 500, and Coca-Cola 600 stints, Stewart’s 1999 historic day was well remembered by interview host David Freiburger. He couldn’t help but praise the “Smoke” and said, “The most heroic thing I’m aware of that you’ve done, which is a lot, is running the Indy 500 and then flying to the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. You did that twice, right?”

Although Freiburger was impressed by Stewart’s past, he probably didn’t know the extremities he went through during his double duty, due to which Stewart spilled the beans and said, “Yeah. The first time was an absolute disaster. We finished ninth at the Indy 500. Indy 500 was hot that day. We flew down to Charlotte, it was really hot when I got to Charlotte.”

via Getty

Clearly, the weather was burning hot, and for someone who’s just finished 196 laps of a 200-lap race and is heading to the Coca-Cola 600, the conditions quickly became brutal. But the hot weather was just the tip of the iceberg, as the agonizing fate came later during the race. Unraveling his Coca-Cola 600 misery, Stewart said, “I called on the radio and said, ‘Hey, can you guys go see if Bobby’s [Labonte] got any of these energy bars or whatever crap he’s eating. I’m starving.’ I ate two mini bagels is all I ate the whole day. I didn’t know anything about nutrition, obviously.”

After finishing the strenuous 600-mile race, Stewart was sitting in his car, completely exhausted, presumably craving food and water as much as possible. It was during that moment when Dale Earnhardt Sr. approached his car and took a jibe at him saying, “Well kid, you had enough for one day?”

Following the encounter, The Intimidator helped the worn-out Tony Stewart get out of his Pontiac. That moment has carved its place in Stewart’s heart. However, during the race, the disastrous situation in which Stewart found himself would stay on his conscience forever.

Stewart undergoes a stringent challenge to cool his unsettling hunger

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When Stewart halted at the pit stop, his team was able to manage a chocolate bar for him, and on top of that, instead of diluting his Power Aid energy drink, they emptied the entire packet as Tony was very exhausted. However, it was the chocolate bar that caused a great deal of trouble to him.

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Stewart unraveled his quest to eat the chocolate bar and said, “I got on the racetrack, they got kitty litter around there to try to soak the oil up on the racetrack, and it’s swirling around inside the car and it has coated this chocolate bar”

The dramatic bit isn’t over just yet, as Stewart unfurled the mechanics of his helmet and how it hindered his eating and said, “A piece that goes over your nose to keep the air in and then there’s a flap on the bottom so to get the thing in there. I had to drive the car with my knee push this flap out, and try to stick this bar up in there to eat it. So the first time was an epic failure it’s all bent over and rolled over, I’m like… I got one massive giant bite at this thing and it was like watching a dog eating peanut butter.”

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Watch This Story: Hailie Deegan’s NASCAR Journey: A Tale of Triumph and Tribulation

Surely, Stewart went the extreme lengths to do everything in his power to reduce his tiredness and pump him for the race, and probably, with that “Dog eating peanut butter” bite, Stewart must’ve gotten a big boost.

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Written by:

Aneesh Gupta

192Articles

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During my teenage years, the thunderous symphony of Formula 1's V8s and the explosive crack of NASCAR's pistol shot became the soundtrack of my adrenaline-fueled existence. The relentless roars of engines, accompanied by the screeches of tires, ignited a passion within me that couldn't be contained. The screen came alive with a captivating dance of aggression, passion, frustration, and celebration, keeping me on the edge of my seat.
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Edited by:

Abhishek Ramesh