"You don't forget about it": When Tony Stewart revealed the path to enter his 'good graces' after annihilation from rivals

Former NASCAR driver and co-owner of the Stewart-Haas Racing team Tony Stewart went on an interview with SB Nation over a decade ago in 2012 and revealed how to enter his good graces.

Stewart has had a promising career in NASCAR; he won 62 races in his career, and 49 of them were in the Cup Series. He won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship three times throughout his career, two under Joe Gibbs Racing in 2002 and 2005. He once again won the title in 2011 under the Stewart-Haas Racing team.

Stewart was known for his bold attitude on track. He had an intense fight with Team Penske's #22 driver Joey Logano in the Auto Club 400 race at Auto Club Speedway held in 2013.

Stewart went to confront Logano, resulting in a fight, and both drivers threw punches at each other. This was one of the most iconic moments where Stewart lost his cool on the track. Reminiscing about his old racing days, the interviewer asked Stewart:

"OK, so let's say I was a driver and I screwed you over on the track. How long would it take me to get back in your good graces and off the list?"

The former NASCAR driver replied:

"Depends on if it was the first time it happened with you or if you're somebody every week I have a problem with. You know, the way I look at it, it's all off how they're racing you at the time."

Tony Stewart further highlighted that if the driver tries to make up for his mistake in the next race, he "pretty much will let that go" as "you don't forget about it" if the guy made an effort to fix his mistake in the next race.

Tony Stewart also opened up about his "mental list" of people who owe him on track

In the same interview, the host hit Tony Stewart with the question everyone wanted to hear the answer to. He asked:

"Do you keep a mental list of people you owe for on-track payback?"

NASCAR drivers are known to have beef with other drivers on the track. However, because of his aggressive personality, no one wanted to be on the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing's list. So he simply replied:

"Well, I don't know that you look at it as payback, but you're less tolerant of some guys holding you up versus other guys. There are guys you give the benefit of the doubt if they hold you up a little bit longer than normal."

Stewart added that some guys would create problems just after the first lap, so the patience level and the window kept on decreasing with time.

Tony Stewart was often seen losing his patience on the track. In 2012, at Bristol Motor Speedway, he once threw his helmet at Matt Kenseth for trying to overtake him, and both cars ended up in walls.

This incident is one of many that perfectly reflects Tony Stewart's short patience window on the track.