DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 13: Tony Stewart 25 Kaulig Racing RAM waves to the crowd prior to the running of the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Craftsman Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 on February 13, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 13 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602133588250

Jul 25, 2026, 10:12 PM CUT

'I am not gonna be Jimmie Johnson': Tony Stewart sets the record straight after NASCAR media ruined his image

When it comes to NASCAR personalities who don’t have an easy-going personality, Tony Stewart is probably one of the first names to pop up on people’s minds. However, he recently gave a deeper insight into that.

Speaking on The Couches That Made Us podcast, the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion stated that he prefers authenticity over curated perfection, and that he does not feel the need to conform to the public persona of other legendary drivers.

“I don't know that I'm ever going to be John Force. I'm not going to be Steve Kinser. I'm not going to be Jimmie Johnson or whatever and be the perfect role model. I don't try to be. I just try to be me.”

Earlier in the same interaction, he explained that when he moved to North Carolina to pursue his NASCAR career, his friends warned him not to change. While he believes that he never changed, his friends started to treat him differently because of who they saw on television, which left him feeling quite frustrated.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 13: Tony Stewart 25 Kaulig Racing RAM prepares to enter his truck during qualifying for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Craftsman Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 on February 13, 2026 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 13 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Fresh From Florida 250 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2602131432250

He then admitted feeling overwhelmed when faced with long lines of fans and demands, occasionally leading to moments where he would lose his temper.

Despite this, he clarified that he intends to evolve and handle pressure with more patience than he sometimes displayed in the past.

Why Tony Stewart does not watch Cup races anymore

In an interaction on the Oil and Whiskey podcast a couple of months ago, Stewart spoke on the drastic reduction of power in modern NASCAR vehicles, describing how the cars have been ‘neutered’ with horsepower dropping to approximately 500 to 600 horsepower.

He criticises NASCAR for moving away from the high-horsepower era of his days in racing, leading to his disillusionment with the current direction of the sport's technical regulations.

“I'll be honest. I don't even watch anymore. It is so neutered. I mean, they're driving cars with 500 horsepower. When I, at the peak when I was running, we were at 875hp with those things, and then they cut the nuts off of them. We went down to a 775hp package, and I was miserable."

In July, NASCAR then released a revised Daytona superspeedway package that cut horsepower from 510 to 465 hp. This came after its earlier decision to raise output to 750 hp on road courses and most short tracks for 2026.

That range in which NASCAR is playing is still too low in front of the roughly 875 hp Stewart recalls from his peak years.

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason