Despite having a résumé that could put most racers to shame, Tony Stewart was infamous for his controversies, aggressive driving style, and an overtly bold attitude. While news of his misconducts are far and many, there are a few where the racer went a little too far. One such instance was back in 2004 when he was involved in a tussle with none other than Rusty Wallace.
The incident did not sit well with Wallace, who was furious and was almost about to do something impulsive.
Scenes From Tony Stewart’s Race at the 2004 Auto Club 500 in Fontana
At the Auto Club 500, Stewart was a rising star. He had just entered the top tier of NASCAR drivers back then after winning his first Cup Championship in 2002. Along with having impressive credentials, Stewart also started being known as the “bad boy” of NASCAR for his one too many controversies.
Stewart started in his No. 20 for Joe Gibbs Racing and got off the mark smoothly. However, just a few laps into the race, he made contact with Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevy. Since the blow wasn’t as harsh, Gordon was able to quickly recover from it and was leading at the forefront in no time.
Just a little while later, Wallace’s No. 2 Dodge was hit by Stewart when they were exiting turn two. The wreck visibly infuriated Wallace, and in his post-race interview, he said, “He’s really been messing up a lot lately. He got me in the back at Martinsville. He caused a huge wreck last week at Talladega, and then he runs me right through the fence this time. Then he pulled up beside me and starts flipping me off on the restart.”
It did not end there, and Wallace further added:
“I wanted to get out of the car and whip his rear end. The kid needs to calm down a little bit. … He’s really frustrated for some reason.”
However, after some repairs, Wallace was back on the track, and so was Stewart. However, Wallace was involved in another incident with Kurt Busch, and his car took some serious damage there, and he couldn’t finish the race.
Gordon ultimately won the race after leading for 81 laps. Stewart finished in the 16th position, and when he was asked about his actions, he blatantly said:
“We came off Turn 2, and we got together, and that put him in the wall, but the corner before that, he drove right down into the left side of us like we weren’t ever there. So I don’t know why he’s pointing the finger at somebody else.”
After the race, J.D. Gibbs of JGR defended his driver’s actions by saying:
“Obviously, that’s just racing! When you look at the race, there’s stuff going on all over the place with people hitting guys. Tony is about as certain as they come on the racetrack. That’s just his history. It’ll blow over in a little bit, and hopefully, it’ll only be talked about until Wednesday.”