“You can come visit my trophy at Vegas”: When Tony Stewart trash talked Carl Edwards before the 2011 championship showdown

Tony Stewart once dropped big words against Carl Edwards during the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Stewart reminded Edwards that he was a multi-championship driver ahead of their title fight at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

At the time, Stewart drove for the No. 14 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, the team he co-owned. His championship rival, Edwards, drove the No. 99 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, known today as RFK Racing.

During the pre-race interview, Stewart trash-talked about Edwards, telling him about winning championships, a feat that his rival hadn't accomplished.

"You can come visit my trophy in the room at Vegas when you get out there," Stewart told Edwards.

The No. 14 driver said he would do anything to win the championship, including wrecking everyone.

"I'll wreck my mom to win a championship. I'll wreck your mom to win a championship," Stewart stated.

During the Ford 400 season finale at Homestead-Miami, Stewart started the race 15th while Carl Edwards was the pole sitter. His rival led more laps but he eventually took the lead after a caution with 37 laps to go.

Stewart held the lead all the way to the checkered flag to win his third Cup Series championship. The Chevrolet pilot might've tied Edwards on points (2,403) but he won more races in the season, besting his rival five to one.

Notably, the 2011 season marked the closest points battle in the sport's history.

Recently, Stewart, the three-time champion, left NASCAR as a team owner after the 2024 season to focus on NHRA (National Hot Rod Association). Meanwhile, Edwards did not win a Cup championship during the course of his career but was elected to the Hall of Fame.

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Tony Stewart addressed becoming a father in his 50s

Aside from racing in the NHRA, Tony Stewart started a family with Leah Pruett, welcoming their firstborn last November. However, some social media users criticized him for taking up the responsibility of becoming a father at the age of 53, though he sort of agreed.

While Stewart acknowledged his age wasn't the "ideal" time to raise a kid, he didn't mind the criticism considering he talked about it with his wife a lot. The former NASCAR driver said (via EPARTRADE):

"I think the one negative in my eye is just the age [...] Obviously, I'm 53 years old. I would not say it's the ideal time by any means, but it's funny, we know how social media can be and how finicky the three or four percent of the world is and they don't mind sharing their ideas and saying how selfish it was. Leah and I talk about it, we laugh about it a lot. I guess I would much rather be selfish and have this little boy in our lives and in this world than him not be in this world at all. So, I'm alright being called selfish for being a 53 year-old father." [1:53]

He added:

"I honestly believe at this part of my life, this is the right time for me to be a father. I think 15, 20 years ago being engrossed in motorsports as deep and heavily as I was, I'm not sure that would've been the right time for me to be a good father. I feel like having some big-ticket items recently taken off my plate is going to give me a lot more time to be a father." [2:39]

Stewart also pointed out that their son, Dominic James, can join him and his wife Leah on the drag strip for family bonding since the couple compete in the NHRA.

Dominic was born during the season finale of the 2024 NHRA season last November. Stewart substituted for his wife in the Top Fuel class while she focused on the childbirth. Notably, Stewart was named the 2024 Rookie of the Year.