Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Did anyone else see Stewart shove the USAC official twice & knock his headset off after they didnt have a push truck ready to push Hines off after the tire change? Stewart was right to be pizzed off but probably shouldnt have laid hands on the official.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Yeah I saw it and it wasn't the brightest move he could have made. Earlier his foundation presented the Indiana State Police with 30 vests for the canine dogs. He was very generous to do so and then he pulled a bone headed move like that. Lucky they didn't come back and haul him off to jail.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

yea i saw that too. it was quite interesting.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

anyone know which usac official that was. he seemed to take the punishment well.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Didn't see it but I heard there was heated exchange going on. The rule is, Once the one to go is given, You may not push off. In the past, I think they gave to ten in USAC two minutes or two laps or something but this years rule is that and everyone has to live and die by it.

USACs in a tough possition on this one,
Chuck, who once said it wouldn't take much for TSR, KK and others to pull out and thats why I said don't abandon the lower budget teams.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

That is the problem with this world to many candy a$$'s. Jail Please. Give me a break. yea lets fill our already over crowed jails and court with stupid $hit like that.

Please, be a man and suck it up...... This is a dog eat dog world so i suggest not wearing milk bone underwear.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

TS reminds me more than a little of another former Hoosier icon who commited so many charitable and selfless acts but, much to his detriment, could not control his ego and temper. That said, this was not that big of a deal IMO and I'd be surprised if anything further comes of it. :checkered:

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Chuck, I think most of know the rule. Problem was (and you wouldn't know because you didn't see it!!) :doh: the car WAS ready to push of just prior to the one to go signal to the field and a push truck was not even close....Why???? That is the question, and that is why Tony and the TSR Crew had GOOD reason to be upset......shoving...maybe not, but hey, in the heat of battle...stuff happens....:angry-smiley-007:

Ken Joyce

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Great come back!:doh: That was said with tongue firmly planted in cheek. A little attempt at humor that you obviously missed.:) I will work harder on my posts in the future and hope that they meet with your approval.:rolling Now try taking a chill pill and see if that helps.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Agreed!:thumb

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

You've been around this board for a while. Seems like you should have sense enough to know which members have earned a sufficient amount of respect that they don't deserve to get the anonymous "I'm tougher than you" routine. IMO, Mike (Mud Packer), is one of those members.

And the way I read it, he wasn't calling for Tony's arrest. He was just saying, hey he should watch out, because he could be arrested for something like that. With that said, I saw that as it happened last night and it just looked like a shove. Something for USAC to address, but not anything to haul someone away for.

Jerry

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Watch it you better keep John Dillinger Out of this :rolling:rolling

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

I wonder how Tony would react to the push truck situation if he was at the Little 500 pits and 5 or 6 cars made a pit stop at the same time?

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Wasn't he a texan?

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Maybe Tony's team will start bringing it's own push truck to the races,to be used specifically for their cars only?:idea:

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Well thanks for that verification of what you seen. On the net they said the one too go had been given just as he pushed to the push off area.

I don't know and I'll admitt that.
Chuck

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

I was there and the car was not ready to be pushed at the one to go signal. They were on the backstrech before the crew moved away from the car so that it could be pushed. Then they had to get the car to the inspection box to receive a push. This was all talked about in the drivers meeting before the race. Actually it has been repeated many times throughout the year.

David Thompson

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

I think the former Hoosier icon Marv is talking about lives in Texas, now. I could be wrong though.

Jerry

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

You're probably thinking A.J. Foyt, Chuck. The red sweatered former Buckeye who was later to become a "Hoosier icon" may well be a Texan at this writing for all I know or care. :wink

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

The overall attitude in response to TS doing this is hypocritically funny. If Tony does it, well, he had good reason and it's really okay.

Now, if Sammy Swindell had committed this same act, the howling would be heard for hundreds of miles calling for his arrest and dismemberment. Same goes for the outrage that Steve Kinser seemed to incur on several message boards when he lit into the WoO officials at Eldora.

Just depends on who the perp is.

I believe most sanctioning bodies do have rules against "handling" officials. And they need to be enforced just like other major "respectable" sports do (NFL, NHL, NBA, NCAA, etc). No need for the law to be involved (unless physical injury results).

USAC should ban TSR from all sanctioned events for 30 days effective immediately. This kind of crap needs to be nipped in the bud. Otherwise, it sends a message to every team owner and driver that it's okay to "intimidate" officials. Once shoving becomes acceptable, then punches become borderline.

Is this a harsh penalty, sure. But Kevin Miller and USAC are trying to sell their product to new audiences and capture more of the market. I can assure you, NASCAR would penalize the hell out of Tony if he did that to one of their pit road staff.

