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2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Tony Stewart has long been known for having a bit of a temper.
“Over the years, he has thrown his gloves at Kenny Irwin, had a shoving match with Robby Gordon, been accused of assaulting a fan in Bristol, Tennessee (but not indicted), knocked the headphones off a track official at a midget race, kicked a reporter’s tape recorder (and apologetically replaced it), punched a photographer (and later befriended him), and told off NASCAR officials after they forced him to wear a helmet restraint.”
That was written 11 years ago.
The now 48-year-old Stewart hasn’t mellowed much with age.
This past Friday night, Stewart was caught on video punching a fan in the face for heckling him at a race in Jackson, Minnesota.
Stewart was on hand to race and sign autographs at the Jackson Motorplex for “Tony Stewart Night.” After the race, according to one eye witness, a heckler went after Stewart for “quitting” only one lap into the race, reports TMZ Sports.
“F*ck you, Tony,” the heckler allegedly said … “You piece of sh*t. You come here and basically race for one lap and quit, you piece of sh*t.”
That’s when Woehl says Tony responded, firing back, “I blew my engine, you f*cking asshole. Do you want to pay for it?”
The two traded a few more barbs … with Stewart deciding to unleash a single-barrel salute to the heckler with his left hand.
In the video, you can hear the heckler’s response, because he screams back at Stewart, “Hey, Tony, I got two of them” while flipping him off with BOTH hands.
Stewart immediately lost his cool and went after the guy … and in the video, you can hear Tony’s left fist collide with the heckler’s face!!!
Warning: NSFW language ahead.
Looks like ol’ Smoke @TonyStewart had some fun at the dirt track tonight! Credit to Jeff Riddle for this awesome video. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Tt6wpBP5ew
— Nick Olsen (@NickOlsen_) July 27, 2019
So far no charges have been filed, according to police.
In August of 2014 during a race in Canandaigua, New York, Stewart was involved in the death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr. when he struck him with his car as Ward stood on the track gesturing at him and blaming Stewart for being spun out. Stewart was not charged, but did settle a wrongful death lawsuit with Ward’s family in 2018.