The Stewart-Haas Racing social media team has been on a tear this season, with the team hitting one home run after another. For long-time NASCAR fans, this is not surprising, considering team owner Tony Stewart was one of the most media-savvy racers to ever grace the sport. Smoke’s witty and sometimes thunderous replies to reporters led to many iconic moments, but none more famous than the one in 2012 at Richmond.
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On the first episode of ‘Mentor and Mentee’ released by SHR, Stewart is seen coaching Chase Briscoe in ”ony Media Training’, taking his famous interview alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a reference point.
Tony Stewart schooled a reporter in an iconic interview alongside Dale Jr.
The race at Richmond during the 2012 season ended with Kyle Busch finishing first, with Dale Jr. and Tony Stewart second and third, respectively. During the post-race media briefing, Stewart was asked an unusual question by a reporter, “This is the third straight race there’s been no wreck. I mean, does that amaze you? Have you ever seen anything like that?”
A visibly angry Stewart unleashed on the reporter, “David, only you’d think about stuff like that. I don’t know about what you think of during the race but I try to figure out how to win the race and make my car go fast. I don’t sit there and think about petty crap that you think of. Glad to see you’re back to form.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. could barely control his laughter and covered his mouth with his hand in an attempt to control himself, something even Briscoe pointed out.
At this point, Stewart said, “I was trying to actually get him to laugh, laugh and he just never did.”
When you ask the boss a question that doesn’t need an answer, you’ll get quite the response.@TonyStewart gives @ChaseBriscoe_14 some media training in true “boss fashion” for the first episode of @Mahindra_USA‘s Mentor & Mentee. pic.twitter.com/zQlyCaTjvS
— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) August 15, 2023
Even though it was a suppressed laughter, Dale Jr.’s face told the whole story and his reaction has become as iconic as Stewart’s response.
What lesson did Stewart Briscoe on the basis of the interview?
After the interview clip, Stewart tells Briscoe that the only way to tackle a bad question by a reporter is to give a “really great bad answer”.
Stewart admitted that the weekend had been a particularly hard one for the team, with the team having to struggle for the eventual result. The three-time champion claimed Briscoe was doing a great job at handling the media, but added, “I want you to be able to have a little more fun, and you know, do what you got to do sometimes. Sometimes you got to set them straight.”
In this particular case, hard to blame Stewart for bashing the reporter. The lack of wrecks in races should be the last thing a driver should be asked, and when you do that to Tony Stewart, you better expect something to hit you hard.
