INTIMIDATOR 2 IS TONY STEWART THE NETX DALE EARNHARDT?

Byline: Tim Haddock Staff Writer

Dale Earnhardt earned the nickname the Intimidator for being the designated antagonist on the race track. His aggressive driving tactics earned him fender-sparking, infield spinning NASCAR wins and a record seven championships. He bumped and banged his way to the delight of stock car racing fans.

Through it all, he earned a reputation for being a rough but fair driver. To this day, those who raced against him say he never gave another driver more than he could handle.

Since Earnhardt died in February 2001 on the final turn of the Daytona 500, a void in NASCAR has existed. Fans have been searching for the next Intimidator without much success.

Others have been able to equal Earnhardt's temperament, but only one has been able to mix aggressiveness with success as well as the old Intimidator. And the one who could fill the void NASCAR desperately needs is the one who dismisses any comparisons to Dale Earnhardt.

Tony Stewart, no stranger to controversy, has pushed and pressed his way to the top of the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings. He has knocked drivers young and old around race tracks, searching for any advantage that might put him out front. NASCAR has fined him thousands of dollars for his antics and docked him championship points. He even has taken team-mandated anger management sessions to help control his sometimes unpredictable emotions.

However, when it comes to comparisons with Earnhardt, Stewart takes a pass. He says he aspires to accomplish all that the old Intimidator accomplished but has no desire to take his place in NASCAR lore.

``I can promise you one thing. I am not trying to be Dale Earnhardt,'' Stewart said. ``I respect that man more than anybody in racing other than A.J. Foyt and his accomplishments came on the run. There's nobody that's ever going to be another Dale Earnhardt. The closest one to be Dale Earnhardt is Dale Earnhardt Jr. That's not something that I have my eyes set on trying to be like.''

But even Junior has no desire to take the place of his dad. While the comparisons flatter Junior, he says no one will ever be able to replace his father on the race track.

``I'm honored if someone compares me to my dad, but he was one of a kind,'' said Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team his father started. ``I think he was the greatest stock driver ever, ya know? I'm just trying to be myself. If I achieve half of what he did, then that would be unbelievable, but I don't try to compare myself to him.''

Stewart's history of run-ins with other drivers has been well-documented. He knocked Rusty Wallace into the wall at California Speedway during the spring race in May, then flipped off Wallace on the following lap for getting in his way.

He punched rookie driver Brian Vickers in the face after the race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, a move that cost him a $50,000 fine and 25 championship points in the driver standings. He also was placed on probation, a punishment that ended Aug. 18.

He was blamed for shoving Kasey Kahne into the wall at Chicagoland Speedway en route to his first win of the season. The move sparked a fight between Kahne and Stewart's crews in the pits, but NASCAR found no fault with Stewart's push through the field and neither fined him nor warned him for his driving style.

Still, Stewart's reputation has grown to become the baddest of the NASCAR bad boys, a moniker that used to be reserved for Earnhardt. And in Stewart's view, being the bad guy isn't necessarily a bad thing.

``You look at wrestling and you had all the popular guys - quote unquote, the good guys in the sport - and you had them wrestling each other each week, I'm not sure it would be as appealing to the fans as if you got somebody that people like and somebody that they dislike,'' Stewart said. ``So I think that adds flavor to the sport. I don't really take it personal. ... It's just a title that's given to many of us. I guess I lead the pack of the bad boy group.

``I think there are fans out there that are looking for that guy. Dale Earnhardt didn't get his reputation or popularity by being a good guy. He got it by being aggressive and he was probably the bad boy in his era. So I don't think it's such a bad thing after all.''

None of the drivers in the top 10 have been disciplined by NASCAR as much as Stewart. Jimmie Johnson, the top driver in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, has drawn fines for blocking products of rival sponsors in victory lane. Pepsi-backed Jeff Gordon escaped fines for skipping a visit to victory lane at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by apologizing publicly to NASCAR and the track for his lapse in judgment.

Kenseth and Kevin Harvick have been involved in a few scrapes earlier this year, but neither was penalized as severely as Stewart for his infractions.

For a time, Harvick, the driver who inherited Earnhardt's team with Richard Childress Racing, looked as though he would dominate. He won his first Cup race in his third start and was a championship contender in his second season in NASCAR's premier class.

Harvick showed a flare for the dramatic as well, often drawing fines, warnings and a suspension from NASCAR officials for his rough racing, quick temper and aggressive style. But Harvick's big splash in NASCAR became less than a ripple in recent years. His victories have diminished and his championship aspirations have dwindled.

But Stewart is the one driver who, fair or not, gets treated differently than the other top drivers in NASCAR. But that's not to say he doesn't see how the job of NASCAR driver has changed since the days of Dale Earnhardt.

``It's not just about driving race cars any more. That's the way up to this point it's always been,'' Stewart said. ``Now, we're representing multibillion dollar companies that we have a TV package and NASCAR is very image conscious now which they haven't always been. Driving the race car which is what I got hired to do in the first place and what I have been doing the past 25 years of my life is only a fractional part of my overall job as a Nextel Cup driver.''

Maybe because NASCAR drivers are getting more exposure than ever, maybe because NASCAR drivers are expected to not only win races and championships, but also promote and pitch their sponsors products, patience and understanding are things that are no longer afforded to the stars of NASCAR.

Stewart might be the closest thing this generation of race fans has to Earnhardt, but there might never be another Intimidator. There are too many people watching who are unwilling to tolerate middle fingers, wild tempers, dented fenders and motor mouths.

``I would love to be as successful as he's been and would love to have the fan following that Dale Sr. had,'' Stewart said. ``I think we already have a fan following that likes us for the way we speak our mind and we're aggressive on the racetrack. That's the kind of fans that we attract nowadays. I think there's plenty of them out there.''

Tim Haddock, [phone]

timothy.haddock(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (Tony Stewart)

(2) Where does Tony Stewart get his bad boy reputation? Perhaps it started in 1999 when he threw his foot guards at Kenny Irwin after a wreck.

Steve Helber/Associated Press