In The Pits: Smoke takes his shots at Talladega Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 05:13 p.m., Monday, May 7, 2012 (AP) — By Tony Stewart's standards, his tongue-in-cheek assessment of NASCAR's latest wreckfest at Talladega was tame stuff. The three-time NASCAR champion deadpanned his way through a flurry of questions about his afternoon, which essentially ended when he was caught in a nine-car accident four laps from the finish. Before the accident, Stewart said he had twice run out of gas and spent the entire race keeping one eye on his gauges to make sure his engine didn't overheat because of NASCAR's rules at restrictor-plate tracks. Stewart saved his best material for his parting shot, which came as an answer to which style of racing — pack racing or the two-car tandem — he preferred for Talladega and Daytona. There have been very few yellow flags of late, and many of the caution periods have been for nothing more than debris. [...] he was ready again on Sunday, derisively insinuating several times that the fans were let down by not enough accidents to "fill the quota for Talladega and NASCAR." Yet wrecks are featured heavily in the marketing strategies of most track promoters, and a pit-road confrontation between Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch at last year's race at Darlington has been used to advertise Saturday night's return to the South Carolina speedway. Very few drivers wanted anything changed at Bristol Motor Speedway, but track owner Bruton Smith is currently grinding the track as a response to fans not showing up to the March race. The drivers must find a way to get people talking, whether it's through controversy and drama, or personalities and rivalries.