Tony Stewart (left) and Jeremy Mayfield look on as South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford speaks during their visit to the USC campus. Credit: AP

Stewart shares NASCAR lessons with students

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Tony Stewart's gotten many lectures during his time in Nextel Cup. Giving them? Now, that's something new for the NASCAR champion.

"All right everybody, straighten up," Stewart, a grin on his face, told the 30 students as he began his guest professorship Tuesday in NASCAR Marketing at the University of South Carolina.

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Stewart's time in NASCAR has been marked by his skilled driving and his hair-trigger temper. It's hard to say where the 2002 Nextel Cup champion has been to more -- Victory Lane or the NASCAR trailer for a post-race talking to.

And Stewart shared all sides of his insider's experience -- at times perhaps a little too inside -- with the prospective motorsports marketers.

"I don't know how much you're really going to learn from me," Stewart said. "I barely graduated high school. You're in college. You're a lot smarter."

Stewart answered about two dozen questions -- everything from his biggest struggle in the sport (finding adequate funding) to his coolest experience so far (when Kid Rock brought Pamela Anderson by Stewart's trailer in Bristol a few years back).

"This has been my entire life since I was eight," Stewart said.

The class is taught each spring by members of Darlington Raceway's staff. So far this year, car owner Ray Evernham and NASCAR's chief spokesman Jim Hunter have appeared.

Stewart, though, was the focus of a semester-long project.

Darlington public relations director Cathy Elliott had assigned students her actual PR budget of $200,000 and asked them to design a publicity campaign for the upcoming Dodge Charger 500 around Stewart.

Stewart quickly seized on a couple of ideas he hated. One called for him to spend six hours working in Darlington's ticket office. "Not going to happen," he says.

Another, put forward by Stewart Blanchard, had Stewart at the wheel of the No. 20 Home Depot school bus picking up first and second graders a couple of mornings.

"You two guys are flunking this course something awful," Stewart said. "You thought you were going to get praise for it, didn't you?"

Stewart didn't hold much back. He said relationships between drivers are better than you might think, calling NASCAR "The Waltons on steroids. ... It's 43 brothers every weekend that race against each other unless Shawna Robinson makes the race and it's 42 brothers and one sister.

"But she normally doesn't last long," he said, to scolding catcalls and laughter.

"Hey, check the record books," he countered. "Actually, Shawna's one of the coolest ones of the group because she's cute. She's better than looking at Jimmy Spencer all day."

Then Stewart recounted how his pal, Jimmie Johnson knocked him out of the running at this year's Daytona 500.

Stewart told the students he felt like "killing" Johnson and went right up to him, saying "That was pretty stupid for sixth place." Johnson answered, "But it's the last lap of the Daytona 500."

They yelled at each other "before NASCAR could even take us in the principal's office and got it settled," Stewart said.

Still, the two were brought to NASCAR's trailer to make sure it didn't linger past Daytona Beach.

"I think (NASCAR president) Mike Helton knows if I get mad at somebody it might last awhile," Stewart said.

Stewart recalled when he punched a photographer after the Brickyard 500 during his championship season. "He took his shot and I gave him a shot of my own," he said.

Or how during his first try at finishing the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, he steered with his knees during a caution period of the latter race as he tried to cram a melting piece of a protein bar under his helmet for some quick nourishment.

Stewart also flashed his humility, remembering how he was struck that the Coke machine he used as young racer now carried his picture on it; and his vulnerability, regretting that he'd only seen his niece three times in her nearly two years of life because of his racing schedule.

Throughout, though, Stewart brought out the fun he has in racing.

"It's just amazing that someone like Tony Stewart can come here and talk to us," said Blanchard, a junior from Charleston.

At the end, Stewart was presented a plaque commemorating his guest lecture from Tom Regan, who heads the university's Department of Sport and Entertainment Management.

Stewart was thrilled. "I'm just honored you called me professor," he said.

Then he was off to Texas Motor Speedway, where his racing family reconvenes this weekend.

"Good luck with your class you guys," he said.

Another successful lecture over.