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
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(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.
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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.
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1 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford 29.469 183.243
2 27 Paul Menard ZECOL / Menards Chevrolet 29.488 183.125
3 22 Kurt Busch Shell Pennzoil Dodge 29.503 183.032
4 39 Ryan Newman US Army Medicine Chevrolet 29.507 183.007
5 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 29.522 182.914
6 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge 29.531 182.859
7 16 Greg Biffle 3M Filtrete Ford 29.565 182.648
8 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 29.575 182.587
9 18 Kyle Busch Wrigley Doublemint Toyota 29.615 182.340
10 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota 29.620 182.309
11 47 Bobby Labonte Kleenex Cool Touch / Clorox Toyota 29.634 182.223
12 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 29.667 182.020
13 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 29.690 181.879
14 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet 29.696 181.843
15 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 29.729 181.641
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Categories: News
Tags: Chicago, Chicagoland Speedway, Cup Series, grid, line, Lineup, list, Matt Kenseth, NASCAR, Pole, pole sitter, qualifying, starting, up
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(September 16, 2011)
JOLIET, Ill.—With a two-tire call on a late-race pit stop, Austin Dillon stole Friday night’s Fast Five 225 Camping World Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway from Kevin Harvick, who had dominated the event until the last round of stops.
Dillon won his second race of the season and the fourth of his career. Harvick came home second, almost five seconds back. Nelson Piquet Jr., Parker Kligerman and Kyle Busch completed the top five.
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