NASCAR: Latest Stewart allegation closed

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Following a meeting in the NASCAR office trailer Saturday afternoon, Tony Stewart was cleared of any suspicion in an incident with a photographer earlier in the day in the Winston Cup garage.

	One day before going for his first Winston Cup title, Tony Stewart found himself in the midst of controversy again. Credit: Autostock

Stewart collided with Getty Images photographer Rusty Jarrett of Augusta, Ga. on Saturday afternoon as he left his garage stall after the final practice session of the day.

Late in the afternoon, a meeting was held in the NASCAR hauler among Jarrett, Stewart, his team owner Joe Gibbs, NASCAR president Mike Helton, Winston Cup director John Darby and NASCAR vice president for corporate communications Jim Hunter.

Hunter said the meeting, which lasted about half an hour, resulted in Stewart and Jarrett having a "good conversation" that "defused the situation." Hunter said Stewart expressed that he did not intend to hit Jarrett, and apologized to the photographer. Hunter said as far as NASCAR was concerned, the issue was closed.

Jarrett accepted Stewart's apology, but passed the word though a Getty Images associate that he did not wish to make further comments.

Jarrett, who said he covers about a dozen races a year, said the contact surprised him. He said he was well away from Stewart's garage, standing still shooting Stewart from a distance with a long-range lens.

When Stewart came out of the garage early Saturday, he struck Jarrett, who said Stewart was running and either lowered his shoulder or used a forearm to knock him backwards about five feet.

A photographer for The Miami Herald captured an image of the contact and media members and NASCAR officials reviewed it just after 1:30 p.m. ET.

Timeline  •  August 4: Stewart shoves photographer at Indy  •  August 5: Photographer downplays confrontation  •  August 6: NASCAR looks into Stewart incident  •  August 6: NASCAR fines Stewart $10,000  •  August 7: Home Depot not leaving Gibbs Racing  •  August 7: Stewart seeks anger management help  •  August 8: Home Depot fines Stewart $50,000  •  September 6: Stewart accused of shoving fan  •  September 7: Stewart denies hitting fan  •  September 14: Report: EMT says Stewart hit him in July  •  September 24: Allegations against Stewart from Bristol unfounded  •  November 16: NASCAR investigating Stewart incident at Homestead

Immediately following the incident, Stewart had a news conference to attend arranged by series sponsor R.J. Reynolds and had to debrief with crew chief Greg Zipadelli first. Witnesses said Stewart had cut through an adjacent garage stall, which Hunter confirmed was in an attempt to avoid a knot of media and bystanders outside his garage, and cut around a corner trying to head for his hauler.

Sports Illustrated photographer George Tiedemann said he witnessed the incident and said it had no merit, adding that if Stewart had not been involved in any previous altercations it would not be an issue.

Hunter agreed.

"I have talked to a couple people who saw it and it appears to me that it was an unintentional thing -- that Tony was trying to run back to his hauler," he said before Saturday's meeting.

Stewart was fined and placed on probation by both NASCAR and sponsor Home Depot earlier this season for shoving a photographer at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was accused by a fan of shoving her after the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway in August.

That allegation was later dropped.

Last season, Stewart was fined and placed on probation for an altercation in which he slapped a tape recorder out of a reporter's hands and kicked it under a trailer.

Tiedemann, who said Jarrett was a "competent and honest photographer," said if the contact was intentional that Stewart -- who Tiedemann said was knocked off balance by the impact and uttered an expression of surprise, including a curse -- would not have looked back to either make sure Jarrett was OK or to even confirm what had happened.

"I could see what Tony was trying to do and I was trying to shoot images of photographers photographing him, so I was right behind Rusty," Tiedemann said. "Maybe he (Stewart) was annoyed, but if you were trying to go somewhere and you unexpectedly ran into someone, you might be, too."

	Tony Stewart has an 89-point lead on second-place Mark Martin heading to Sunday's finale. Credit: Autostock

Jarrett said he was not interested in making a legal case of the issue, but added that rumors that Stewart made contact with him in jest were unfounded.

"I don't know him at all," Jarrett said. "If it were Ward Burton, who I know, and have been up with, it would have been a joke, but I don't know him (Stewart). He wasn't laughing."