Tony Stewart says his presence in owner meetings feels ‘like an episode of Sesame Street’

FORT WORTH, Texas – The end of Tony Stewart‘s Sprint Cup racing career is less than six weeks away, but the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing has already gotten a taste of what the life of a full-time owner will be like.

‘The fun thing is I’ve been to a couple of the owners meetings and it’s pretty cool to sit in the room with Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, Richard Childress and Joe Gibbs and those guys,” Stewart said Wednesday at Texas Motor Speedway.

But the three-time Sprint Cup champion said his attendance made the meetings with giants of the auto racing industry feel “like an episode of ‘Sesame Street.'”

“There’s one thing in the room that doesn’t belong and it’s not like the others and they point at me,” said Stewart, who was holding his annual “Smoke Show” Fantasy Camp benefiting Speedway Children’s Charities.

But even though he’s been co-owner of SHR since 2009, Stewart still doesn’t feel like an owner.

“I won’t say I’m a part of that group yet because I still feel like I’m just a driver right now,” said Stewart, who leaves his NASCAR driver’s seat behind on Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. “To be able to work with those guys on behalf of the sport I think is going to be a lot of fun.”

At some point in the next six weeks will be Stewart’s final Sprint Cup Drivers Council meeting. Stewart is one of nine drivers on the council that was founded last year. With him on it are Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, defending series champion Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick,Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano.

“The thing that I’m most excited about with the drivers council is I feel like it’s a good group of guys in there right now,” Stewart said. “I feel like their mindset and their ability to work together for the reason and the right causes and goals.”

Stewart’s presence on the council has had an impact this season. NASCAR’s year-long odyssey regarding lug nuts began with Stewart’s rant about the issue in April.

In January he criticized NASCAR CEO and Chairman Brian France for not have a presence in the meetings. France then attended an April meeting in Talladega, an act appreciated by the drivers.

He’s also been an encouraging voice for young drivers like Larson, who admitted that at first he didn’t feel deserving of a spot on the council.

“If you don’t say anything, why are you on this?’’ Stewart told Larson. “You have an opinion, speak up.’’

Stewart has opinions. On everything. But he recently said he’s ready to no longer be the voice of the garage.

Is there any opinion “Smoke” has kept to himself, waiting to drop on the drivers council right before he puts both feet into his role as an owner?

“I’m going to save that for when I get out of the car at Homestead I think,” Stewart joked at TMS. “The hard part is I wish we could tell you guys all the stuff that’s discussed in it but it’s not the right thing to do.”

Stewart is “proud” of what the council has accomplished in it first two years and is a little surprised at how unselfish its members have been.

“It would be really easy in our sport to be selfish and try to work on things that you think are going to benefit you,” Stewart said. “But the driver council does a really good job of not doing that. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about that, but I guess to a certain degree a little bit I was surprised that everybody really cared more about the sport than they were about what their individual organizations were working on.”

PAUL MENARD, MORE RECEIVE WARNINGS POST-CHARLOTTE

NASCAR gave warnings to several Sprint Cup Series teams for failing either laser inspection station or template inspection during last weekend's on-track action atCharlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500, including the No. 27 Richard Childress Racing team for driver Paul Menard.


The No. 27 team failed pre-qualifying LIS three times, resulting in a written warning and a loss of 15 minutes of practice time for this weekend at Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400 (2:15 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). 


The No. 30 team of Josh Wise received a written warning and 15-minute loss of practice time, as well, after failing pre-qualifying template inspection three times. 


The No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing team ofTrevor Bayne, the No. 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing team of Regan Smith, the No. 20Joe Gibbs Racing team of Matt Kenseth, the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing team ofKurt Busch, the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team of Kyle Larson, the No. 78Furniture Row Racing team of Martin Truex Jr., and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team of Alex Bowman all received written warnings for failing pre-race template inspection twice.

The No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing team ofRicky Stenhouse Jr., the No. 20 of Kenseth, the No. 23 BK Racing team of David Ragan, the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team ofChase Elliott, the No. 31 RCR team of Ryan Newman, the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team of Chris Buescher and the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team of Aric Almirola all received written warnings after failing pre-qualifying LIS inspection twice. 


Stewart Haas Racing's Nos. 4, 10 and 14 teams -- wheeled by Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, and Tony Stewart, respectively -- failed pre-qualifying template inspection twice and received written warnings along with the No. 88 HMS team -- driven Charlotte weekend by Alex Bowman.

Both Newman and Patrick served their respective penalties in Charlotte. 

The No. 3 RCR team of Ty Dillon was the sole XFINITY Series team to receive a written warning after failing pre-race LIS twice. 

NASCAR MEETS HOLLYWOOD IN UPCOMING 'LOGAN LUCKY' FILM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Better slow down on the highway -- Kyle Busch has traded his fire suit for a state trooper's uniform.

(Disclaimer: It's not permanent.)

