Tony Stewart’s turnaround came with an ironic twist as he won his second race in-a-row and took the Sprint Cup points lead with a victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The ironic twist comes from taking the lead and the win after Clint Bowyer ran out of fuel with two laps to go. Last year Bowyer won this race after Stewart ran out of fuel in similar fashion.
“I know exactly what that feels like. I know exactly how he feels right now. I saw him slowing down the back and I thought, “oh, no, you’re kidding me. That’s not the way you want to win it, for sure,” said Stewart who drove a Chevrolet.
Tony Stewart who barely made it into the Chase now has a seven point lead over Kevin Harvick who finished 12th. Just a few weeks ago Stewart said he felt his team didn’t even belong in the Chase.
Brad Keselowski, driving a Dodge, played a fuel gamble and finished second followed by Greg Biffle’s Ford.
Keselowski who had a miserable practice and qualified 16th also found irony in his runner-up finish, “it’s funny because ten races ago we left Loudon 23rd in the points. Who would have thought we’d be third in ten weeks?"
Greg Biffle was just happy to finish after weeks of frustration said “I’m excited about a top-three finish. We were never out of the top 10 and just had a really, really good car. The guys did a great job in the pits and I’m finally happy that we just finished a race where we had been running."
While the race at the Magic Mile wasn’t quite the running on fumes finish of Monday’s race in Chicago fuel mileage figured into other finishers.
Take Jeff Gordon who led three times for 78 laps of the 300 lap race. Even though he had a lengthy final pit stop his team failed to fully fill his gas tank and he had to settle for a fourth place finish.
Then there was five-time and defending Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson who had a frustrating day with his car, his rivals, and even his famous crew chief Chad Knaus. Johnson struggled all day and finished 18th and now sits 10th in the points 29 points behind Stewart.
When asked about what appeared to be a disagreement with Knaus Johnson said “I’m going 100 percent regardless of what’s being said on the radio. That’s all we had all day long. I think he was just being optimistic there about what was left in my back pocket; but my suit doesn’t have any back pockets.”
Carl Edwards, who finished eighth after tangling with his own teammate, Matt Kenseth, is still in striking distance in fourth place 14 points behind, followed by Gordon who is 23 points behind.
Tony Stewart, a two-time Cup Champion is enjoying his points lead, but, is aware "We have eight long weeks still, man. It’s way too early to being counting chickens right now."
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| Tony Stewart (Photo: Rene Fagnan/Auto123.com) |
The ironic twist comes from taking the lead and the win after Clint Bowyer ran out of fuel with two laps to go. Last year Bowyer won this race after Stewart ran out of fuel in similar fashion.
“I know exactly what that feels like. I know exactly how he feels right now. I saw him slowing down the back and I thought, “oh, no, you’re kidding me. That’s not the way you want to win it, for sure,” said Stewart who drove a Chevrolet.
Tony Stewart who barely made it into the Chase now has a seven point lead over Kevin Harvick who finished 12th. Just a few weeks ago Stewart said he felt his team didn’t even belong in the Chase.
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| Tony Stewart celebrates in Victory Lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Photo: nascar.com) |
Brad Keselowski, driving a Dodge, played a fuel gamble and finished second followed by Greg Biffle’s Ford.
Keselowski who had a miserable practice and qualified 16th also found irony in his runner-up finish, “it’s funny because ten races ago we left Loudon 23rd in the points. Who would have thought we’d be third in ten weeks?"
Greg Biffle was just happy to finish after weeks of frustration said “I’m excited about a top-three finish. We were never out of the top 10 and just had a really, really good car. The guys did a great job in the pits and I’m finally happy that we just finished a race where we had been running."
While the race at the Magic Mile wasn’t quite the running on fumes finish of Monday’s race in Chicago fuel mileage figured into other finishers.
Take Jeff Gordon who led three times for 78 laps of the 300 lap race. Even though he had a lengthy final pit stop his team failed to fully fill his gas tank and he had to settle for a fourth place finish.
Then there was five-time and defending Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson who had a frustrating day with his car, his rivals, and even his famous crew chief Chad Knaus. Johnson struggled all day and finished 18th and now sits 10th in the points 29 points behind Stewart.
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| Mark Martin leads the restart at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Photo: nascar.com) |
When asked about what appeared to be a disagreement with Knaus Johnson said “I’m going 100 percent regardless of what’s being said on the radio. That’s all we had all day long. I think he was just being optimistic there about what was left in my back pocket; but my suit doesn’t have any back pockets.”
Carl Edwards, who finished eighth after tangling with his own teammate, Matt Kenseth, is still in striking distance in fourth place 14 points behind, followed by Gordon who is 23 points behind.
Tony Stewart, a two-time Cup Champion is enjoying his points lead, but, is aware "We have eight long weeks still, man. It’s way too early to being counting chickens right now."