Smoke
 

Smoke raced the first 2 nights with the All Stars at Bubba.

Night 2 he got into it with Chad Kemanah, the star and champion of the All Stars. Apparently, he wasn't happy with the way Chad raced him and found him to tell him about it after the race.

Day 3 he unloaded and drew a pill but scratched for the night. Speculation is that he was unhappy with track prep at Bubba. Although, his team said he sat out to re-evaluate running with the series that he owns.

I am a fan of Tony Stewart. I love everything he has given back to racing especially grassroots. Sometimes it is hard to justify/defend his actions though.

I wouldn't race with a series I owned for several reasons.

Seems pretty self-explanatory to me.

Except he's a huge marketing draw. Him on the track puts people in stands and attracts interest his series normally wouldn't have.

They'll have to weigh it out and decide.

Re: Smoke
 

:44:

Every dog has or had his day!

Can't wait to watch him at the Little 500.

Re: Smoke
 

He hasn't broken Top Ten yet: 17th & 21st
Don't know if this link will work, you might have to pay....
https://sprintcarunlimited.com/tony-...ight-feel-car/

Re: Smoke
 

A lot going on at Bubba
1. The track took 2 inches of rain on Tues./Wed. that cancelled practice night. The track crew did hours and hours of work to get it race ready and hours during the shows to re work the surface for good racing. 2. Bubba had 38 sign in Thursday & Friday and WoO drivers won all three features.
3. I fully expected Tony to have some kind of learning curve and maybe he expected more from his team and himself. Add in he is the "Go to guy" for the All Stars officials and it is very hard to concentrate solely on the race car. Frustration is what Tony wanted to eliminate in his racing life, so a step back now is appropriate.
4. Tony will be more than capable driving and winning with the All Stars once the series defines their officials roles as well as Tony's role if in the cockpit. It is hard to officiate the boss, but to be successful , that is exactly what Tony has to agree to if driving in the series.
5. Tony would be the last one to expect any ASCoC driver to cut him any slack because of who he is, but he has every right as a driver to confront another driver if he felt mistreated. It must be driver to driver and not series owner to driver. That must be clarified immediately if Tony continues to compete in ASCoC.
6. This is not a big deal and hopefully will be tweaked so that we get to see Tony run ASCoC in 2017.

Originally Posted by MIracing:
Smoke raced the first 2 nights with the All Stars at Bubba.

Night 2 he got into it with Chad Kemanah, the star and champion of the All Stars. Apparently, he wasn't happy with the way Chad raced him and found him to tell him about it after the race.

Day 3 he unloaded and drew a pill but scratched for the night. Speculation is that he was unhappy with track prep at Bubba. Although, his team said he sat out to re-evaluate running with the series that he owns.

I am a fan of Tony Stewart. I love everything he has given back to racing especially grassroots. Sometimes it is hard to justify/defend his actions though.

Re: Smoke
 

nobody knows what happened, except for those close. its commonplace for drivers to race visiting superstars differently, feeling they have to prove a point, of sorts. maybe this was the case here, maybe not. i dont know. dont think chad would do that, but obviously tony thought differntly. tony loves to race, and for him to up and quit like that, makes me wonder if he has some kind of lasting effects from the ward deal, or his broken leg crash of a couple years ago. whatever the deal, i hope tony gets over this hump...

Re: Smoke
 

I'd love to see him race, glad he "saved" Allstars, but don't see how he can avoid appearance of "conflict of interest" running in his own series, even if it isn't true.
Last time I saw him race he was leading at Oscaloosa, lapped car in front of him hit haybale, Tony hit him, broken leg. I bet that cost him mucho NASCAR $$$!

Re: Smoke
 

Tony's probably going to have unlearn those nasty Nascar driving habits and learn how to really race again.
I have faith he will figure out real quick.

Re: Smoke
 

It seems to me Tony should have all the officials in place that he wouldn't need to be the go to guy at the race track. They run most nights without him there and don't need to go to him then.

Here's wishful thinking for you. How about let the All Stars run themselves and go back to racing with USAC. That's what gave him the ladder to stardom anyway

Re: Smoke
 

We're down here in Deland right now getting ready to start watching the races at Volusia in a few days. I'll ask Tony what his plans are. I'll give him the IOW.com secret signal/handshake to let him know we are on the up and up.

To be continued....

Originally Posted by artknepper:
nobody knows what happened, except for those close. its commonplace for drivers to race visiting superstars differently, feeling they have to prove a point, of sorts. maybe this was the case here, maybe not. i dont know. dont think chad would do that, but obviously tony thought differntly. tony loves to race, and for him to up and quit like that, makes me wonder if he has some kind of lasting effects from the ward deal, or his broken leg crash of a couple years ago. whatever the deal, i hope tony gets over this hump...

I wasn't there nor have I seen any video of this incident. Chad is one of the cleaner racers out there and has been around around a long time. I have a hard time believing he would be in awe of or have something to prove against Stewart. He's been in sprint cars for 20+ years and has raced against the best the sport has to offer. Just have to wonder if his temper got the best of him again.

Re: Smoke
 

Originally Posted by bobby01:
Tony's probably going to have unlearn those nasty Nascar driving habits and learn how to really race again.
I have faith he will figure out real quick.