Busch is one of the drivers who will make cameo appearances in the upcoming filmLogan Lucky, a heist movie set at a NASCAR track. Under the watch of multi-time Academy Award winning-director Steven Soderbergh, the film features a star-studded cast including Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, Seth MacFarlane and Riley Keough. Academy and Emmy Award winner Mark Johnson -- who also produced "Rain Man," "Breaking Bad," and "The Notebook," among others -- will serve as one of the film's executive producers.

The production team was on the ground during a rainy Bank of America 500weekend shooting for the film. The crew also shot during Coca-Cola 600 weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, as well as at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"It’s a movie that's designed to be a lot of fun," Johnson said Sunday at Charlotte, prior to a day of shooting at the track. "It's designed to be very, very commercial, where I joke we're not out to win Oscars -- we're out to win the Bank of America award ... (Viewers) should laugh and they should have fun with the intricacies of the robbery itself.

"It's a robbery that couldn't really take place, but (it can) in our world, and it's very important to us that the world of NASCAR be real."

What's more real than casting an actual NASCAR driver in a racing film? In addition to Busch, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski,Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson will all be popping into the film for brief roles.

"We wanted to make sure that NASCAR was treated in a positive light, was the big, world-class, glossy event that it is," said Zane Stoddard, NASCAR Vice President of Entertainment, Marking and Content Development. "The thing that we worked closely with Mark and the production on was getting drivers into driver cameo roles. We thought that would fun for the fans, sort of Easter eggs throughout the film with these drivers in these roles for our fans.

"But it's also a bit of a wink and a nod that we’re on the inside of the fun of this film. So, we think the fans are going to love these roles that these guys are in."

Part of Stoddard's role in the production process was to help marry the worlds of NASCAR and Hollywood, a process that he says has been seamless on both ends.

"The general audience wouldn't have too much trouble buying into the authenticity of this," Stoddard said. "For us, the most important sort of a litmus for us is that it passes the smell test with the core fan because they know the sport so much better. These guys -- we haven't had to push at all in terms of getting them to want to be as authentic as possible. They are the best in the business and so it’s been a collaboration on making sure everything is right.

"… It’s amazing the detail that exists in our sport just on the race car, not even taking into consideration the tracks or the teams and everything that happens in our universe. These guys have been meticulous about all of that."

That starts with shooting at the track and getting into the garage. For Johnson, authenticity came from that hands-on research, where he spent about a week and a half simply observing NASCAR’s version of Hollywood Blvd.

"I produced two baseball movies, The Natural and The Rookie and those taught me a lot about baseball and you have to do the research and understand the world and NASCAR was not a world I understood," Johnson said. "I was fascinated by it, but I really didn't know how it worked.

"Look at this big all-access pass," he said with a smile, gesturing to his hot pass. "I can go into the garage and watch how people work and I ask stupid questions about cars and it's great because I will have spent a concentrated amount of time learning about NASCAR."

He echoed Stoddard's sentiment about this movie working for the core fan.

"We would be very upset if this movie doesn’t work for the NASCAR fan," Johnson said. "So we want to make sure the NASCAR fan, no matter who he or she is, that they see the movie and say 'They got it right.'"

But just who is the typical NASCAR fan? Not whom you would think, Johnson says.

"It's interesting -- any preconceptions I had about who the NASCAR fans were, were all wrong," Johnson said. "They come from all walks; surprising number of women. Quick revelation."

"Logan Lucky" will debut in theaters October 2017.

JUNIOR FINDS NEW PERSPECTIVE IN TIME AWAY FROM RACING

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. said it would be hard to explain, the perspective that he's gained being sidelined from NASCAR competition.

The driving part, he clearly misses. The related appearances, autograph sessions and other obligations have gained newfound enjoyment during his absence from the cockpit. The challenge for when he plans to return to driving full-time is finding a way to savor the two parts together.

Earnhardt described the contrasts Wednesday at Martinsville Speedway, taking part in the announcement that the .526-mile track would add a lighting system as part of its 70th-anniversary season celebration in 2017. The driver, sidelined since July with concussion-related symptoms, also discussed how his time out of the car has spurred a recent health kick, offered him time to assist in planning his offseason wedding to fiancée Amy Reimann, and how it's taught him to relish race-weekend moments that go beyond his driving duties.

"When I was driving, I really didn't enjoy everything I did outside the car, reluctantly, just to do the driving part," Earnhardt said. "Now that I'm not in the car, I enjoy all the stuff that I'm doing outside the car that I've always done. I'm getting up in the morning race days to do the hospitalities or coming to do the winner's circle (appearances) here or Talladega, I've really enjoyed doing those things.

"The pressure of racing made the majority of everything that came with it miserable, and I probably am responsible for controlling that, right? And so, I think being out of the car has shown me that I've got to find a way that if I'm going to race more how to not feel so much pressure that it makes everything else intolerable or hard to do."

Earnhardt Jr., who turned 42 earlier this week, had his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season cut short after 18 races because of concussion-like symptoms. The unexpected absence has allowed Earnhardt to participate in activities he would've otherwise missed, such as attending a drag-racing event in Concord, North Carolina, and taking in his high school's homecoming football game.

