NASCAR's Chase for the Cup rules have all but eliminated driver courtesy, six-time Cup winner Jimmie Johnson says. But one prominent driver, he adds, still nobly heeds racing etiquette and sportsmanship.
That man is Tony Stewart.
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The past few NASCAR races have been overshadowed by the antics of Brad Keselowski, which has riles other drivers - notably Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon - into post-race retaliation.
Johnson says the lack of courtesy is becoming more prevalent, except for Stewart, who he says still does everything the right way.
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"Truthfully, the guy on the track today that still races like that era of time is Tony Stewart," said Johnson, who qualified 15th for Sunday's Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, to Fox Sports. "The relationship I have with him, I will be four or five car lengths from him, not really even pressuring him yet. And he knows that I'm faster and it almost shocks me and I'm surprised that he pulls over and lets me go. Sometimes I almost run into the back of him because I don't know if his car broke or what is going on. He still remembers and was raised in that environment and races that way."
Until this summer, Stewart had a reputation for having a temper, which earned him the nickname, "Smoke."
In fact, after his tragic accident with Kevin Ward Jr., on Aug.9, in which Stewart struck and killed the 20-year-old Ward in a dirt-track race in New York, NASCAR experts noted that Stewart had lost his edge, his temperament that helped make him one of the sports better drivers.
When Keselowski hit Matt Kenseth in a skirmish after the Bank of America 500 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he also inadvertently bumped Stewart's car. Stewart intentionally backed up into Keselowski, damaging the front of his vehicle.
Stewart's fans argued that the incident jolted Stewart back into the driver he was before Ward's death. He finished fourth at Martinsville at the end of last month has been more competitive than he was his first few races after Ward's death.
But Stewart's aggression has not been at the expense of courtesy, which Johnson says is more prevalent among other drivers.
"It's a dying art for sure and it's been some time now," said Johnson. "I think each year it just keeps getting more intense. Then again, by design, NASCAR when they put this format in place this is what they were hoping for. They wanted guys trying to shoot the gap on a green-white-checkered restart. If there is a scrum afterward on pit road then that is part of the deal. It's all by design and I guess it is working."
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