Cindy_AL
30th September 2007, 15:34
Tony Stewart upstaged Saturday's NASCAR Nextel Cup practice with his mouth.
During ESPN2's broadcast of Saturday's first Cup practice at Kansas City, Kan., Stewart dismissed an ESPN cameraman with a vulgarity, after Stewart finished a conversation with Robby Gordon.
Stewart's antagonistic comment, "Get the (expletive) away from me,'' was heard by the television audience, prompting ESPN broadcaster Dr. Jerry Punch to apologize to the audience for the airing of the inappropriate remarks.
"I think what occurred speaks for itself,'' said George McNeilly, ESPN's senior director of corporate and consumer communications. "It was an unfortunate incident, and we apologized immediately.''
The incident leaves NASCAR in the uncomfortable position of having to deal with offensive language from Stewart for the second time this season. He is on probation through Dec. 31 for failing to fulfill his media obligations at Phoenix in April.
Subsequently, after winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Stewart treated a national TV audience to a different swear word during his postrace interview. NASCAR fined Stewart $25,000 and docked him 25 driver championship points but deemed that the vulgarity did not violate Stewart's probation.
If NASCAR disciplines Stewart, the penalty likely will be announced next week.
Saturday night at Knoxville, Iowa, where Stewart made an appearance, he tried to quell the issue.
"It was kind (of) a situation where we were in a spot we didn't realize we were in," said Stewart. "I think that's going to -- let it take care of itself. It's a lot of stress and there's a lot of people around."
During ESPN2's broadcast of Saturday's first Cup practice at Kansas City, Kan., Stewart dismissed an ESPN cameraman with a vulgarity, after Stewart finished a conversation with Robby Gordon.
Stewart's antagonistic comment, "Get the (expletive) away from me,'' was heard by the television audience, prompting ESPN broadcaster Dr. Jerry Punch to apologize to the audience for the airing of the inappropriate remarks.
"I think what occurred speaks for itself,'' said George McNeilly, ESPN's senior director of corporate and consumer communications. "It was an unfortunate incident, and we apologized immediately.''
The incident leaves NASCAR in the uncomfortable position of having to deal with offensive language from Stewart for the second time this season. He is on probation through Dec. 31 for failing to fulfill his media obligations at Phoenix in April.
Subsequently, after winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Stewart treated a national TV audience to a different swear word during his postrace interview. NASCAR fined Stewart $25,000 and docked him 25 driver championship points but deemed that the vulgarity did not violate Stewart's probation.
If NASCAR disciplines Stewart, the penalty likely will be announced next week.
Saturday night at Knoxville, Iowa, where Stewart made an appearance, he tried to quell the issue.
"It was kind (of) a situation where we were in a spot we didn't realize we were in," said Stewart. "I think that's going to -- let it take care of itself. It's a lot of stress and there's a lot of people around."