Tony Stewart reveals meeting with NASCAR execs that kickstarted his retirement

Tony Stewart retired from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition at the end of the 2016 season, but he began working on a retirement plan two years prior. 

In an interview on the "Rubbin is Racing" podcast, Stewart revealed the circumstances that led to his eventual retirement. 

"Years ago, this was probably 2014 maybe 2015, there there were 20 of us drivers, we represented all the manufacturers, we represented every car owner in the Cup Series," Stewart said. "We picked five things that we said we thought would make [NASCAR] better. [We] literally went into a meeting with all the big wigs at NASCAR and presented that to them." 

The meeting did not go well, according to Stewart. 

What NASCAR told Tony Stewart, fellow drivers

"They basically shot down all five things we said," Stewart said. "And basically acted like none of us knew what the hell we were talking about. That was the moment, when I left that meeting, that I decided I was working on a retirement plan. When the guys that are driving these cars and know what's going on behind the steering wheel know more than the guys making the decisions... I said, 'There's no point in working with these guys.'"

Stewart did make a surprising comeback in the NASCAR Truck Series season opener at Daytona in February. In the same interview, he said that he would be open to making another Truck Series start with RAM and Kaulig Racing. 

But it's now out in the open that Stewart, a staunch critic of many of NASCAR's recent moves, has long been frustrated with those at the top of the sport's ladder.