But his time away from the circuit's entry lists has also meant an unburdening, removing the weekly stress of performing for his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports team, which has found able substitutes in Jeff Gordon and Alex Bowman while keeping Earnhardt Jr.'s name on the windshield and above the drivers' side window.

"I think once I get back in the car, I've got to have a whole new frame of mind about how I handle the pressure of driving and the pressures of performing and finishing well and all that good stuff," Earnhardt said. "… The driving is fun, and I never really had a problem with that. I enjoy being at the track, and I enjoy doing the hospitalities. I'm going to go do a Wal-Mart appearance somewhere in freakin' who-knows-where, and I would be so frustrated about that because of what I was going to be doing on a race weekend.

"It wasn't the appearance that had me bent out of shape. It's just the pressure of week to week to week, performing, performing, performing -- the expectations of everything, myself and everyone else made all that sort of a heavy, heavy weight on my back. Now without the performance and the worry of having to perform, I go do this stuff and have fun. So I've got to figure out how to race and have fun, if that makes any sense."

Another unintended byproduct of his time away has been weight loss. With Reimann's encouragement, Earnhardt said he's had more of a dedicated fitness routine, something he never had to consider much during his weekly racing obligations since drivers routinely burn hundreds of calories inside the car during a race weekend.

"The only thing I ever had to worry about was just making sure I fit in my suit," Earnhardt said, adding that he's lost roughly eight pounds since beginning his rehab regimen for his concussion-like symptoms. "Any time we had to alter the suit, I had to start watching what I was eating, like we're getting out of control here."

And Earnhardt Jr. has also kept busy with planning his upcoming nuptials with Reimann in the offseason.

"We're definitely not being lazy and pushing everything off until the last minute, but it feels like it's right around the corner," Earnhardt said. "We just want it to be a great day. I think that's the same way everybody kind of feels. They just want everything to go right and not have anything go wrong. We're just making sure we've got all our T's crossed and all our I's dotted, so that that day's a special day for us."

While he's finding advice on floral arrangements and other details to make the event go off without a hitch, he's also been receiving unsolicited advice from all corners about his treatment plan. If there was a Highlights for Children etiquette lesson on how best to interact with people with his condition, the would-be physicians lighting up his XFINITY Series team's switchboard fall under the heading of Goofus as opposed to Gallant.

"I think the wrong thing to say would be to give any kind of medical advice because you've got to listen to your doctors," Earnhardt said. "We've got people calling every single day to JR Motorsports: 'tell Dale to try this, tell Dale to drink this drink, tell him to eat this, tell him to quit milk' -- all kinds of crazy, hare-brained reasons why I'm ill or need to get better, what'll speed it up and all that stuff. I've got doctors, they're smart, they know everything I need to do and that's who I need to listen to, obviously."

And the right way to offer support?

"'Look forward to seeing you back at the track,' sounds awesome," Earnhardt said. "I want to hear that. 'Get well' is great. I like to know that people want me to be well, so anytime, that feels good."

SUAREZ VISITS WHITE HOUSE FOR NATIONAL HISPANIC MONTH

Joe Gibbs Racing's Daniel Suarez has exciting things happening for him on and off the track with his XFINITY Series championship hopes still alive and a month-long National Hispanic Month celebration underway.

Tuesday, the Mexican-born wheelman visited the White House, representing NASCAR for National Hispanic Month. Take a peak inside his busy day in Washington, D.C.

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Check out all the best scanner audio from the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Jimmie Johnson: 'He ranks right up there with the old man'

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has no issues with Jimmie Johnson possibly running down a seventh NASCAR Premier Series championship that would tie Johnson for the most of all time with Earnhardt’s late father and Richard Petty.

In fact, it’s exactly the opposite.

Earnhardt revealed on his weekly podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, that he is pulling hard for Johnson, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, to run down the record that dear old dad has shared with Petty since winning his own seventh title in 1994.

“I’m real excited about Jimmie,” Earnhardt Jr. said on his podcast. “He’s chasing that seventh championship that would put him up there with Richard and my father. He wants that so badly.

“We’ve had a few conversations about that and I know how much that would mean to him. I think that he’s one of the greatest race-car drivers this sport has seen.”

Junior made it clear that he thinks Johnson is right on par with his father in terms of talent. He also said he thinks Johnson’s legacy deserves to be considered on par with his father’s and Petty’s as well.

Johnson won five titles in a row from 2006 through 2010, and claimed his sixth in 2013.

“Obviously to win five championships in a row like he did is unbelievable, and the argument is undeniable that he is one of the greatest,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He ranks right up there with the old man and anybody else you want to put in the conversation.

“To be quite honest, yes, I am pulling for Jimmie to get this championship. I believe he does deserve it after everything that he’s put into the sport. I think that it would be good for him to go ahead and win that championship.”

Johnson won last Sunday’s rain-delayed Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to claim his third win of the 2016 season and clinch advancement into the Round of Eight in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs. It was the 78th win of his career overall, two more than the elder Earnhardt registered in his long and storied career that was cut short when he died in a last-lap accident in the 2001 Daytona 500.