March 14, 2006

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

After Sunday's Nextel Cup race in Las Vegas, I watched the premiere of a new episode of the Game Show Network documentary called, "Anything to Win"

This week's episode was about figure skater Tonya Harding, known the world over for her showdown with fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan in the 1994 Olympics, just a few months after Kerrigan had been assaulted by a man hired by Harding's husband, Jeff Gillooly.

On the GSN show, Harding was portrayed as an immensely talented skater who was considered a pariah by the elitist skating world. Ever the underdog, Harding tried to prove her worthiness by overachieving on the ice. She won two national figure skating titles, placed second in the 1991 world championship, and was the first female skater in the U.S. to land the triple axel jump in competition.

In the years before the Kerrigan attack, Harding was convinced that in order to be accepted by the skating community, she would have to completely remake her image. In a world of ice princesses, Harding had a reputation as a tough girl from the other side of the tracks - a hot-tempered, take-no-prisoners competitor, known more for speed and power than grace and beauty on the ice.

In fact, according to Tonya, she returned to an abusive marriage with Gillooly after leaving him because U.S. skating executives had informed her that the image of a happily married woman was more acceptable than that of a separated or divorced one.

For years, Harding made a concerted effort to appeal to the judges and the skating powers-that-be. She changed her hairstyle, her makeup, her costumes, her routines, and her behavior to appear more gentle and more genteel. She toned down her temper, tried to watch her language, and focused on being the best of the best in competition.

And for a while, it worked.

But as a longtime friend of Harding's explained in Sunday's documentary, Tonya's eventual fall from grace was "inevitable." Despite her natural talent and her impressive list of accomplishments, Harding was unable to sustain the ruse long term.

Eventually, she imploded.

Like Harding, Tony Stewart is the product of an abusive upbringing. Tonya's mother was allegedly violent, as was Stewart's father. Both Harding and Stewart have undeniable talent and drive, but are known as much for their tempers and outbursts as for their athletic achievements.

And like Harding, Stewart has been forced to attempt a personality makeover to please his corporate sponsors, his team owner, and NASCAR executives.

Of course, Stewart is a two-time Cup Champion, and has not resorted to Harding-like subterfuge to get there. But the question remains: Will he be able to maintain this nice-guy façade over time?

Looking at Stewart's behavior this season, a few cracks in the foundation have begun to show.

During Speedweeks, Stewart attracted a great deal of attention after complaining to NASCAR about aggressive driving: "We're gonna kill somebody," he said after the Bud Shootout. "Somebody else is gonna die at Daytona or Talladega with what we're doing right here. I hope I'm not around when it happens."

But a few days later, Stewart ignored his own warning by making a dangerously aggressive move on Matt Kenseth in the Daytona 500, knocking Kenseth through the infield grass on the backstretch. Kenseth's car slid up the track tail first, narrowly missing what could have been a brutal head-on collision with oncoming cars.

"He wrecked me intentionally," said Kenseth, who was running third when the collision occurred. "It's really disappointing. Tony went and said all that stuff earlier in the week. If he's worried about people's lives and everything and then he's going to wreck you on purpose at 190, I wasn't too happy with that."

Immediately after the race, Stewart admitted that the move on Kenseth was not only intentional, but retaliatory. "He has no room to complain. He started the whole thing, and I finished it." Stewart felt that Kenseth had come down on him earlier in the race, but TV footage showed that there had been no contact between the two.

Kenseth, who stated that he had a car capable of winning the 500, ended up 15th. Stewart finished 5th, but was widely criticized for his actions.

The following week at Fontana, Kenseth was the race winner while Stewart suffered a blown engine and finished dead last. "Sometimes there is justice in the world," Kenseth noted in a backhanded reference to Stewart's conduct at Daytona.

In Sunday's Las Vegas race, Stewart was drawn into a prolonged on-track feud with Kyle Busch, characterized as follows by NASCAR.com writer Dave Rodman: "Stewart's profanity-laced exchanges were offset by attempts from the sidelines to calm him down and keep him focused. Stewart alternately raged and apologized on his radio, at least once asking his crew to continue reminding him to be patient and stay focused."

At one point Stewart told his crew, "You know how I get sometimes. Sometimes it's an advantage when I get this pissed off."

Remarkably, the exact same thing was said about Tonya Harding on Sunday's documentary. In fact, an incident was discussed in which a competitor was paid $5.00 prior to a skating meet to call Harding a "has-been" to her face, just to get her mad enough to skate.

Unfortunately, Tonya Harding self-destructed before reaching the pinnacle of skating success. In the '94 Olympics, she finished a distant 8th to rival Kerrigan, who won the Silver Medal. After an investigation into the Kerrigan assault, Harding was banned from figure skating for life, while Kerrigan went on to a lucrative professional skating career.

Ironically, Harding now makes a living as a professional boxer.

Perhaps because of the nature of stock car racing, Stewart has thus far been able to channel his anger into success with two Cup championships.

But after three races this season, he is 19th in points and appears to be struggling to keep the "old" Tony from resurfacing - the bad boy, the aggressor, the driver most likely to be on yearlong NASCAR probation, the guy fans love to hate.

Without a doubt, Stewart has the talent to become one of NASCAR's greatest drivers ever.

Whether he has the temperament to do so remains to be seen.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.