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Before the accident, if you YouTube 'Tony Stewart' you'd find a few clips of interviews, as well as 10-20 minute compliations of his "Best Media Responses". One that comes to mind was his views on a wreck at Talladega, where he commented "I think we should split the field in half for the last 10 laps. Drive half the field backwards. I don't think we crashed enough cars today. It's obviously what the fans want."
Taking from all of these, all of his reactions to questions, prods and pokes, and rumors from the media were not what a sponsor would exactly advocate while their name was across the chest of a man who says things like "The kid's an idiot" or "Ill bust his a$$".. The list goes on. But I gather from just the clips, that this man is a real racer. REAL RACER. He understands that his sponsors require a certail level of poise behind a mic, but at the same time, his sponsors know Tony. They understand that his mouth is much more straightforward than the rest of the herd. I dont want to say he 'hates' the media, but I definately feel that he believes that their place in the sport oversteps a lot of lines and gets in the way.
All this being said, Once he does recover (to a point) from this and actually speaks on the subject, I believe the media will be the major talking point. Even over the big points like Wings, Vision, Handling characteristics, caution procedures...
I know at least when I see a man in a suit on CNN, commenting on the accident, Tony, racing in genral,, Viewing clips of the video from the accident, Constantly saying things like 'Dirt Buggy' and 'Backwoods Machine', it PAINS me to know that this guy in a tie is the one providing information to the public. Probably doesn't know Nomex from Cashmeire.
I had to spend time at work debunking everything those type of folks said and provide facts regarding the cars, tracks, wings, helmets, HANS, seats, tearoffs... It seemed that after I laid the facts on the table, and shed some light on the subject, most of the knee-jerk opinions changed and people who've never been to a dirt track were able to understand. Usually asking 'Well, why did CNN say this and that if they don't know about it'... Because they were out for a witch-hunt and an excuse to hang Tony out to dry.
I expect Tony to not necessarily 'Fire Back' at the media for labeling him for something he clearly is not, but definately express his displeasure with how ESPN, FOX, CNN, HLN, etc, reported on the situation and delivered information to the public. Just look at how they all went nuts after his accident when he broke his leg. And he said, "Folks have kids, they play with their kids. I have racecars, I play with my racecars. I love it, its what I do."
-Justin
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