Stewart runs with tail between his legs

UPDATE NASCAR “refused to let" Stewart’s team unload his car this morning until after the meeting. Is anyone surprised by the heavy-handed actions by NASCAR? Anyone want to place bets that Stewart was told "you want to race in this series boy, you had better keep your mouth shut and just drive," or something to that effect?

04/27/07 TALLADEGA, Ala. — Two-time Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart backed off recent comments questioning the validity of debris cautions after being chastened by NASCAR officials in a meeting early Friday morning at Talladega Superspeedway.

"I know I did a lot of damage," Stewart said. "I'm a lot of times my own worst enemy."

Frustrated by four debris cautions that hampered his chances of winning last weekend at Phoenix, Stewart ducked the media after finishing second to Jeff Gordon. He vented on his satellite radio show Tuesday, comparing NASCAR to professional wrestling and implying that results were staged.

"I guess NASCAR thinks, 'Hey, wrestling worked, and it was for the most part staged, so I guess it's going to work in racing, too,'" he said on his radio program Tuesday night. "I can't understand how long the fans are going to let NASCAR treat them like they're stupid before the fans finally turn on NASCAR."

The remarks infuriated image-conscious NASCAR officials, who called Stewart in to address the issue at 6 a.m. Friday, the hour the garage opened. "It's a little tender for me to sit down right now," Stewart quipped.

But it wasn't a joke to NASCAR, which was expected to announce penalties later Friday. Series officials watched from the back of the media center as a humbled Stewart made his comments, which contrasted starkly with his remarks Tuesday.

"To be honest, the group that I spoke with this morning is a group of peers that I trust. If they tell me the stuff is out there, I believe them," he said.

"I should have went to them instead of just saying it out in public. That's frustration that's been building up with all these debris cautions." NASCAR.com