Former NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart claimed that the iconic Daytona 500 race “doesn’t mean the same now as it did 15-20 years ago.”
Stewart, who recently clinched his first NHRA victory, acknowledged that he would likely be “crucified by a lot of people” for his opinion. During an appearance on the Rubbin is Racing podcast (below), the former Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner explained:
“When it comes to Daytona, now I’m going to be crucified by a lot of people for this. In my eyes, it doesn’t mean the same now as it did 15-20 years ago.
“Anybody can win, I mean, you look at some of the guys that won the Daytona 500. I don’t want to go into the list of guys because they’re guys that I do respect and have friendships with, but they’re not guys that should have won the Daytona 500 and they’ve won the Daytona 500 and that’s all they’ve won.
Tony Stewart did not hold back in this interview.New episode of Rubbin is Racing out now! pic.twitter.com/JJVVDKKKIr
— Rubbin is Racing (@rubbinisracing) May 2, 2025
“They may have won one or two races outside of that. We won 49 Cup races, Jeff Gordon won 75 cup races, Richard Petty [won] 200 Cup races. Anybody in the field can win the Daytona 500 now. As much as it’s a crown jewel, I would still go back, and I would trade some of my race wins to get the Daytona 500.”
Stewart also insisted that he wouldn’t trade any of his other NASCAR trophies, of which he has 49 from Cup Series races, 3 for Cup Series championships, and 41 for Xfinity Series races, for three Daytona 500 wins. He added:
“No, absolutely not okay, no way, I wouldn’t trade a Championship for three Daytona 500 trophies.
“Even though I don’t feel like it carries as much weight as it used to, it still carries the weight because it’s still the Daytona 500. It is still the marquee event on the NASCAR schedule, it still has that rich history.
“The cars have got so equal that and you look at guys that are winning some of these, they’re not the ones that led the most laps, they’re not the ones that were up front. They were the guy that was second or third or fourth when the last lap crash happened and NASCAR hit the button to freeze the field, and they were they’re the winner. I don’t hold as much stock now [in the Daytona 500].”
Although Stewart stepped away from NASCAR racing in 2016 and closed Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of 2024, he recently admitted that he could be tempted back. During an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio via Yardbarker, he commented:
“I’m definitely planning on coming back to NASCAR races. As a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, I get a hard card. I don’t know if NASCAR has the ability to revoke that or not but until they do revoke it, I’m going to take advantage of having a hard card and I definitely want to come back and see everybody.
“I miss a lot of things about NASCAR and most of all the people. The people are what I enjoyed about it and the relationships I had there. Definitely looking forward to coming back and seeing everybody.”
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