Tom says:

And, now, the moment you all have been waiting for … the first and probably only appearance of racing in these pages. This debate can hardly even be called that. Tony Stewart is clearly the bigger badass. Yes, he may be tapering off in his angry lash-outs during his current pursuit of whatever cup he is racing for.

But make no mistake — you can't take the badass out of Tony Stewart. Regardless of how well he can behave for a year or so, his inner badass is still lingering within him. Let's run down his list of accomplishments in the realm of badassity.

In 1998, he was handcuffed by the local police at a dirt track after steering toward another driver — who wasn't in a car. He's punched and kicked members of the media. And he's gone after the man who was at that time the Winston Cup Director. Now, if he was a ninja that would be normal. But when you're a racecar driver that is straight rebel without a cause.

Stewart rammed into Jeff Gordon on pit road in 2001, drawing a $10,000 fine. Anyone willing to take on a man known as "The Rainbow Warrior" is badass. The list goes on and on, launching into in-race incidents that I really don't understand (yes, I flunked race speak in high school). But, apparently, he has used his car to run into a lot of other dudes' cars. And where I come from, that qualifies an individual as someone you don't want to mess with.

If Stewart's behavior doesn't win you over, consider this — he once raced a car in the Busch series sponsored by Kid Rock. And I seem to recall a certain song of his that went a little something like this …

"I am American badass … "

Sounds like Tony Stewart to me.

Eric says:

Well, I thought Point/Counterpoint was supposed to be about sports, but I will delve into the world of NASCAR for one week, I guess.

This debate is clearly one of the old versus the young. My counterpart Tom will try to convince you that Tony the Tiger is still the biggest badass, but that is because the last time Mr. Ziemer saw a race was probably when he was in middle school. Mr. Stewart has clearly been tamed and is concentrating on winning championships at this point.

On the other hand, the times have changed, and the Nextel Cup series has ushered in a new hard-ass, Kurt Busch.

Busch took his driving abilities to the streets of Phoenix this past week after he ran into a stop sign while trying to pass another car. The arresting officer — who had to deal with an aggressive rant from Busch — smelled alcohol on his breath, but tests showed just a .01 blood alcohol level, well below the legal limit.

But last week's incident was just the latest of many, most of which have taken place since any badass Tony Stewart moments.

During a spat at Darlington earlier this season, Busch bad-mouthed NASCAR — good work by the defending champ — and threw a water bottle at his pit official.

And who can forget the battle Kurt Busch vs. Jimmy Spencer at Michigan Speedway, when Busch's car ran out of gas as he drove it to his truck after the race was over, which resulted in Spencer punching him in the face.

What, you don't think I know my NASCAR? You may be right, but Kevin Harvick knows what he's talking about and there is a reason he calls Busch an "arrogant punk."

And, to top it off, Kurt's brother Kyle decided to ram another car after a race was over back in August. It's the Busch brothers turned Bash brothers.

But when it comes down to it, while Stewart should win the Nextel Cup this weekend, it is Busch who won't even be racing thanks to a suspension.