This is what I think too. Father time catches everyone, add in some injuries, scaring accidents and less than top physical condition and it'll take some time to get back in the groove. Hustling a sprint on dirt is light years from reclining in a wallowing cup car. I'm sure he can still get it done, but it'll take some time to re-hone his dirt skills. :6:

Re: Smoke
 

Originally Posted by bullring:
It seems to me Tony should have all the officials in place that he wouldn't need to be the go to guy at the race track. They run most nights without him there and don't need to go to him then.

I know what you are saying about they have done it without him for many race nights. My point is Tony's rig was within 15 feet of the All Star trailer and we all react differently and with deference when the boss is nearby. I saw many All Star clad four wheelers pull up to Tony's rig for "conversation" from late afternoon until racing commenced. I just think dual roles can be a distraction to the focus and fun Tony is looking to enjoy.

Re: Smoke
 

tony..soprano said..never sh$t where you eat.

MUCH smaller scale, but I told myself I would not run in any WAR races while I owned/operated the series.

Re: Smoke
 

Really wish Donny would talk him into Dirt LM racing...sure seems like the best fit to me...IMHO (only dreamed about being Tony Stewart since I heard he was running both "National" AND Western states USAC midgets in 1994! lol)

Originally Posted by cshuman:
MUCH smaller scale, but I told myself I would not run in any WAR races while I owned/operated the series.

Very respectable

Originally Posted by cshuman:
MUCH smaller scale, but I told myself I would not run in any WAR races while I owned/operated the series.

Aaron Fry has said the same thing about running BOSS.

Re: Smoke
 

Originally Posted by cshuman:
MUCH smaller scale, but I told myself I would not run in any WAR races while I owned/operated the series.

Theres a slight difference when the guy who runs the show is the guy who used to stomp all our peepees in the dirt every time he got in one of those Hockett cars... hahaha

Maybe a smaller scale as of today... but I can see in the near future WAR being to USAC what the AllStars are to WOO

Haha, I appreciate the compliment.. it's been fun helping the WAR Series grow and get the exposure we have in the last year. We plan to keep that up in 2017!

Re: Smoke
 

Hey Shuman....I think we (MLS) have 3 races in common with WAR this year. Let me know if you want to drive my lightning sprint. First chance would be May 13th.

Re: Smoke
 

Fry doesn't run his own BOSS series but has had people wheel his car.

Also just seen where Kyle Larson is running Smokes 14 tonight.

Re: Smoke
 

If Tony wants to have some fun he needs to come ride some speedway.
Few years back he came out to a speedway race in N.C. He was enthralled and vowed to give it a try. Suppossedly one of the stipulations in his contract was that he couldn't have any fun. Well theres no more reason He cant come take some laps and experience the best feeling in all of motorsports. I've driven a lot of stuff, nothing comes close to riding speedway.
Dead serious, throw me a pm. We'll have you on a bike, race night or private session don't matter. its a sad racer who never experience's a speedwaybike at least once.

Re: Smoke
 

Contrary to you politically correct people, I believe drivers should work things out. That is one of the reasons why our sport has lost its character. When I grew up if you made a bone headed move, you better hope a tongue lashing is all you received. Like it or not, it put fans in the stands.

Re: Smoke
 

Originally Posted by 767:
Contrary to you politically correct people, I believe drivers should work things out. That is one of the reasons why our sport has lost its character. When I grew up if you made a bone headed move, you better hope a tongue lashing is all you received. Like it or not, it put fans in the stands.

I agree with you, as long as its driver to driver, not family, crew and any other knucklehead along who is there to grab a cheap shot. I don't think extended family and friends should be involved at all, except to make sure things stay fair. I've seen some really ugly stuff happen because it becomes a (family)gang situation, with one rat sneaking around behind with a jack handle or some other instrument. Driver to driver only.

Re: Smoke
 

Yea. Just like the Kevin Ward family situation.

Re: Smoke
 

Originally Posted by sttmn:
Yea. Just like the Kevin Ward family situation.

I'm not making the connection?

Originally Posted by 767:
Contrary to you politically correct people, I believe drivers should work things out. That is one of the reasons why our sport has lost its character. When I grew up if you made a bone headed move, you better hope a tongue lashing is all you received. Like it or not, it put fans in the stands.

I totally agree with the settlement factor.I believe most of this discussion is rather a division/class owner should be participating in what he runs.that opens a different door of how things in general are,or will be handled.

Good interview with Tony on this in latest AARN

Originally Posted by 767:
Contrary to you politically correct people, I believe drivers should work things out. That is one of the reasons why our sport has lost its character. When I grew up if you made a bone headed move, you better hope a tongue lashing is all you received. Like it or not, it put fans in the stands.

You don't think this happens today? You in the pits any these days? It happens on occasion. I saw a black eye during sprint week a couple years ago due to an incident in the pits. Sadly it was pit crew members for the most part. They came strutting over, they went limping back. I believe a crew chief got arrested a year or two ago at TSS after an incident in the pits. I know those "after race conversations" with a fellow competitor do take place, and opinions of ones driving ability and decisions are discussed, sometimes in a heated manor.

The issue today is a few thrown punches in the pits/grandstands can land a guy in jail, charges filed, and could face a fine or jail time. In the old days of Dick Gaines, and Bob Kinser etc, cops wouldn't even be called to or rarely in attendance at the races. Now all tracks have security/police on duty at the races to keep order on fans and those in the pits.

There is quite a bit of character in our drivers today, you just gotta look closer. They are a bit more subtle, but it still happens. They all have that competitive nature inside them, that drives them to compete, and those emotions spill over at times.