Tony Stewart: 'I did not assault anyone'

Growing fan presence in the garage area a concern

RICHMOND, Va. - In an issued statement, Tony Stewart denied accusations that he assaulted a fan following the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago.

"I will say that I did not assault anyone," Stewart said in the statement. "In fact, I am shocked and truly at a loss as to why someone would make such an allegation."

Said accusations came to light Friday at Richmond International Raceway, when the Sullivan County, Tenon., sheriff's office issued a press release announcing that sheriff Wayne Anderson and District Attorney General H. Greeley Wells, Jr., were investigating an alleged assault involving Stewart.

In response, team owner Joe Gibbs addressed the media Saturday evening. Gibbs said that he had discussed the situation with individuals assigned by the Joe Gibbs Racing organization to accompany Stewart, and they saw "nothing out of the ordinary."

"We did have somebody assigned to be with him," Gibbs said. "So I went and talked to those people, and basically, what they all told me was they saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"So at that point, I kind of dropped it, figured that was the end of it. And then, later on we find out there had a been a fan that decided to fill out some kind of report to start some kind of legal process."

According to the release, allegations are that Stewart shoved a female fan in the pit area immediately following the race.

NASCAR: Press release 'unusual'

NASCAR vice president of communications Jim Hunter said that the sanctioning body was made aware of the situation Tuesday via phone call from Bristol Motor Speedway president Jeff Byrd.

Some, including Hunter, question the release.

"I'd say it's unusual," Hunter said.

Hunter stressed Saturday that no one should assume anything until the legal process has concluded, and said that Stewart has been fully cooperative with NASCAR on the matter.

Hunter also discussed the growing fan presence in the garage area, which has become a concern of late.

"NASCAR has been studying the situation in the garage and the pits for over a year and we're continuing that process," Hunter said. "I think our athletes remain the most accessible athletes in the world, and we want to help keep it that way.

"But I think in all fairness to Tony Stewart and all the other athletes out there, we know there's some concern in that area. That's one of the things that we have to look at, how we manage security in the garage area and around the haulers and where fans do have access in our sport and don't have access in other sports."

This is Stewart's second alleged post-race altercation in the past five weeks. On August 4th, witnesses said he attempted to shove and kick Gary Mook, an Indianapolis Star freelance photographer.

Stewart was fined $50,000 by The Home Depot and $10,000 by NASCAR, who also placed him on season-long probation, following that incident.

This time around, he maintains he did nothing wrong.

"I am confident that once the investigation is complete, I will be cleared of any and all accusations," Stewart said.