Tony Stewart, a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and motorsports legend, has always been one to put forward his sharp opinions. Whether he’s behind the wheel of a stock car or a monster NHRA dragster, when “Smoke” speaks, the racing world listens. This time, he’s got some strong thoughts about the Daytona 500, and NASCAR fans aren’t exactly thrilled.
Tony Stewart Thinks Daytona 500 Has Lost Its Glory
During a recent chat on the “Rubbin is Racing” podcast, Stewart opened up about how he sees the Daytona 500 these days. The veteran tried everything in his power to try and win that race. He came heartbreakingly close once in his 17 attempts but never snagged the Harley J. Earl Trophy. Still, he never disrespected the event. If anything, he loved it too much.
Stewart, however, said the race doesn’t have the same value as it did 15-20 years ago, citing that almost anyone can win it nowadays. He said, “When it comes to Daytona, now I’m going to be crucified by a lot of people for this. In my eyes, it doesn’t mean the same now as it did 15-20 years ago.”
“Anybody can win, I mean, you look at some of the guys that won the Daytona 500. I don’t want to go into the list of guys because they’re guys that I do respect and have friendships with, but they’re not guys that should have won the Daytona 500, and they’ve won the Daytona 500, and that’s all they’ve won. They may have won one or two races outside of that. We won 49 Cup races, Jeff Gordon won 75 cup races, Richard Petty 200 Cup races. Anybody in the field can win the Daytona 500 now,” he added.
Tony Stewart on Next Gen Cars and Daytona’s Importance
Stewart feels that the new generation of race cars and the pack-style racing at superspeedways have turned the Daytona 500 into more of a lottery than a skill-based crown jewel.
“The cars have got so equal that, and you look at guys that are winning some of these, they’re not the ones that led the most laps, they’re not the ones that were up front. They were the guy that was second or third or fourth when the last lap crash happened and NASCAR hit the button to freeze the field, and they were they’re the winner,“ he told the hosts of the podcast.
However, he also admitted that he would not trade any of his championship titles for three Daytona wins, although he would be happy to trade some of his race wins. He said, “No, absolutely not okay, no way, I wouldn’t trade a Championship for three Daytona 500 trophies.”
He added, “I would trade some of my race wins to get a Daytona 500. Even though I don’t feel like it carries as much weight as it used to, it still carries the weight because it’s still the Daytona 500.”
Tony Stewart: From NASCAR Icon to NHRA Winner
Stewart isn’t just some grumpy veteran throwing shade. He’s a NASCAR Hall of Famer and one of the sport’s fiercest competitors ever.
It was only a matter of time. @TonyStewart is an NHRA Top Fuel WINNER! #Vegas4WideNats pic.twitter.com/FCFS2IpQLx
— NHRA (@NHRA) April 14, 2025
After retiring from the Cup Series, he’s been tearing it up in the NHRA world. He recently bagged his first Top Fuel win at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. Even with Stewart-Haas Racing shutting its doors after the 2024 season, Stewart’s passion for motorsports is clearly alive and well. But NASCAR’s crown jewel? In his eyes, some of that sparkle has been lost.
And whether fans agree or not, you’ve got to respect Stewart for keeping it real, just like he always has.