10 from '08: Stewart's Lovely Mop

With NASCAR's awards banquet on Friday, Dec. 5 (stop by for the live blog!), here's a look at 10 from '08 -- 10 of the NASCAR season's best moments.

"Look, newbie, I'm not cutting the hair," -- Stewart
"Tony, I know I'm the new kid, but come on, that mop is just hideous," -- Busch
"And that's the I like it. Keeps 'em guessin'. You'll learn soon enough," -- Stewart
"Oook, dude. Whatev. Faaa-reakk!" -- Busch

Sure, it may not exactly fit in with the some of the other 10 from '08 moments we've been profiling here on the ol' FanHouse, but come on, Tony Stewart's early season locks of love was a major story.

It was a confusing thing at Daytona to see Tony climb from his No. 20 with a pack of fur trailing under his hat, and for fans who dig the Italian crime mob look, it stayed around until sometime in late March or early April. Perhaps, it was Stewart's way of serving as a double for an unknown movie about dirt track star Scott Bloomquist.

Originally, Stewart started 2008 like a changed man after admitting his disappointment of getting passed on the last lap of the Daytona 500 and not going bonkers on Kevin Harvick after the No. 29 walled the No. 20 in the closing laps of the March Bristol race that Stewart had a chance to win.

Perhaps, we thought, the hair was the only outward sign that Stewart had calmed his ways -- a claim that was fine and dandy until he threw Goodyear under the bus for having a major case of tires that suck.

The real Tony was back, but the locks were still there.

I know a few women who found the hair rather appealing -- apparently they were fans of The Sopranos -- but the post-race interviews almost seemed to be holding back when the near-shoulder length mop swayed in the breeze. The hair had taken on a life of its own.

Most of the time, Tony tried to tuck it away under a Home Depot hat, but the hair would have none of the private life. The long locks instead tried to shine (think he uses Garnier?) and sway for the whole world to see.

It wasn't a crash, controversy or a defining moment, but the hair took on a life of its own in the early parts of 2008 for ol' Smoke. We can only wonder what will happen now that Stewart has a race team to run and less time to do things, like, visit the barber.