Tony Stewart, hands down, is one of the best drivers in motorsports history, not just NASCAR. In fact, he is the very definition of versatility. Give him anything with four wheels and he will find a way to drive it to the checkered flag.
Not many can call themselves a USAC Triple Crown winner, an IROC champion, an SRX champion, and an IndyCar & NASCAR champion. Not just that, he is the only driver to complete all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 (“Double Duty”) without being a lap down. And with his recent endeavor, he’s also an NHRA Top Fuel Dragster winner.
With such an impressive resume, he’s right at the top every time there’s a discussion of the “Greatest of All Time.” However, “Smoke” has humbly denied the title. According to him, he’s not as deserving as some of the others.
Why Did Tony Stewart Decline the “GOAT Crown”?
There’s hardly anything that Stewart hasn’t won. But it does bum him out not to have gotten his hands on that iconic Daytona 500 trophy. Or the Indianapolis 500. And despite Stewart being in pretty much all the Hall of Fames that there are, not winning these often touches a nerve.
Stewart was recently invited to the “Rubbin is Racing” podcast, where he spoke on this: “I don’t know if you can call it regret or not. It’s not like I had a choice. We tried to win it and just didn’t accomplish it. I don’t know that I would call it regret, necessarily. Does it eat at me? Absolutely…Where does that put me in motorsports history?”
Well, winning NASCAR’s and IndyCar’s greatest races is a dream for all drivers, but even without those Crown Jewels, Stewart’s resume does make him a GOAT. However, he disagrees.
“It’s pretty cool when people go, ‘Hey! You’re the GOAT!’ I’m not the GOAT. I’ve done some cool things, and I might be on a list of people that are considered for the GOAT. The Mario Andrettis, the AJ Foyts, the guys that did win the Indy 500, they won the Daytona 500, won Le Mans. Those are the guys I feel like are the GOATs, they won on the big stages,” Stewart added.
And while Stewart might be too humble to accept this title, the NASCAR community wouldn’t give it to anyone else. In fact, not so long ago, NASCAR veteran Kevin Harvick put Stewart on NASCAR’s Mount Rushmore.
The other three names can probably never be changed. And not just because these drivers are 7-time champions. They are more than that. Richard Petty was a winning machine. Dale Earnhardt Sr made NASCAR a household name. And Jimmie Johnson was unbeatable with his five consecutive championships. And Stewart fits right up there with them.
READ: ‘You Piece of S—t’ – When NASCAR Legend Tony Stewart Snapped on a Fan After a Dirt Track Blowup
When Harvick was asked on his “Happy Hour” podcast if they should put Stewart on the Mount Rushmore, Harvick had said, “He was already there. And here’s the thing that people don’t understand about Tony Stewart: Tony’s a legendary race driver. We can’t even call him a race car driver, he’s now just a race driver.”
And that’s probably an even bigger compliment than being called the GOAT! So, whether he wants it or not, Stewart will remain the GOAT.