Bristol Motor Speedway has seen a fair share of fender-bending action and post-race antics. It’s the type of track that stirs something in every driver—tight, loud, and relentless. In 1995, two of the sport’s toughest drivers, Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, had a plan. They were going to teach Jeff Gordon, the young rising star, a lesson. Their agreement? Push Gordon aside and settle it between themselves. But things didn’t go to plan.

Early in the race, instead of targeting Gordon, Earnhardt bumped Wallace out of the way. Wallace didn’t retaliate. He bottled up that fury and saved it for later. That “later” came with a cold, hard whack. As Earnhardt stepped out of his car post-race to face the media, Wallace nailed him in the chest with a flying water bottle. That moment became a reference point as one of those chaotic, emotional flashes that defined what Bristol was all about.

Nearly two decades later, the track got its next iconic moment. Not from Earnhardt, not from Wallace. But from a driver who always made his feelings clear, be it on the race track or off it —Tony Stewart. Known as “Smoke” for both his aggression and his outbursts, Stewart brought old-school heat to a modern NASCAR world. After a run-in with Matt Kenseth, he took matters into his own hands, which once again established his unapologetic heel nature.

When Tony Stewart lost his helmet and calm!

It was lap 333 of the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth were going head-to-head, racing hard, blocking harder. Stewart, never one to back down, tried to make a move, which the Roush Fenway driver blocked. The contact sent both cars into the inside wall, but Kenseth kept going. However, the day ended prematurely for Stewart. He was furious over what he called Kenseth’s “blocking strategy.” He felt disrespected, and he wasn’t going to take it quietly.

When Stewart climbed out of his battered car, he didn’t wait for a camera crew or a sit-down interview. He picked up his helmet, waited for Kenseth’s #17 Ford to roll past on pit road, and fired it—two hands, full force—into Kenseth’s front bumper. The crowd? They roared. It was the loudest they’d been all night. In the post-race interview, Stewart didn’t hold back. “We learned our lesson. Next time, just drive through him. We’re not going to give him that chance again,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kenseth wasn’t exactly shocked. “That didn’t surprise me one bit,” he said calmly. The two had a history, and this just added another chapter. Shockingly, NASCAR didn’t fine Stewart, but they kept his helmet. Years later, Stewart joked that he knew exactly who at NASCAR had it. “I almost took it back. Was going to hold it hostage,” he said. The helmet eventually made its way back to him, thanks to Kenseth, who returned it as a retirement gift in 2016.

And, of course, this wasn’t Stewart’s first time creating chaos at Bristol. In 2001, during the summer race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Stewart tangled with Jeff Gordon early in the event. After contact sent Stewart spinning into the wall, the tension didn’t stay on the track. He waited for Gordon on pit road and spun his car around—on purpose. It wasn’t subtle. And NASCAR didn’t let Stewart off the hook after these antics. Stewart was fined $10,000 and put on probation.

When asked about it later, Stewart didn’t exactly apologize. “We both want to win. Sometimes you just have to make a point,” he said. That point? He wasn’t here to be pushed around. Stewart was the driver you didn’t cross. Passionate. Unfiltered. And just a little unpredictable. In 2012, Bristol had once again lived up to its reputation.

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Stewart smokes NASCAR’s entertainment approach!

In NASCAR, drama sells. And nobody understands that better than Tony Stewart. Whether behind the wheel or the mic, Stewart knows how the game works. And in recent years, he hasn’t been shy about saying it. Recently, in a podcast appearance, Stewart let loose on NASCAR’s behind-the-scenes playbook.

Speaking on the ‘Long Live The Chaz’ podcast, Tony Stewart said, “I can tell you this for a fact. Anytime there’s a fight after a race, NASCAR is going cha-ching. The track, whoever. The track next week is going cha-ching. The network is going cha-ching. That’s why we tell all the drivers at Eldora, if you want to fight, you can fight. Fight on the front stretch. There’s no penalty. There are no penalties, there are no fines. But it’s just the drivers.”

He’s not wrong. Controversies, brawls, outbursts—they get the clicks. They keep fans talking. We all know how NASCAR promoted the post-race fight between Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch after the race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Interestingly, Stenhouse was fined $75,000 for his conduct and at the same time, the social media was abuzz with the clips of the brawl.

We saw a fair few drivers losing their cool during the Martinsville race just a few weeks back. Ty Gibbs, in particular, was furious with Tyler Reddick, as he threatened to retaliate after the race. Even Ross Chastain may have reignited his feud with the Hendrick Motorsports drivers. So it’s fair to say that this weekend’s race at Bristol we might see more than just beating and banging.