In what was supposed to be a nice diversion to his owner/driver duties with Stewart-Haas Racing, two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart instead apparently was involved in a fight at Sydney Speedway and was subsequently questioned by Australian police.
According to a Stewart spokesman, Stewart is on his way back to the United States.
Stewart was competing in a Sprint car race Saturday night at the Australian dirt track, the final race in his schedule before returning to the United States.
“Tony was simply questioned about the alleged incident, and after the questioning, he returned to his hotel, got a good night’s rest and is currently en route to the states,” said Stewart spokesman Mike Arning, who did not accompany Stewart on the trip. “No charges were filed.”
The Australian website speedcafe.com.au reported the fight was an off-track incident that allegedly was over the conditions of track and it is still under investigation. The website and The Sydney Morning Herald reported the fight was between Stewart and track co-owner Brett Morris.
The website and the newspaper quoted statements from New South Wales Police, who did not name Stewart but did say police had detained a 39-year-old man, which is presumably Stewart.
“Police from Rosehill local area command were alerted to an altercation involving two men at a car racing track at Wentworth St. (in) Granville about 7:30 p.m. last night,” the statement said. “A 39-year-old man was arrested at the scene and was taken to Parramatta Police Station after a 46-year-old man was allegedly struck in the face by a racing helmet. The 39-year-old man was released by police without charge, pending further investigation.”
This is the second consecutive year Stewart has traveled to Australia to compete during the NASCAR offseason.
Donny Schatz, who competes for the Stewart-owned Tony Stewart Racing organization, won Saturday night’s race.