Stephen Nasse is a Honey Badger.
Anyone who’s ever watched Nasse race or talked to him in person knows this already. He has a ton of passion, races hard and isn’t afraid to speak his mind. The rest of America learned about Nasse on Tuesday night.
Nasse was contending for the win late in Tuesday night’s Snowball Derby but, in the closing laps, he was involved in a wreck off the front bumper of William Byron. Nasse, who is known for his short temper, retaliated by wrecking Byron under caution. Afterwards, Nasse referred to Byron as a “rich prick”. Fellow racers Todd Gilliland and Johanna Long took to Twitter to criticize Nasse.
What followed was comedy gold.
@ToddGilliland_ don't need a ride just need money or a last name like you 2 👌🏼👋🏼🤔 #sorrynotsorry #itsthetruth
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
Haters can talk crap- I drive with passion and if you take me out, I will take you out. Bottom line. I race for wins not for anything else.
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
If I wanted a @NASCAR ride I would write them a $2mil check. That's all it takes 🤔
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
Hey @WilliamByron I learned that move watching your boss on the weekends. Right @KyleBusch? 😜 #KBismyhero #welcometotheSNShow
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
LOL this is fun. Thank you everyone for turning my frown upside down, these comments are amazing! 😂😂😂
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
What's sad is out of touch racing fans are with the truth. People get into NASCAR bc they write a check, not bc they have talent.
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
I race with drivers every week with tons more talent then most in any NASCAR series.
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
All the craziness aside can I just say we raced our way into the show, started P30 and drove to P2 and almost won the #SnowballDerby
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
It wasn't just my driving that gave us a shot at the 🏁 it was all the guys @DlpMotorsports. We had a bad fast car and I'm disappointed.
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
And I started P30 in the Snowflake and finished P8 on Saturday night.
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
So no, I may not be politically correct but I will drive my guts out, & I will do anything 2win races. Why? Bc I love it & this is what I do
— Stephen Nasse (@StephenNasse) December 7, 2016
Stephen Nasse definitely isn’t politically correct.
In 2015, Nasse was criticized by his competitors for his aggressiveness. He replied to those criticisms with this legendary comment.
“You know I’ve definitely seen a pretty aggressive side of me that I didn’t really notice before the pneumonia and everything,” Nasse explained. “A lot of that’s drive and determination too and some is being mistaken for aggressiveness. We’re racecar drivers, you know, not steering wheel holders. We’re supposed to get up on the wheel and drive. I came to win the races just like everybody else. If I have to move somebody to win a race, so be it, I’ll move them. I don’t care if it’s the Lord himself out there. I will do what I have to do to win a race and I don’t want anyone to forget that and I expect the same thing from my competitors. Nobody comes to finish second. So, I mean, I definitely think I’ve gotten more aggressive.”
A few years ago, Nasse was hospitalized with pneumonia. Since then, Nasse has returned to being the elite Super Late Model competitor he was always known for being.