Tony Stewart: NASCAR doesn't want repeat of Logano/Kenseth feud

“I mean, tomorrow's Friday, so we got less than 24 hours,” Stewart said Thursday at NASCAR Chase Media Day in Chicago when asked if he’d spoke with Newman yet. “But I would say it will probably just happen at the (NASCAR) trailer. 

“You know, a lot of this, they’re trying to make sure they don’t have a scenario like what they had last year with Joey (Logano) and Matt (Kenseth). So I think it gets a little bit blown out of proportion for each individual incident.

“But they’re just making sure they don’t get themselves in that kind of scenario again.”

Repeated on-track incidents late last season between Logano and Kenseth, both title contenders at the time, ended up with Kenseth intentionally wrecking Logano while he led the race last fall at Martinsville, Va.

Logano was knocked out of the Chase and Kenseth was suspended by NASCAR for two races.

Where it started

On Lap 262 of 400 last Saturday night in Richmond, Va., Stewart and Newman – who needed a win in the race to make the Chase – were engaged in a tight battle for 10th place.

The pair first made contact in Turn 1 and bumping and banging continued on the backstretch. Stewart came down on Newman and as the former teammates wrecked along the inside wall the drivers collected Chris Buescher in the process. 

Afterwards, Newman verbally attacked Stewart, at one point suggesting the three-time champion should have already retired while Stewart replied Newman would have to “wait 10 more weeks.”

Stewart said “he couldn’t blame” Newman for his comments, considering what Newman had on the line in the race.

“I mean, I haven't heard anything from him.  You know, it's like I said, it would be easy to take it personal. But, I mean, that was the deciding factor in his season, whether he was going to make the Chase or not,” he said.

“We’ve been friends a long time. We were teammates. I respect him a lot. It’s a high-pressure moment. I mean, I’ve been in those, too. I’ve said things. Whether he meant to say it or not, whether he believes it or not still, that’s up to him.

“But that moment is a hard moment for any of us. It’s tough in that scenario.”

Change the focus

What Stewart would like to see happen in the meantime, is for the media to find another storyline to push as the 10-race battle for the Sprint Cup Series championship begins this weekend.

“I hope you guys are creative enough to get by this and actually pay attention to what's going to happen the next 10 weeks. I mean, if you think that's going to be a storyline for 10 weeks, then you're going to miss a lot because you're going to be wasting your time on something that's not even relevant,” Stewart said.

“I mean, this Chase is going to be pretty intense in itself.”

The meeting did take place Friday morning prior to practice with Smoke tweeting: