For the first dozen races of the 2000 season, while everyone else in Winston Cup was winning, Stewart was having trouble finding the lead. He was frustrated, unhappy and when he did perhaps the 500th interview of the year, he said that some of the fans were driving him nuts, that he was fed up. And when he did, Stewart knocked the horns off stock car racing's most sacred cow. That angered some fans and if the truth be known, some of his fellow drivers, too. I've seen it and can assure you that the big league traveling racing circus can be downright oppressive.
Most fans are courteous, respectful and handle themselves as ladies and gentlemen.
More than just a few are neither courteous nor considerate. The day I interviewed Stewart for this piece, as I waited for his arrival, a fan hung around the back of his trailer, holding on to a piece of bent Home Depot orange sheet metal. He wanted Tony to sign it. Let's get him. I promise you, that's an exact quote.