Stewart collides with photographer UPDATE: Tony Stewart was again the subject of controversy Saturday as he was accused of shoving a photographer after the final practice session at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Rusty Jarrett, a free-lance photographer from Augusta, Ga., was standing in the garage area of the speedway taking a still photograph of Stewart after the driver got out of his #20 Home Depot Pontiac. Jarrett said Stewart went out of his way to walk in front of him and shove him. A photographer with The Miami Herald took a photo of the incident, which shows Stewart pushed up against Jarrett while Jarrett was holding his camera. Witnesses disagree over whether Stewart’s actions were intentional. Saturday afternoon, NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter was investigating the incident. “Several people look at it and have different versions of what happened,” Jarrett said. “I just want to know why he did it. He could have walked to the left or right of me. I did not block his way at all.” Jarrett said he had spoken to NASCAR officials. Asked the substance of the conversation, Jarrett replied, “What version do you want?”(ThatsRacin.com) AND On the brink of winning the Winston Cup championship, Tony Stewart ran into trouble in the garage area again Saturday, bumping a photographer aside with a forearm. The collision occurred minutes after the final practice for Sunday’s season-ending Ford 400. Stewart, walking swiftly from the garage toward his Joe Gibbs Racing team’s hauler, allegedly bumped photographer Rusty Jarrett, from Getty Images, out of his way. “He came out of the garage, raised his arm and put a body block on me,” said Jarrett, who was not injured. NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said the dispute was under investigation. Stewart, who goes into Sunday’s race leading Mark Martin by 89 points in their duel for the title, is already on probation for punching a photographer following a race in August. Hunter said a photo taken of the collision by an unidentified photographer was “inconclusive.” George Tiedemann, a photographer for Sports Illustrated, said he and several other photographers witnessed the contact and called it “an accident.” “Tony was coming out of the garage, going straight toward his hauler,” Tiedemann said. “He was cutting through the inspection area and moving pretty fast. The photographer was 7-10 feet from the wall of the garage and Tony came around the corner and ran into him. If it had been intentional, (Stewart) certainly would not have looked back at the guy and said, ‘What the . . . ?’ Tony stumbled a little bit after they collided.” Stewart was put on probation after punching a photographer following the Brickyard 400 in August. He was also fined $10,000 by NASCAR and $50,000 by his sponsor, Home Depot.(Sporting News/AP) Also a story at NASCAR.com: NASCAR investigating another Stewart incident. UPDATE: Despite the conflicting stories, in light an incident involving Stewart following the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis this year Saturday’s situation flared into a full-blown media frenzy. Stewart and car owner Joe Gibbs met with Jarrett, NASCAR president Mike Helton, Winston Cup series director John Darby and NASCAR vice president for corporate communications Jim Hunter in the NASCAR trailer late Saturday afternoon to discuss the incident. “The best way to describe it is that it was a very candid meeting,” Hunter said afterward. “Rusty expressed his opinion about what happened and Tony Stewart gave Rusty his opinion. By the end of the conversation, which probably lasted 30 minutes, everyone left there happy.” Hunter said Jarrett accepted an apology from Stewart. Hunter said Stewart told him he had turned away when he was coming out of the garage at a jog and didn’t see Jarrett before running into him. “They shook hands and it’s a closed issue as far as we’re concerned,” Hunter said. “It was just an incident that happened. All of you know that with Tony’s history, had that been any other driver it would not have been an issue. …I think it was an issue because it was Tony Stewart.”(ThatsRacin.com) AND a story at NASCAR.com: NASCAR: Latest Stewart allegation closed(11-16-2002)
