Smoke On Fire To Start Chase
Though winless throughout the 26-race regular season, Tony Stewart did NOT limp into the Chase. On the contrary, Stewart had three top 10s in four races coming into the Chase opener at Chicagoland.
His Monday win at Chicagoland (his third at the track) drummed up a number of notable bullets…
- It catapulted him from ninth to second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. He’s now just seven points behind leader Kevin Harvick.
- He now has at least one victory in 13 consecutive seasons. Richard Petty owns the record for most consecutive season with a win, at 18.
- He is the 16th different winner this season, most through 27 races since 2003, and three short of the all-time record of 19.
1 26 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet
2 30 29 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
3 19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet
4 5 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford
5 6 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge
6 3 22 Kurt Busch Shell Pennzoil Dodge
7 21 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
8 4 39 Ryan Newman US Army Medicine Chevrolet
9 25 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
10 12 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet
11 15 6 David Ragan UPS Ford
12 24 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota
13 8 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota
14 16 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
15 22 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet
Read more…
(September 19, 2011)
JOLIET, Ill.—Winless no more.
Poor-mouthing Tony Stewart, who four days ago minimized his chances for a third Sprint Cup title, outlasted the field in Monday’s rain-delayed Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.
Saving fuel during a 50-lap green-flag run to the finish, Stewart, who started 26th, crossed the stripe .941 seconds ahead of hard-charging Kevin Harvick to win his first race of the season and the 40th of his career, tying him with Mark Martin for 16th on the all-time list.
This is the same Stewart who had said at Thursday’s Chase media day in Chicago that there were seven drivers who could win the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup—and he wasn’t one of them.
Read more…
NASCAR has postponed the Chicagoland Speedway race until Monday at 12 Noon Eastern on ESPN.
CLICK HERE OR THE LOGO TO GET THE LATEST CHICAGOLAND NASCAR WEATHER
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(September 17, 2011)
JOLIET, Ill.—A full schedule of double-duty driving didn’t hurt Brad Keselowski, who won Saturday’s Dollar General 300 Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway in a prelude to his debut Sunday in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Keselowski won his third Nationwide race of the season and the 15th of his career, cruising to a decisive victory over Carl Edwards, whose chances at a victory evaporated when his No. 60 Ford ran out of fuel moments before a scheduled pit stop on Lap 124 of 200.
Polesitter Brian Scott came home third, followed by Aric Almirola and Sam Hornish Jr. in a race that saw 10 cars finish on the lead lap. Series points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held the top spot in the standings with an eighth-place finish.
Read more…
