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

Continue reading “2011 NASCAR Race #27, Chase Race #1 Results: Chicago”

(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.

Continue reading “Stewart starts Chase with his first win of the season”

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.

Continue reading “Austin Dillon Grabs 4th Career Victory at Chicagoland”