After his last two racing seasons, you would've thought that good fortune might tip the scales in Tony Stewart's favor in 2015.
Think again.
Tony Stewart: Luck trumps skill at Daytona 500
USA TODAY Sports' For the Win reported Friday that the three-time Sprint Cup champion's year already is off to a heavy start after an incident with officials at the opening practice at Daytona Beach.
According to the article, "Drivers are required to be weighed by NASCAR officials prior to the start of each season - it helps the series determine how much ballast is allowed in cars so everyone is playing with the same car weights."
Three drivers failed to do so. Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer were about to start practice when they were called back to be weight. Both returned back to get weight.
The defiant Stewart did not. He was called back as he was entering the track for practice but did not comply. NASCAR then black-flagged him, which he ignored until he was done with his practice run.
After he finished NASCAR officials called him and his crew chief, Chad Johnston, to the at-track headquarters for a stern lecture. As soon as he left the meeting, he mmediately headed for the scale to get weighed.
But Stewart, whose fiery attitude was absent for the last five months of 2014 because of his involvement in the tragic death of Kevin Ward Jr., at a dirt track in New York, certainly did not hide his feelings about what transpired with NASCAR officials over the incident.
SB Nation's Jordan Bianchi tweeted Stewart's response over receiving the initial penalty from NASCAR:
You sound unhappy, Tony Stewart: https://t.co/ptOKoAtxJB pic.twitter.com/XU009hFI2S
— SB Nation (@SBNation) February 14, 2015
Stewart himself voiced his displeasure in a somewhat less emotional, but still biting response.
Well NASCAR felt compelled to make me the first to be called to the trailer 10 min into the first practice of the year. #greatstart #NASCAR — Tony Stewart (@TonyStewart) February 14, 2015
The driver, nicknamed "Smoke," broke his leg in August of 2013 and has had to have four surgeries since to help it heal and has a final one scheduled for the end of the year. And after last summer and fall as he was dealing with Ward's death, he aimed to come back stronger than ever in 2015.
"I can tell you that from a desire to still compete at a high level and win championships, it's as high as it's ever been," Stewart said in an interview with Autoweek. "I'm not happy about the last two years of my life, by any means, but I've never questioned who I am or what I do. It's probably made my desire stronger than ever. We've had two rough years back to back - something I would never wish on anybody - but deep down inside I know who I am as a person and I know who I am as a driver. ... It's flipping the page and getting ready to get focused again on what we love doing."
At least, Stewart doesn't seem to be scaling back on his approach to returning to dominance.
Do you think Tony Stewart's anger toward NASCAR is a good sign for his 2015 season? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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