If you shoved a track official at a show at Bloomington, Gas City, the Burg, or Haubstadt, I suspect you'd be escorted out and asked not to come back for a while.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Suspend Tony himself, I agree with that. Suspend TSR as a team, no, Hines and Levi did NOTHING to deserve a suspension. I'd tell Tony he can come back when they race at one of his tracks

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Just depends on who the perp is... Welcome to my world.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

I believe the precident set last year in one race when Sammy Jumped Clayton. Course that wasn't a official. but it was a team member

I was thinking A.J by the description Marv gave but could be Hewitt or any number of people.

Who ever heard of a racer with a temper? :)

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

SWEET!!...There ya go!!..........Brucer'

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

I like that the car is #14. From Speedtv.com:


Stewart’s car will carry the No. 14, the number of his boyhood idol and close friend A.J. Foyt. “A.J. has always been my hero and will always be No. 1 on my hero list, with the best part being that we are really good friends,” Stewart said. “We obviously have a tremendous amount of respect for one another. I remember him calling me after I won my first Cup championship in 2002 and I remember how much it meant to have him call that night and congratulate me. We really do have similar pasts and carry a lot of characteristics that are the same. He is one of the greatest icons in racing worldwide and to be compared to him in any way is always a huge honor.

“We came up through the same types of cars, from Sprint Cars to Midgets, and then I went to the IRL and moved into NASCAR,” Stewart said. “A.J. ran Indy cars for a long time and still came into stock car racing and was successful. There aren’t a lot of guys that can go from car to car and still win races. It was something that A.J. was really good at and something that we have been very fortunate to replicate.”

“Tony and I have been friends for a long time,” said Foyt, a winner of four Indianapolis 500s, the 1972 Daytona 500 and the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. “In addition to being quick, he’s always told it how it is. I don’t think there’s anyone better to carry the No. 14.”

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

From ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS -- Two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart expects to be fined by the U.S. Auto Club for an "altercation" with an official during Thursday night's race at O'Reilly Raceway Park.


The incident occurred after points leader Tracy Hines, who drives for one of Stewart's two National Midget teams, got into the wall and there wasn't a track official or push truck present to help get the car back in the race.

Hines' crew reportedly attempted to change a right rear flat and get him back into the race before another restart. As they pushed the car to the front of the straightaway, a USAC official indicated they were too late.

Stewart then came down to pit lane to get an explanation for the call. He reportedly knocked the headset from the official's head and then shoved him.

"We had an altercation," Stewart said Friday after unveiling the car number (14) and sponsors (Office Depot and Old Spice) he'll showcase for Stewart-Haas Racing next season. "It was a situation [where] we didn't understand a call they made."

In a statement Friday, USAC official Kevin Miller acknowledged that there was an incident but would not say who was involved.

"A review of the incident will be conducted Monday morning among USAC officials and staff," Miller said in a statement. "At that time an official USAC response will be released."

Stewart said the incident ultimately could cost Hines, who finished 22nd, the USAC crown. He also admitted if he had to do it over again he wouldn't have confronted the official.

"When you're sitting there and you've got your corporate sponsors there and you've got a car on the racetrack and it's sitting on pit lane and they can't get a push truck to it, you're supporting your guys and your team that worked on that car to get it back out," he said.

"There was definitely a disagreement. We talked about it after it happened and after the race was over. It got their eyes open and they're doing everything they can to make sure incidents like that don't happen again."

David Newton covers NASCAR

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

USAC will get more coverage from the mainstream press over this incident than they have in years, because it involves a NASCAR driver. I'll bet this David Newton had never even heard of USAC before this happened.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Are you kidding? Ban A WHOLE ORGANIZATION because the team owner pushed an official? Of course the act was wrong and Tony probably admits it now but in the heat of the moment and tempers flaring I'm sure you would be pissed off too if your car (who also happened to be leading the points) was waiting to be pushed off for over 10 seconds and no push truck in sight.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but from what little I saw, the push was minor and the official didn't fall or anything. Now when Jeff Gordon pushed Matt Kenseth at Bristol in 06 did we see all 4 hendrick cars suspended from competing in the next four races? NO! Because it's ridiculous, what did all the team members and drivers at TSR do wrong in this? Absolutely nothing.

It's pretty clear your suggestion comes not from you actually thinking he or the team deserves it, but just because you don't like him as a person.

- Tyler Cottongim

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Tony should be penalized. A fine and perhaps some entrant points. But Tracy should not recieve any penalties. He did absolutely nothing wrong.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

speaking of press coverage on the web site of the Indy star paper they have a photo in the gallery of nascar drivers signing autographs there is a picture of Levi Jones signing also

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Atleast there as only two people involved unlike the minor league baseball game that erruptted into a brawl in Dayton, OH.

