The NASCAR community is used to seeing drivers sparring on and off the racetrack. More times than not, constant fender-bending action on the racetrack blows into a full-fledged physical altercation in the garage area. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. landing a punch at Kyle Busch is still fresh in the memory of the fans; that goes to show how competitive the sport is. Turning the screws further in, winding up the drivers, are the hecklers and staunch critics that flock to the racing venues.

Every big NASCAR driver, once in their racing career, has had moments with race fans. For the most part, the situations were diffused before they could blow up, but the same cannot be said for Tony Stewart. Most of the drivers opted to disregard or ignore the flak that was aimed at them, but Stewart reached a boiling point with a race fan. So much so that he confronted him. While a good five years have passed since that altercation, Stewart still remembers the incident well and has no remorse for the way he reacted.

Tony Stewart doesn’t like to be heckled

This incident happened back in 2019 when Stewart was participating in a sprint car event in Jackson, Minnesota. Well, as far as racing was concerned, he didn’t have a good outing with the engine on his car blowing up after one lap. This was indeed a disappointing result for the former NASCAR driver, as the event was advertised as “Tony Stewart Night.” A ton of fans had flocked to the Jackson Motorplex to catch a glimpse of their favorite racer.

Despite the unfortunate end to his night, Stewart took time and greeted the fans after the race. But as he was signing autographs, a heckler was giving Stewart an earful and was a constant thorn in his side. A report by TMZ states that he was cursing at the former SHR driver. “F–k you, Tony. You piece of s–t. You come here and basically race for one lap and quit, you piece of s–t.” But Stewart had enough of the constant bickering and landed a punch to the heckler’s face. Stewart had even sent a verbal reply to the heckler. “I blew my engine, you f—ing a–hole. Do you want to pay for it?” 

Stewart’s personality was such that he was the aggressor and was fierce in his battle with his rivals. But, seeing him actually throw a punch at his hater was indeed a big surprise. He was asked about the most heated moments from his racing career recently, the Jackson Motorplex one in particular. “What about the guy in the stands that came after you?” To which, Smoke replied, “He definitely won’t come out of the stands there again. We cleaned his clock.” He said this while speaking to Sullivan Old Town BBQ.

It wasn’t the first time when Tony Stewart confronted a heckler in the crowd. Nine years ago, during the Chilli Bowl Nationals, an off-duty deputy, Cpl. Kyle Hess, commented about not liking Stewart. At the time, Hess was under the influence, and Stewart confronted him. When it looked like things would escalate to a serious physical altercation, security stepped in. Later, as Dennis Larson, a Tulsa deputy police chief explained, “From what I was told, Tony stated to [Hess], ‘What’s your problem with me?'” Larson said. “At some point their hands were locked together. The fan pushed toward Tony; Tony stepped back, and a security guard basically stepped between the two and just made a motion and the fan, who had consumed a lot of alcohol, sat down.”

Well, this was Tony Stewart unhinged with one of his haters, but there are a ton of moments where his on-track rivals got a taste of this treatment. The only difference there was he used helmets and other things to intimidate his opponents.

The infamous helmet throw by Smoke at Bristol

Trending

1

Kyle Busch Handed “Final Warning” by NASCAR as Internal Friction Erupts at Chevrolet

2

Justice for NASCAR Legend as FBI Takes Down Elite Car Thieves in Shocking Undercover Operation

3

Chase Elliott Branded NASCAR’s “Last Big Hope” as ‘Loudmouth’ Denny Hamlin Earns Controversial Veteran’s Respect

4

NASCAR Fans Trash FOX’s “Horrible” Daytona Hire to Call Out Injustice For Kevin Harvick’s Talent

5

Kevin Harvick Demands NASCAR to Ditch 2 Historic Races With Wild $1,000,000 Proposal

The first heated moment that comes to our mind is the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2012. It’s just tough for drivers to navigate their path to victory lane at Bristol, where drivers trade more than just paints off each other’s race car. And something similar happened between Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart as they both were battling for the lead. The #17 car ran the #14 off the track, which led to back and forth between the two drivers.

Ultimately, both of them went spinning across the track, and Stewart was the one who came off worst. The #14 car made contact with the inside wall and came to a halt; meanwhile, Kenseth was able to fire back up and get going. Well, the drama didn’t end there, as Stewart was waiting for Kenseth at the exit of the pit road.

As soon as the #17 car rolled up, Stewart let fly his helmet aimed at Kenseth’s race car. The helmet landed right on the hood of the #17 car, much to the delight of the fans in the grandstands. Smoke also acknowledged the support and sent out a salute to the fans. This was one of the incidents where Stewart lost his cool, but despite being a polarizing figure, the racing community still adores him.