Stewart overjoyed with first win of the season

Stewart overjoyed with first win of the season


By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

HAMPTON, Ga.—In a statement race for each of the top three finishers, Tony Stewart made perhaps the loudest noise with a convincing win in Sunday night’s Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Stewart broke a winless streak of 31 races when he beat Carl Edwards to the finish line by 1.316 seconds. It was the two-time Cup champion’s third victory at the 1.54-mile track and the 38th of his career, and it came on a night where eight drivers joined Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon with locked-in positions for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Jimmie Johnson came home third with a much-needed, problem-free run. Jeff Burton ran fourth, thanks to a late four-tire call, and Kyle Busch finished fifth. Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose completed the top 10.
Stewart, Edwards, Burton, Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and the Busch brothers clinched spots in the 10-race Chase that begins after next Saturday’s race at Richmond.
“I’ve never been so happy to win a race in my life,” Stewart said. “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.”
Edwards led Stewart out of the pits after the seventh caution of the race on Lap 295 of 325. Stewart surged to the lead after a restart on Lap 301, but a quick caution for debris on Lap 302—after contact between Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch—set up a restart on Lap 308.
Though Stewart led the rest of the way, Edwards drew inspiration from the second-place run, the continuation of an upswing during which he has finished in the top seven in seven of the past eight races.
“If we keep running like this, we’ll win this championship,” Edwards told his No. 99 Ford team after the race. “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 likewise was encouraged by the performance of his No. 48 Chevrolet team, which posted an average finish of 23.3 over the previous seven races.
“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.”
Clint Bowyer, 12th in the standings, held serve by finishing ahead of his three closest pursuers for the final Chase spot—Newman, Jamie McMurray and Mark Martin. Bowyer now leads 13th-place Newman by 117 points.
Polesitter Denny Hamlin led seven times early for 74 laps, but his engine blew on Lap 143 and he finished 43rd.
“I was just pacing myself out there, having fun and racing with Tony and those guys,” Hamlin said. “We’ve really got a strong race team, and if we can just keep it together, we can really win this championship legitimately. We’ve just got to keep it together, and we’ll be all right.”
Despite the last-place finish, Hamlin clinched a position in the Chase.
Greg Biffle fell short in his attempt to lock into the Chase when contact from Newman’s Chevy sent Biffle’s Ford sideways into the Turn 3 wall. Biffle slid across the track and took out Elliott Sadler. Though Biffle returned to the track after extensive repairs, he finished 36th, 80 laps down.
Biffle is 11th in points, 161 ahead of Newman, and can lock up a spot in the Chase with a finish better than 43rd at Richmond.
Harvick, the series points leader, had one of the fastest cars in the field, but Harvick’s Chevy was crippled on Lap 255 when his left front tire exploded and shredded the fender. He finished 33rd.