Where there’s Smoke…

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 21: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 21:  Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Florida.  (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 21: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

AVONDALE, Ariz.—Tony Stewart must be feeling better—just don’t ask him about it.

Stewart at his feistiest greeted reporters Friday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Asked how he was feeling after Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, the driver who suffers neither fools nor repetitious questions had a curt answer.

“I’ll be honest,” said the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, who missed the last 15 races of 2013 after breaking his right leg in a Sprint Car accident on Aug. 5. “I’ll be more happy when everybody quits asking me how I feel. I’m not 100 percent. I’m not going to be 100 percent for a while. It was fine (at Daytona).

“There wasn’t any drama, same as we said for the (Sprint Unlimited), same as we said for the (Budweiser Duel) qualifying race and same as we said after the (Daytona) 500. I appreciate everybody checking on me, but it’s not going to change in a week.

“It wasn’t a big drama. Everything is fine. Everything is fine in the car this week so far. Hopefully, we’ll be able to talk a year from now about how far we’ve come.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.