Tony Stewart agreed with his crew chief, took two tires on his last pit stop and held off Jeff Gordon to win at Kansas Speedway.
“You don’t question him when he makes the call,” said Stewart referring to Darian Grubb, his crew chief.
Grubb added with “two tires Tony was able to take off.” Driving in the clean air he opened up a big lead then Gordon slowly moved within range, but, ran out of laps.
As Stewart explained about Gordon “he was getting big (in my mirrors). We had a little left but we didn’t leave anything out there.
With his fourth win of the year Stewart clinched the Manufacturers title for Chevrolet.
It was an important win for the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champ to re-ignite his momentum in the title hunt. After a slow start he’s now fourth, 67 points behind Mark Martin.
Gordon, who also needed a boost, was pleased with his run. “This is the kind of finish we needed. We have to capitalize on the tracks like this.”
Greg Biffle had a good day finishing third in a Ford.
Pole winner Mark Martin struggled on the final pit stops finishing seventh but held a 18-point lead over his teammate, Jimmie Johnson. “We raced our guts out,” he said.
Johnson, who was competitive early, faded despite a two-tire call on the last pit stop didn't work as well as Stewart's on the final restart and settled for ninth. “We had such a good car we felt something happened, I don’t know. The car was tough to drive. It could have been track position so many (others) took two.”
Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished fourth, is third in the standings 51 points behind Martin.
photo:Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR
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| Tony Stewart |
“You don’t question him when he makes the call,” said Stewart referring to Darian Grubb, his crew chief.
Grubb added with “two tires Tony was able to take off.” Driving in the clean air he opened up a big lead then Gordon slowly moved within range, but, ran out of laps.
As Stewart explained about Gordon “he was getting big (in my mirrors). We had a little left but we didn’t leave anything out there.
With his fourth win of the year Stewart clinched the Manufacturers title for Chevrolet.
It was an important win for the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champ to re-ignite his momentum in the title hunt. After a slow start he’s now fourth, 67 points behind Mark Martin.
Gordon, who also needed a boost, was pleased with his run. “This is the kind of finish we needed. We have to capitalize on the tracks like this.”
Greg Biffle had a good day finishing third in a Ford.
Pole winner Mark Martin struggled on the final pit stops finishing seventh but held a 18-point lead over his teammate, Jimmie Johnson. “We raced our guts out,” he said.
Johnson, who was competitive early, faded despite a two-tire call on the last pit stop didn't work as well as Stewart's on the final restart and settled for ninth. “We had such a good car we felt something happened, I don’t know. The car was tough to drive. It could have been track position so many (others) took two.”
Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished fourth, is third in the standings 51 points behind Martin.
photo:Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR