"This is my opportunity to be you" - When Tony Stewart recalled his difficult conversation with Joe Gibbs about leaving JGR

In an interview with sports analyst Dan Patrick, former NASCAR Cup Series champion and current co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing Tony Stewart spoke about his exit from Joe Gibbs Racing in 2008. During the interaction on the Undeniable show, the Indiana-based driver recalled his difficult conversation with Joe Gibbs.

Tony Stewart began his professional racing journey with both IndyCar and NASCAR's Xfinity Series in 1996. After completing three seasons, he graduated to the Winston Cup Series (now Cup Series). The same year, he attempted the iconic Memorial Day double duty by competing in the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 races in a day. However, he fell short by 10 miles of the scheduled 1,100-mile-long run as he finished four laps down at Indianapolis (Stewart completed the double duty in a second attempt in 2001).

After about 12 years with Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart decided to exit the iconic team in 2008 to become a co-owner/driver for SHR. During an interview with Patrick on the Undeniable show in February 2024, the NASCAR Hall of Famer opened up about the difficult conversation with Joe Gibbs while sharing the decision to depart JGR.

"He kept asking over and over, why do you want to do this? And I told him, I said, 'this is my opportunity to be you.' And he stopped, he couldn't, there was nothing he could say after that. And that's, that was really what I was thinking," he said.

Patrick pointed out that Gibbs felt selfish in trying to stop Stewart from leaving and also took the latter's statement (of being like Gibbs) as a compliment.

"I would have liked to have started that conversation with that quote, because I felt like I was this tall during that whole conversation until I said that to him. And when he stopped, it was like it flipped the switch. And how do you try to discourage somebody from trying to do what you've done?"

Here's a look at the clip from the interview on YouTube:

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“It’s a huge honor” - Tony Stewart was surprised to be part of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers list on motorsport's 75th anniversary

With over 600 race starts, three championships, 49 wins, and 308 Top-10 finishes, Tony Stewart is considered one of the most successful drivers in the Cup Series. He was added to NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers list during the motorsport's 75th anniversary celebration in 2023.

During the pre-race broadcast for the 2023 Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Stewart was informed about his induction to the greatest drivers list. The announcement took him by surprise.

“It’s a huge honor. I mean, can you think of all the drivers in 75 years that have competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. It’s truly an honor just to be a part of that category in that group of people. There’s a lot of drivers in there that I’ve looked up to for a long time and still look up to,” Tony Stewart said (1:12 onwards).

Here's a look at the video from NASCAR's official YouTube channel:

The announcement was made by Mike Helton, Vice Chairman of the sanctioning body, who also handed a special memento to Stewart.