Friday 5: Tony Stewart discusses NASCAR, penalties, charter system and more

Cup owner Tony Stewart has had a blast drag racing and is getting ready for the SRX season, but that doesn’t mean he’s overlooked what is happening in NASCAR.

Shortly after Stewart-Haas Racing announced this week that Josh Berry would drive the No. 4 car when Kevin Harvick retires at the end of this season, Stewart talked to reporters.

Stewart discussed his frustration with NASCAR for not agreeing to make the charter system permanent, his feelings on the stiff penalties issued in Cup this year, and his drag racing pursuit.

As is typical of Stewart, he didn’t hold back on his opinions and shares what other vehicle he might race in the future.

Here’s what he had to say to questions from NBC Sports:

Q: Joe Gibbs Racing announced this week that it had sold a minority equity stake in the team to Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment and Arctos Partners. How important is it to have multiple partners in team ownership and would SHR consider adding any?

TONY STEWART: You think about what happens if Joe Gibbs goes away. What happens if Rick Hendrick goes away? Jack Roush goes away … Richard Childress. So you think about key people and owners in this series, what does the future hold? … It’s inevitable. We all start. We all finish at some point in this journey, but you want to see these great, iconic organizations continue, and I think it is a great opportunity.

I think it’s foolish to sit there and say, no that’s not something you would consider at some point. I mean, if you have the ability and the confidence that your program can continue down the road, I don’t think you look (at it) that way. I think for some of these owners that are getting up there in age, they have plans and they’re making plans on when they’re gone, (so