Tony Stewart

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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.

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

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 6, 2011) – With only one race remaining until the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is set, eight drivers have clinched a top-10 spot – Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. Brad Keselowski, with three victories, has clinched at least a Wild Card berth. He remains eligible to earn a top-10 spot.

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Heading into the final race of the regular season, here are the clinch scenarios for the remaining three Chase spots.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt is currently 25 points ahead of 11th place. Regardless of any other driver’s finish, Earnhardt will clinch if he finishes:
·             20th or better
·             21st or better and leads at least one lap
·             22nd or better and leads the most laps

Continue reading “Clinch Scenarios for Richmond, Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup”

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Sprint Summer Showdown Enters Finale
Sprint’s unique bonus program comes to an end this weekend, and it sets up to be an intriguing finale. The winners of Indianapolis (Paul Menard), Pocono (Brad Keselowski), Watkins Glen (Marcos Ambrose), Michigan (Kyle Busch) and Bristol (Keselowski again) are all eligible to win the $3 million bonus at Atlanta.

If one of those drivers wins Sunday’s race, a million dollars will be split evenly between the driver, the driver’s charity and one lucky fan. If Keselowski wins, the $1 million will be split evenly among two fans.

Wild Card And Bonus Points Up For Grabs
After race No. 26, the top-10 drivers will set up the first portion of the 12-driver Chase field. Spots 11 and 12 will go to those drivers with the most wins, provided they are inside the top 20.

Currently, Brad Keselowski (three wins) and Denny Hamlin (one win) reside in the two Wild Card spots.

After the Chase field is set, all drivers will have their points reset to 2,000, but only the top 10 will earn three bonus points for each regular season win. Currently, Kyle Busch leads with four wins – and 12 bonus points.

Only six bonus points – three per win – remain in this season.

Defending Winner Stewart Seeks Redemption
Atlanta comes at a nice time for Tony Stewart.

The two-time champion finished 28th at Bristol after starting 42nd. Clearly, it wasn’t one of Stewart’s best races. But last year’s race at Atlanta was – he ‘smoked’ the field, leading 176 laps.

Stewart, in 10th, enjoys a cushion of just 21 points over 11th-place Keselowski.

Newman: Milestone Pole Awaits
This weekend, a major track milestone will fall.

Newman, known for his qualifying prowess, is looking to win his eighth career pole. Currently, Newman is tied with NASCAR great Buddy Baker, a driver for whom Newman has great admiration.

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Goodyear wrapped up tire testing at Phoenix International Raceway on Monday and Tuesday. Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch were all on hand testing the rubber on the new racing surface. Kurt said like a roller coaster, you drive up the banking off of Turn 2 and then you drop down. It’s a nice, light feeling when you get up top – a really interesting back straightaway. I’m also glad they kept many of the old, signature characteristics of Phoenix.”
Teams will head to phoenix for an official NASCAR Test on October 4th

PHOTO CREDIT: NASCARMEDIA