“Cleaning House At The Top” – Tony Stewart Says He’d Fire Everyone If He Became NASCAR Commissioner

Tony Stewart thinks he has exactly what it takes to fix all of the problems that have been plaguing NASCAR in recent years.

Many fans of the sport have argued that it’s lost its way as of late. Television ratings have gone down as fans have not-so-privately grumbled about NASCAR abandoning its roots to chase new fans that it never seemed to attract. If you take a look at the past decade or so, NASCAR has decided to take races away from historical tracks and instead move to new markets.

They also attempted to compete with the NFL by implementing an elimination-style playoff system in a desperate attempt to get their “game 7” moment during the season finale. Time and time again, NASCAR has tried to make sweeping, excessive changes… and they just haven’t worked.

Three time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Tony Stewart, thinks it’s time for a change.

That’s at least how he put it when he talked with Sportico recently. The outlet asked Stewart what he’d do in the hypothetical situation that he was named the commissioner of NASCAR for the day. It was posed as somewhat of a playful question (that’s at least how it seemed), but Stewart took his answer very seriously:

“I would fire all of the upper management (on the) first day. Right out of the gate. I think there’s some great people up there, but I think there’s a lot of hurdles up there that they have to cross. So I think, honestly, cleaning house at the top and bringing in some fresh eyes and ears and having people that truly understand the history of the sport, I think is really crucial.”

Fans of NASCAR would certainly be behind that. Heck, I’ve got a feeling that they’d be quite alright with the hypothetical position becoming a real one for Stewart.

The former driver of the No. 20 car continued by calling out the confusing setup and format of NASCAR and its playoff system. He admitted that he’s only been out of racing for two years and even he doesn’t understand how everything works. So he knows that NASCAR fans have to be frustrated with all of the change:

“(The emphasis would be) reconnecting with the fans of the past that have really seen enough changes that have kind of taken their attention away from the sport. I think there’s still a way to bring them back. It’s just getting the right people to have the right mindsets and make the right decisions to embrace what they love and the passion they had for the sport.

Being able to translate that into modern times now (is important). I think they’ve kind of lost their original fanbase. If I was president for a day, that would be one of the main focuses is getting that original fanbase back and making it relatable like it used to be.”

So… can we go ahead and give Tony Stewart the reigns to NASCAR (at least for a day) or what?