Fine Tony, suspend himfrom races but don't penalize the driver for something the car owner does.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Virtually every racetrack in the country has a rule that states the driver is responsible for the crew. No different than if a kid was racing, and the dad went apeshit on somebody, the kid is told not to come back due to the actions of HIS crew. And honestly, the tracks that don't have that rule, or the ones that don't enfore that rule in my opinion are missing the boat. Get rid of the trouble makers. Will teach drivers to quit hiring jackasses.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Just to clarify my original recommedation of suspending TSR for 30 days: I figured that if Tony has a shred of decency in his heart (and I know he does, probably a lot more than many would give him credit for), he would allow Levi and Tracy to find other rides for that period. I doubt it would take either driver more than 72hours to lock up rides for all three divisions. This would allow the driver to continue running for title points.

Levi already runs a Walker car (did tonight at GC) and I believe Tracy was running pretty good in someones midget at the DuQuoin POWERi shows early this year.

They would only be impacted at two sprint races (Salem and Oskaloosa) and two SC races (Iowa and Springfield). The midget races would be the biggest hit because it would cover IMW. Just suspending an owner (who probably wouldn't be at any of these events anyway) wouldn't have much affect.

Smart teams would figure out a way to work around it.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Wow! Being successful and winning certainly is wonderful. Woody Hayes, Bobby Knight, Casey Kahne, Tony Stewart, A. J. Foyt. Sounds like Kevin Miller's idea of an "event" came true.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Ok lets say they (usac) does slap Tony on the hand for being a spoiled brat that didn't get his way in the deal ,even though he is TS. What will TS do when Usac goes to Eldora to show them HE IS THE BOSS . You slapped my hand I'll show you Whaaaaaa WHHHHaaaaaaaaa Tony grow up and quit being such a pr!ck. We all get it Tony,your the man, The Multi millionair ,the racing god and we're all breathing your air........GET OVER YOURSELF....I just wish the finish to this story was that the USAC guy decked him good for the whole world to see.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Hey lazi,
How about volunteering yourself to be the big hero who puts Tony in his place?
Oh, can't do that without losing your anonymity?
So you get on a message board to let the world know that you are insanely jealous of Tony.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

Preacher Dave, that is exactly how I saw it and it happened in front of us. Tony was upset because he didn't understand the rules that were layed out explicitly in the drivers meeting. Penalize Tony; but leave Tracy Hines out of it, he was sitting in his car and had no hand in what went down. Fine Tony 10k, make him donate 10k more to the USAC foundation and apologize to the 2 young men he laid hands on and lets get back to racing. :checkered:
Tony is exceptional when it comes to charity, but has an explosive temper when it comes to racing. I believe it all equals out and I remain a Stewart fan.

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

I was not there so I will not speculate or state what I think should happen. That being said, if you where there you can find a list of potential penalities reguarding what reportedly happened in the rule book posted on USAC's website. Here is the link. (Note it is PDF)

http://www.usacracing.com/assets/fil...ook/part10.pdf

Re: Went to a fight and a race broke out
 

From the usac link:
10.28 Unsportsmanlike Conduct - Any participant who, in the judgment of the Chief Steward or the Director of Competition, is
guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct during a race meeting may be subject to any or all of the appropriate penalties in Rule 10.2.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, unsportsmanlike conduct shall include reckless and overly aggressive driving
endangering the safety of participants.

10.30 Assault or Battery - If any competitor or other persons during or in respect to a race meeting shall commit an assault or
battery, such person, so offending, shall at once be disqualified and/or excluded by the Chief Steward and reported to the
Director of Competition for consideration of further penalties.

10.32 Conduct Detrimental to Racing - Any participant who, in the judgment of the Director of Competition, the Executive
Committee, or the Board of Directors, is guilty of conduct detrimental to racing and/or to the United States Auto Club, on or off
the track, may be suspended and/or fined by the Director of Competition or the Board of Directors and/or the Executive
Committee.

10.3 Authority to Pronounce a Fine - The USAC Chief Steward shall have the authority to pronounce a fine up to $2,500 upon
any participant or member who violates any USAC rule. To this, the Director of Competition, the Board of Directors or the
Executive Committee may add further penalty.
A. The Director of Competition, the Board of Directors and/or the Executive Committee shall have the authority to levy a
fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) against any participant or member who violates any USAC rule.

As I stated before, I am still a Stewart fan in spite of this incident and feel no action should be taken against Tracy (or Levi) as they had no hand in the incident. The people who posted about this being a PR positive for USAC are probably right. I saw the thing on TV this morning while I was looking for a weather report.