Stewart Breaks Through

September 6th, 2010

HAMPTON, Ga. – On a night where the racing was good all over the track all night long, Tony Stewart had the fastest car and ended a personal 31-race winless streak by taking Sunday’s Emory Health Care 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“Ring the bell, baby!,” Stewart yelled as he crossed the finish line for his 38th career victory and third on the 1.54-mile D-shaped oval.

“I’ve never been so happy to win a race in my life,” Stewart said once the race was over. “It’s been a while. I forgot what it’s like, it’s been so long. I don’t know how many races it’s been, but it seems like an eternity since we won a race.

“Especially with the Chase … we needed those 10 (bonus) points (for a victory), and we need this momentum.”

It was his first victory since Kansas last fall, and gives him 10 bonus points for the Chase, which begins in two weeks at New Hampshire.

Edwards beat Stewart out of the pits on the final pit stop on lap 295. Stewart, who had been having trouble all night with spinning the tires on the restarts, was able to make it stick and got the lead as the cars exited Turn 2, but a caution for contact between Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch set up the final restart on lap 308.

Stewart and the rest of the leaders stayed out, and Stewart drew away on the restart for the victory.

Edwards’ Ford was fast, but he fell more than a second short of catching Stewart over the final run. Still, he was happy to keep his momentum going with a single race left until the Chase. He’s been in the top seven in all but one of the last eight races.

“If we keep running like this, we’ll win this championship,” Edwards radioed to crew chief Bob Osborne after it was over. “Keep your heads up. Keep digging like you’re doing. You guys are doing a great job. This is all we got to do. We’ve scored more points than anybody the last two months.”

Johnson wasn’t as strong as either Edwards or Stewart on the final run, but emerged elated after a strong run. Over the past seven races, Johnson was averaging 23rd as a finishing position.

“To get a good race here, to be in that moment and to feel the pressure, is something we needed,” Johnson said. “That pressure is fun to have and it was a familiar excitement inside of me, and I was excited to be out there racing with everybody and being a part of it. Hopefully, we can go to Richmond and get in that moment again to be as prepared as we can for the Chase.”

Jeff Burton, who took tires on the final caution, rallied to fourth place and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five.

Points leader Kevin Harvick had an off-night, finishing 33rd after popping a left front tire and shredding the fender on that side. He had been running in the top five before that. His finish allowed the top 10 drivers in the standings to clinch their spots in the Chase.

Denny Hamlin had an even rougher night, blowing an engine before halfway and finishing 43rd. He dropped to 10th in the points, but managed to clinch thanks to Harvick’s misfortune.

One of the drivers battling to get into the Chase, Ryan Newman, nearly joined Harvick and Hamlin on the sidelines late in the race. The pack was racing down the backstretch, and former leader Kasey Kahne was trying to make a move to the outside when Newman appeared to shove him sideways into Kurt Busch.

The contact cut a left front tire on Kahne’s car and broke the water cooler, sending him behind the wall. He got back out on the track after 15 laps and nearly sent Newman for a ride off Turn 4 with two to go, costing Newman two spots in the final rundown.

Newman and Kahne talked about it after the race was over, and Newman said he was bumper-shot into the back of Kahne’s Ford by Kyle Busch. The two were parked beside each other in the garage area.

Kurt Busch wound up sixth despite damage from Kahne’s car, Clint Bowyer took seventh and Newman was eighth. Juan Pablo Montoya was ninth and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top 10.

Kahne wound up 32nd at the finish.

Greg Biffle, strong in the early going, was not able to clinch when Newman sent his Ford into the wall in Turn 3. Biffle held it in the middle of the track, but was unable to avoid clipping Elliott Sadler, who pounded the wall near Turn 4.

His car badly damaged, Biffle finished 36th, 80 laps down.

Biffle is 161 points ahead of Newman with just Richmond remaining, and all he has to do to clinch is not finish last at RIR.

Kyle Busch, Stewart, Edwards, Burton, Johnson, Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Hamlin all clinched Chase berths, leaving only Biffle and Bowyer vulnerable at Richmond next week.

Newman trails 12th-place Bowyer by 117 and Jamie McMurray is 127 out with one to go, and Mark Martin is all but out of it, 157 points back.