 | | Tony Stewart's key ingredient for homemade chili: elbow macaroni. Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images |
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
November 29, 2005
04:50 PM EST (21:50 GMT)
Even before he clinched his second NASCAR premier division championship, Tony Stewart was in rare form, displaying confidence, humor and insight. Stewart triumphed over a select field of 10 drivers to win the championship -- his first under the Chase for the Nextel Cup format -- and it was the culmination of a solid and, perhaps, the most satisfying season of his career. Before Championship Weekend at Homestead, Fla., Stewart sat down at Miami's Hotel Sofitel to answer 10 questions not necessarily related to his racing career. 1. What's your dream vehicle that you don't already own? Stewart: I've already got it, but my dream vehicle that I don't already own would probably be an army tank. Q: You and Wally Dallenbach. He's got one of those, you know -- at least he had a halftrack. Stewart: All right, then I want a monster truck. I don't have one of those, yet. Q: Did you ever think of getting one of those street-legal sprint cars? Stewart: I could build one of those in a matter of weeks. Q: Is that something that's kind of wasted on pavement, though? Stewart: Aaah, it's not near as fun on the pavement -- especially when you can't slide it around. 2. If time on the road weren't an issue, what would be your ideal pet? Stewart: I actually have one. I have a 365-pound, female half-Bengal, half-Siberian tiger that's pretty cool. She's not exactly the ideal pet, but to me it's an ideal pet because I've always liked tigers, since I was a little kid. I think they're pretty cool. Q: You still have Mojo, your pet monkey? Stewart: Oh yeah, I still have Mojo. Q: How do they get along? Stewart: The tiger is actually in a zoo in Charlotte, N.C. -- and Mojo is actually in Charlotte, too -- but they don't interact with each other. That's two animals you don't get around each other.  |  | SUPERSTORE | |
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Q: Does Mojo ever pout when you've been on the road for a while? Stewart: Yes, he does. But he pouts more when you leave. He pouts when he knows that you're leaving the house -- that's when he pouts the most. But it's pretty neat to see how intelligent he is, because when he sees us on TV he starts chirping at the TV. So it's impressive to see how smart they are and how they can recognize you on TV like that. 3. What's your biggest pet peeve while driving on the road? Stewart: People that are running the speed limit out in the left hand lane, and that think that the left hand lane is the only place to be. It's called the 'passing lane,' which means that if you're not passing somebody, get out of that lane -- move over one lane. Q: You know, the road system in this country is not as bad as those people make it seem, is it? Stewart: No, the road system is actually pretty intelligent; it's just the people on the road that makes it unintelligent. | | COKE TRACK ACCESS | |
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4. You've raced in a lot of divisions and spent a lot of time on the road, so what's your worst hotel experience? Stewart: I was drunk and hung over at the Chili Bowl Midget race before I got into the IRL or NASCAR, and my buddies, through the course of the night had kept throwing their empty cans behind my bed. And they put shaving cream and Vaseline on my mattress and sheets and I didn't realize it. (Responding to a bystander's laughter.) What's wrong with that? That was my worst hotel story, before I became a NASCAR driver. That's life, that's reality. Q: You know, it sounds like picking your hotels is not as much of a problem as picking your friends is, no? Stewart: That's right. Next question? 5. What's your favorite food? Stewart: Chili. Q: On the road chili or made-at-home chili? Stewart: Made-at-home chili. Q: What's the key ingredient in your chili? Stewart: I put elbow macaroni in mine, and a lot of tomato products: It's half tomatoes with tomato chunks, tomato sauce and tomato paste -- and lean meat. 6. If you had to choose, would it be being honest, or being nice? Stewart: I'd rather be honest than be nice. I think people respect honesty more than they respect someone who is nice, and false. 7. What's your fondest childhood memory? Stewart: I think it would be the first time that I actually beat my dad, wrestling in the house, was my favorite childhood memory. Q: Hmm. Did he let you win, or. . . Stewart: No -- he didn't let me win. I actually kicked his butt that time. Q: How long did it take him to get over that? Stewart: Oh, he got over it pretty quick because he got me back the next day -- so it was all right. 8. What would your dream date be? Where and with whom? Stewart: I've given up that there is such a thing as a dream date -- because we barely have enough time to go get something to eat in the off-season -- so I wouldn't even know. It's been so long since I've had a dream date that I wouldn't even know who it would be with and what it would be, but trust me -- I look forward to having both, soon -- at a location near you. 9. I hate to say that your name has come up a few times in this category -- on both sides of the coin -- but what's your worst prank, either perpetrated by you, or done to you? I'm trying to remember if it was Jason Leffler that talked about stink bombs? Stewart: Yeah, we used to put stink bombs in each other's hotel rooms -- under the toilet seats. A guy would sit down on there and when you break those open, you pretty much can open the doors and the windows and you're not going to get the stink out. You pretty much have to check out of that room and into another one. So that's probably one of my better ones. And then I'm pretty good with a can of Brake Clean and a propane torch, so you can let your imagination go from there. Q: And teammates be damned, right -- as Denny Hamlin let us know a couple weeks ago? Stewart: I'm not too big on teammates with it. I don't get teammates with it too much, but I like to get everybody else. 10. What would you consider your "Welcome to NASCAR" moment? Stewart: My welcome to NASCAR moment probably was when I was on the pole for about two hours at the Daytona 500 -- my first race in the Cup Series. It was like, 'Welcome to NASCAR, now you're in a position to have your first pole.' So that was a pretty cool moment, there. | 
