Stewart Stunner: He Didn't Do The Split!

Tony Stewart admitted today – to the surprise of absolutely no one -- that he did not actually perform the split featured in his recent “Soda Cookie” commercial for sponsor Mobil 1.

“Make no mistake about it,” laughed Stewart before a room full of media members. “If I got down there (in a split), I would still be down there!

“They did not ask me to do that,” he said. “They had me get down on the ground for the camera shot, but they had green screens. They had some male gymnast do it. I don’t know who it was, and I didn’t even want to be there when he did it.”

Stewart said the concept of the commercial caught him by surprise, since he rarely takes the time to read the script in advance.

"It’s actually pretty good!"

“I never look at what the (commercials) are supposed to be before we get there,” said Stewart. “I’m not smart enough to remember if I look at it before, so there is no point in looking at it until I get there. So I get there and I’m starting to read the script, and it’s saying, `Tony is getting on an exercise bike, he’s doing the splits.’

“And I’m like, `Which Tony is doing this by the way?  Is there another Tony?’”

The three-time Sprint Cup Series champion said that until recently, he never considered the concept of Soda Cookies.

“I can’t say I have ever sat down and grabbed a Coke and grabbed Oreos,” he admitted. “I’ve eaten Oreos and chased them with a Coke, but I can’t say that I have done a lot of dunking.  It’s actually pretty good, though.  It might start a new trend!”

He said humor has proven to be an effective way for athletes to appear in commercials, adding that he has been fortunate to work with a series of creative, imaginative sponsors over the years.

“We have done some pretty fun stuff in the last 15 years with partners,” said Stewart. “I think sponsors figured out a long time ago that drivers aren’t good actors. So the funnier they can make it, the better it is. This set of spots that Mobil 1 has done has been very successful because of the comedy.  (When) they get Jenson (Button) and I to do all this and have it turn out the way it did, I think they are pretty happy with it.”