Q: How did Tony Stewart originally get the nickname "Smoke"?
A: "Tony Stewart told NASCAR.com of his nickname: "I wasn't very good about not slipping the right-rear tire, initially. So it started as 'Smoker,' then it got shortened to 'Smoke.' Then when I got in the Indy Racing League it was 'Smoke' because one of the guys on the crew who was my roommate, and knew the nickname, carried it over to the IndyCar team. But then when I started blowing engines, 'Smoke' really stuck. I've had it ever since." During his NASCAR career, Tony Stewart once was told by Joe Gibbs he could no longer compete outside of his racecar. So one time Stewart entered a USAC National Midget race under the pseudonym "Smokey Jones" with the crowd at the track none the wiser. After winning the feature, "Smokey Jones" got out of his car and revealed himself to the crowd as Tony Stewart. He also entered himself in a race once racing the infamous "Munchkin" midget chassis as "Mikey Fedorchek Jr." after buying the Munchkin one night during a card game from Mikey Fedorchek."