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HAMPTON, GA – AUGUST 29: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, speaks to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on August 29, 2014 in Hampton, Georgia. Stewart hit and killed sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr. during a dirt track race August 9, after Ward Jr. had exited his car. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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HAMPTON, GA – AUGUST 29: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, speaks to the media prior to practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on August 29, 2014 in Hampton, Georgia. Stewart hit and killed sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr. during a dirt track race August 9, after Ward Jr. had exited his car. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Tony Stewart made an appearance in the NASCAR on FOX booth for the LA Coliseum race. But plenty of people were living under the misconception that he was nothing more than an afterthought.
But one couldn’t be more wrong.
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Stewart popped up in the booth once again for the 2023 season opener race. But many were living under the misconception that the Stewart-Haas Racing boss got the gig just because the booth needed someone and his number came up. On the contrary, it was a calculated decision. In fact, they wanted him for more races!
Mike Joy cleared up. “Tony’s not here for this race just because his number came up. We got to the end of last season, and we told Jacob Almond, whose VP, in charge of talent development, ‘how many races does Tony want to do? And we’ll figure out how we fill in the rest’.”
Despite being called specially for the gig, the four-time champ still felt he didn’t deserve the honor.
Tony Stewart felt like he wasn’t up for the task at the booth
When Stewart was asked to hop into the NASCAR booth in 2022, he was caught off guard. But the worst of it was the fact that he felt he had no reason to be put to the task. He said, “I remember last year on this day riding the car. And I’m like, I have no business doing this.”
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CONCORD, NC – OCTOBER 12: Tony Stewart, driver of the #20 The Home Depot Chevrolet, gets into his car in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on October 12, 2007 in Concord, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
He further added, “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know why they hired me to do this. This is gonna be a train wreck.”
Of course, he was proven wrong because the SHR boss was exactly what the fans needed. And even he said, “I had so much fun with it, the three races I got to do last year.”
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WATCH THIS STORY: Tony Stewart Masterstroke Leads to “Unexpected as F**k” Brad Keselowski–Hailie Deegan Announcement
He got a similar record this year, making all the fans a star of him once again. Do you want to see the Hall of Famer hop in the booth for more races this year?
