WATKINS GLEN - When Tony Stewart spun out by himself on lap 44,it seemed like his chance to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup CenturionBoats at The Glen was lost.
Racing can be a cyclical sport. Stewart earned anotheropportunity … and seized it.
With two laps to go, front-runner Jeff Gordon suffered a fatesimilar to Stewart's midrace mishap in the tricky first turn,handing the lead back to Stewart, who took full advantage to win atWatkins Glen International for the fourth time in six years and tieGordon for the most Nextel Cup victories at the Schuyler Countyroad course.
“We were fortunate to get a break that cost us the leadgive it back,” Stewart admitted.
“I was driving hard and I overdrove it into turn 1. Wewere on the edge there,” Gordon said. “It was stupid. Iwanted that win bad. I pushed too hard.”
The race was Gordon's to lose.
After qualifying was rained out, the field was ranked in orderof owner points, putting Gordon on the pole. He led three times fora total of 51 laps, and held the top spot from lap 60-88.
“We had to keep the pressure on Jeff and hope he made amistake, and that is what happened,” Stewart said. “I sawJeff lose it the same way I lost it.”
That move may not have been important as one earlier in therace, though.
On lap 67, Stewart ran up the outside of Joe Gibbs Racingteammate Denny Hamlin - Carl Edwards was right behind Stewart - asthe trio battled for second. Stewart cut across the inside of theinner loop, bouncing through the grass while taking second. Hamlinskidded off the track as well while exiting the fabled“bus stop.” However, Stewart was placed third in therunning order when the caution flew for an accident involving KevinHarvick and Juan Pablo Montoya on lap 68.
“I let Tony past me, and that was the move that let himwin the race,” Hamlin said. “I think I had Jeff in avulnerable situation on one restart, and, if we were moreaggressive, we could have got the lead and checked out.”
“I'll be honest. I never saw the corner,” Stewart said.“I never saw the turn. When Denny turned, I never even sawpavement. But, it was neat. You can trust the guys to be able to dothat.”
After the agricultural excursion, grass was caught up inStewart's grill. Under the yellow, Stewart was able to rub againstHamlin's bumper and knock the grass loose, saving his car fromoverheating.
“It got the water temp up to 245, but we had a teammatethere that helped us get the grass out,” Stewart said.
Stewart led three times for 20 laps.
“(Jeff and I) had the two best cars all day, andwhichever one of us was in the lead, the other wasn't going to getaround unless we made a mistake,” Stewart said.
The Gordon mishap was only the beginning of Stewart's wild,two-lap finish. While Stewart slowed to avoid Gordon in the firstturn, Edwards was nipping at his rear bumper. Ahead of them, DaleBlaney lost his engine in the Esses.
“When Jeff spun, it broke my momentum and I gave uptime to Carl,” Stewart said.
Edwards drove the wheels off the No. 99 Ford, chasing Stewartthrough the final turns. A bold move in the 90-degree 10th turnresulted in Edwards hopping off the course, allowing Denny Hamlinto take over second.
“In the mirror, it looked like he was shot out of acannon when he missed the corner,” Stewart said.
“I could keep up with Tony, but I knew I wasn't goingto be able to catch him without really barreling in there,” Edwardssaid.
Edwards finished eighth, one spot ahead of Jeff Gordon. JimmieJohnson, Ron Fellows and Robby Gordon placed behind Stewart andHamlin in the top five.
“At the end, we had something to race with and I gotsome spots on my own, and some guys made some mistakes late to letus get into the top three,” Johnson said.
Gordon led the first 13 circuits before Stewart passed him on alap 13 restart. Stewart gave up the lead under yellow on lap 24; hepitted during a caution period for debris from Brian Vicker's No.83 Toyota. Jamie McMurray led five laps before pitting. PatrickCarpentier, making his Nextel Cup debut, inherited the lead andstayed on the point for seven laps. He drifted off course a fewtimes and ultimately finished 22nd.
“I loved it. I had a good race. It was fast,”Carpentier said. “The guys are really aggressive. I gotpunted a few times, but I punted them back. I came back and gavethem some of their medicine and passed them at the end.”
Carpentier pitted on lap 37, giving the lead back to Stewart onthe 38th circuit. Stewart spun on lap 44, two laps after a restart.Stewart fell in line 19th while Gordon took the lead.
“I had to be patient and not knock the fenders off orburn the brakes,” Stewart said of his recovery strategy.
“We didn't want to worry. We wanted to salvage a goodday,” remarked Stewart's crew chief, Greg Zipadelli.
Gordon gave up the lead on lap 53, but the pit cycle put himback out front on lap 60. Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke on lap 64, andKyle Petty blew an engine in a fireball on lap 68. The two restartsallowed Stewart to close to third.
The caution laps also helped the front-runners move back withintheir fuel windows, meaning the race would be settled at speed.
An accident involving Montoya, Jeff Burton and Harvick drew a26-minute red flag with 15 laps remaining. Gear oil coated thealready tricky first turn, and the red flag kept the cars fromrunning through the mess during the extended clean-up efforts.
On the restart, Stewart moved to second, passing Hamlin in thefirst turn with 11 laps remaining. He chased Gordon, but P.J. Joneswent off the track in the inner loop after he and Kurt Busch madecontact. Busch pitted after the race was slowed by Earnhardt'smisfortune. Calculating points as the two battle for the final spotin the 12-man Chase for the Cup, Busch's team knew he wouldn't makeit to the end on fuel, so they pitted and worked to regain trackposition. Busch charged to 11th after falling as low as 23rd.
The race resumed with eight laps left. Stewart again pressuredGordon, leading to a miscalculation in the first turn with two lapsleft.
“With 10 laps to go, there's no reason to saveanything,” Stewart said. “We were in good position onbrake wear. I was conscious to not burn the brakes up, and that letme keep the pressure on.
“Whoever was leading with 10 to go was probably goingto win the race. The guy who was leading was going to be extremelyhard to get by. If he doesn't make that mistake, we'd run second tohim.”
Stewart's 32nd career Nextel Cup victory was his third in fourraces, pushing him to fourth in the point standings.
“Hope we're getting hot at the right time now,” Stewartsaid. “We can lock ourselves into the Chase, and when itstarts, we'll be on a run.”
cmarquart@fltimes.com
