Tony Stewart After NASCAR Brickyard Race: Don’t Block Me Again...Or Else

Tony Stewart was quite the in-race reporter for ESPN on Sunday.

During a late caution period, when Dale Jarrett innocently checked in to see how ol’ Smoke’s day was going, Stewart told the national audience he was tired of drivers blocking him on the track.

If another driver switched lanes to block him, he said, he would “park them” for the rest of the day. And after Stewart salvaged a 10th-place finish, he still felt strongly about the issue.

“If you block at all, that’s too much,” he told SB Nation. “It’s racing, not blocking. I’m fed up with it, and it’s a problem that’s getting worse – it’s not getting better. More guys are doing it.”

Stewart said one unnamed driver blocked him twice coming off Turn 2. The first time, Stewart went in the opposite direction. The second time, the driver tried to box Stewart in behind another car – and Stewart got irritated.

“So I just went where I was going to go,” he said. “When he blocked me the second time, I’m like, ‘I’ve had it.’ Pretty much from now on, if anyone blocks me, they’re not going to like the consequences of it.”

That Stewart was able to get a top-10 finish on one of the most difficult passing tracks was a boost for his No. 14 team, particularly after qualifying 28th (which he said was “terrible” on Saturday). Stewart said he “got lucky” by being able to start on the inside line of two late restarts, which he said was worth two spots each time.

“I didn’t expect it by any means,” Stewart said. “I’m really, really proud of the effort of these guys. That definitely wasn’t where we were at yesterday. We weren’t even a top-20 car yesterday. Pretty satisfied with that.”