Athlete Hall Of Shame
Where we remind you of the events the athletes would love to forget!
Tony Stewart
Inducted April 2008
Photo From: onebadwheel.com
Former IRL driver and current NASCAR driver. Named 1996 IRL Rookie of the Year and 1997 IRL Champion. Named 1999 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. All over the cover of Nascar Scene magazine Won the 2002 Winston Cup Race, 2005 Nextel Cup Race, and the 2006 IROC. Has over 30 NASCAR wins and over 120 top 5 finishes.
Shameful Moments:
-Fined $10,000 and placed on probation until August 29, 2001 for making Jeff Gordon spin out on pit road after the Food City 500 at Bristol on March 25, 2001 because Stewart believed Gordon intentionally bumped into him and knocked him out of the top 5
-Fined $10,000 on July 12, 2001 for kicking away the tape recorder of a reporter at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona and for ignoring the black flag and staying on the track after he went below the yellow line during the final laps of the race (also had probation extended from August 29 to November 21 of that year)
-Fined $10,000 by NASCAR and $50,000 by his sponsor, Home Depot, and placed on probation for the rest of the season for shoving a photographer at the Brickyard 400 on August 4, 2002
-Accused of shoving a female fan after the Sharpie 500 at Bristol on August 24, 2002 (a jury declined to indict him)
-Fined $50,000, penalized 25 driver championship points, and placed on probation until August 18, 2004 after an altercation with driver Brian Vickers following the Save Mart 350 on June 27, 2004
-Fined $5000 on August 16, 2005 and put on probation until December 31, 2005 for running into Brian Vickers’ car after the Busch Series Zippo 200 was finished
-Docked 25 driver points by NASCAR on May 3, 2006 after his car was found to have parts that didn’t meet NASCAR regulations
-Held for 1 lap during the Pennsylvania 500 on July 23, 2006 for purposely hitting Clint Bowyer’s car on lap 31 after Bowyer accidentally squeezed Stewart on the wall (Stewart would rally to finish 7th)
-Fined $10,000 and placed on probation for the rest of the year on April 28, 2007 for his comments that racing was staged like pro wrestling and dodging the media after the Subway Fresh Fit 500
-Penalized 25 points and fined $25,000 on July 29, 2007 for violating a NASCAR policy when he used obscene language during an interview in victory lane after he won the Brickyard 400
-Cursed at a cameraman during an ESPN2 broadcast of a Nextel Cup practice on September 29, 2007
-Put on a 6-race probation on February 12, 2008 along with Kurt Busch for their confrontation during a practice before the season when they wrecked on the track and proceeded to take the dispute into the NASCAR officials’ trailer (it was reported that Stewart punched Busch)