NASCAR has always been a sport of the tough and the speedy. Driver nicknames give you a pretty specific idea about that. You have “Rowdy,” “The Intimidator,” “Smoke,” and more. This story that Tony “the Smoke” Stewart just came out with on a podcast on YouTube had some insider information concerning himself, and NASCAR’s very own Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Bill France Jr., Dale Earnhardt Sr., and the “Don’t Win Three in a Row” Story
Tony Stewart made a startling claim on the Oil and Whiskey podcast. Stewart claimed longtime NASCAR boss, Bill France Jr., could directly influence races, speak to Dale Earnhardt Sr. during events, and even decide when a driver had won enough.
And once Stewart started explaining how NASCAR operated before modern technology, some old conspiracy theories suddenly started to sound a lot less crazy.
Stewart’s wildest claims were on Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Bill France Jr.’s relationship behind the scenes. As per Stewart, France had two radios during the races. One connected to NASCAR officials. The other connected straight to Earnhardt’s No. 3 car.
“This is real,” Stewart said. “This isn’t bullsh-t. This isn’t a fairy tale.”
Stewart recalled hearing that after Earnhardt won back-to-back championships, France invited him to fish on his yacht. During the trip, France reportedly told him directly,
“You’re not winning the championship next year.”
Earnhardt supposedly laughed it off. France didn’t. “He meant it,” Stewart said.
Now, there’s no evidence that Bill France Jr. rigged championships against Dale Earnhardt. In fact, history often points the other way. NASCAR’s massive 46-point penalty against Mark Martin in 1990 practically handed Earnhardt the title that season. Without that penalty, Martin likely becomes champion instead.
Still, Stewart’s comments align with how NASCAR worked at that time. Bill France Jr. ran the sport like a family business. Rules were subjective. Penalties had the power to change races instantly. Drivers regularly got called into the NASCAR trailer after aggressive moves. Earnhardt himself lived through that.
After wrecking Darrell Waltrip at Richmond in 1986, NASCAR fined and probationed him. In 1989, after spinning Ricky Rudd at Bristol for the win, France reportedly hauled Earnhardt into a tense closed-door meeting. Fans often saw those as NASCAR trying to “control” The Intimidator rather than punish him.
But the relationship between France and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was never simple. Publicly, they clashed. Privately, they were close. Earnhardt famously called France “Captain Jack.” After finally winning the 1998 Daytona 500, Earnhardt radioed him and asked, “Captain Jack, can I tear up your football field?” France approved the iconic grass celebration immediately.
That’s what makes Stewart’s story a polarizing element: there is no official data or anything solid that backs it up. However, coming from one of NASCAR’s best, who left it at his best and has been consistent with his reason ever since, this cannot be easily dismissed.
In the same podcast, Stewart dropped another truth bomb. This time, it was his own story.
“Don’t Stink Up My Show”: How Tony Stewart Says NASCAR Controlled Races
Stewart said he learned NASCAR’s unwritten rules after a race early in his career. He had a three-second lead. Then a caution flag came out. He fought back to another huge lead. Another caution. Then it happened again. After winning, Stewart got summoned to the NASCAR trailer. Instead of congratulations, he got a warning from Bill France Jr.
“Boy, don’t you ever stink up my show like that again.”
Stewart said he sat there confused until he realized what France meant. NASCAR wasn’t looking for boring races. A driver running away with the field hurt the entertainment value. That’s where Stewart’s claims get uncomfortable for longtime fans.
He explained that NASCAR’s old scoring system had enormous room for human judgment. Before transponders and digital timing, officials manually tracked laps from the tower. Pit road penalties were heavily based on stopwatches and judgment calls.
“So if you ruffled their feathers the week before,” Stewart said, “guess what? You got a speeding penalty whether you were speeding or not.”
Stewart pointed to debris cautions, too. Fans complained about them for years, especially when good cars suddenly lost massive leads. Stewart openly suggested those cautions were sometimes thrown to tighten races back up. His history with NASCAR leadership only fueled those beliefs.
At Daytona in 2001, Stewart got black-flagged for passing below the yellow line in one of NASCAR’s first major rulings under the controversial rule. Stewart argued Johnny Benson forced him down there. NASCAR was in disagreement.
Then came years of fines, probation, and penalties. After a fight with Brian Vickers in 2004, Stewart got hit with a $50,000 fine and a points deduction. During his 2002 championship run, NASCAR kept him under intense scrutiny after he shoved a photographer at Indianapolis.
“If you didn’t play by the rules the way they wanted you to play — if you were stinking the show up or whatever — they’d either throw a caution or you’d get a speeding penalty.”
The irony was that Tony Stewart still won the title anyway. That’s the part that keeps this debate alive even now. Stewart never claimed NASCAR fixed every race. He claimed NASCAR controlled the environment around them. If a driver embarrassed the show, officials had ways to push back. And in Stewart’s mind, everybody in the garage eventually figured it out.
