NASCAR has neutered Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart was never short of words when it came to pointing out NASCAR's mistakes and shortcomings. He was a free spirit and a breath of fresh air in the NASCAR paddock. Not anymore. Now that he is a team owner, if he doesn't want his car to fail tech inspection all the time, he appears to have learned to keep his mouth shut.

To prove our point, a recent conversation went like this:

Q: What changes do you want to see in NASCAR?

I never even worry about it. The last thing I want NASCAR to read is something I think is a better way of doing it than what they're doing. They've been successful for over 60 years for a reason. It's because they do it the right way the first time.

Q: So it's perfect? You wouldn't change a thing?

I didn't say that. I said I'm not going to get into the middle of that. Just because I took on a new role doesn't mean I'm smarter than they are.