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Dateline: November 18, 2002

Tony Stewart and the Home Depot #20 Pontiac Joe Gibbs Racing team earned the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship there are no arguments about that. Everyone agrees that Tony and his team generated the most points over the course of the season and should be heartily congratulated. However, when it comes to Tony Stewart, that is about the only thing that doesn't generate an argument of some kind.

Some people have said that Tony is the first of the new generation to win the NASCAR Championship. Looking solely at his age they would be correct. I'd argue instead that Stewart is the last of the old generation of drivers. Men who raced hard and didn't care what anybody thought, had little use for the press and little patience with the fans. Tony would have been more comfortable, and more accepted, racing in the 1950's and 1960's than he is today.

Based on his comments at a press conference last week Tony doesn't seem to believe that his job as Champion requires him to have any political skills. He believes that driving the car well is enough. While that may have been true 50 years ago it is just not realistic today to ignore the pressures of the press, sponsors and fans.

Today's NASCAR is a lot different than it was then. NASCAR 2002 is a corporate, commercialized, big money sport that demands as much off-track polish and patience as it does on-track daring and skill. During his championship-winning season Tony didn't handle the off-track portion of his job very well. There have been multiple incidents and accusations of Tony losing control of his temper. Let's hope that he does much better during his reign as the NASCAR Winston Cup Champion.

Recently, NASCAR has recently enjoyed a string of patient, polished champions. Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett and Terry Labonte all understood what it meant to be the face of NASCAR and were able to represent the sport well during their year on top. The sport has flourished recently with their polite, polished personalities represented the sport exceptionally well.

The most frequent topic of NASCAR conversation over the last week has been: "Can Tony Stewart handle the pressure and added responsibilities of being the Champ?" By this time next year, the answer will be obvious.