Philadelphia, PA (Best E Casino) - Tony Stewart was not completely wrong when he said that NASCAR officials threw caution flags to effect the outcome of races. But he forgot to add that sometimes they don't throw caution flags when they should which also changes race results.

Talking on his weekly radio show, the two-time Nextel Cup Series champion said "I don't know that they've run a fair race all year."

Stewart went on to compare NASCAR to the phoney world of wrestling.

"I guess NASCAR thinks 'Hey, wrestling worked, and it was for the most part staged, so I guess it's going to work in racing, too."

Its been widely talked about among fans and writers that there have been some "mysterious" caution flags that have come out late in races, almost always for debris, where it has changed the outcome of races. Particularly when one driver has a huge lead, the caution flag erases the big margin and the race ends up in a close finish when by all rights there should not have been one.

In March, Stewart had a 1.314-second lead at Atlanta with 25 laps to go, but a late-race "debris" caution flag erased the lead and Jimmie Johnson eventually passed him with three laps to go.

There was also this year's Daytona 500 when NASCAR officials delayed in throwing a caution flag despite cars sliding on their roofs and the result was that Mark Martin was denied a first and possibly only Daytona 500 victory. Kevin Harvick passed Martin, then the delayed flag was displayed, and the No.29 Chevrolet took the checkered flag.

"It's like playing God," Stewart said on his Sirius Satellite Radio program. "They can almost dictate the race instead of the drivers doing it. It's happened too many times this year.

"To me, it's not all about the money, it's about the integrity of the sport. "When I feel our own sanctioning body isn't taking care of that, it's hard to support them and feel proud about being a driver in the Nextel Cup Series when they're throwing debris cautions."

Unlike the NBA and NFL, NASCAR doesn't have a rule stopping drivers from criticizing officials so no fines or punishment is expected for Stewart's outburst.

NASCAR called Stewart's comments "very, very disappointing."

Stewart has had a frustrating 2007 season, leading a total of 585 laps in eight races, but has not won a race. He sits seventh in the championship 332 points behind points leader Jeff Gordon.

But the timing of some of these "phantom" debris caution flags should be looked into. Like the old saying goes, where there's smoke, there's fire.