September 7, 2010
By Allen Madding
Going into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart had led only 156 total laps all season. He quickly waged a battle with Denny Hamlin for the lead of the event with the lead spot being swapped back and forth between the No. 11 and the No. 14 cars in the early going. When Hamlin’s motor erupted in a trail of smoke and oil eliminating him from the event on lap 145, it left Stewart in a battle for the lead with a late emerging Jimmie Johnson. Johnson’s lead was short lived with Stewart taking the lead away from Johnson on lap 170 and set sail once again. At several points during the Emory Healthcare 500, Stewart stretched out more than a three second lead.
Stewart’s pit crew was spot on for the night getting him in and out for four tire service and maintaining his lead. In fact, Stewart’s No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Crew turned the fastest pit stops of the night consistently.
A double file restart on lap 205 gave Carl Edwards an opportunity to try to wrestle the lead away from Stewart but it was to no avail as Stewart reasserted the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet back into the lead position. With-in five laps, Stewart was back to a half-second lead. Stewart then stretched it out to more than a one second lead within ten laps of the restart. 15 laps after the restart, Stewart had made it a 2.6 second lead.
On lap 250, Carl Edwards wrestled the lead away from Stewart. Green flag pit stops followed three laps after the lead change. As the race wound down, Stewart struggled with spinning his tires on restarts but would then charge back into the lead. On lap 296, a yellow flew. Stewart spun his tires and four cars got by him relegating him to fifth. He was slowly making his way back to the leaders when a subsequent yellow flag flew on lap 304. Stewart’s pit crew once again gave him a quick four tire stop and got him out fast enough to make up three positions on pit road. That left Stewart and Carl Edwards to battle side by side on the restart. Stewart got a good run at the green and quickly dispensed of Edwards and then opening a gap between himself and Edwards for the remaining 25 laps of the race.
When he grabbed the checkered flag Stewart had led 176 laps during the Emory Healthcare 500, more than doubling the amount of laps he has led all season.
The win marked the first for Stewart of the 2010 season. With a second place finish in the Food City 500 at Bristol, a second place finish in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon, and a second in the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono after qualifying on the pole, many had wondered how long it would be before Stewart could put all the pieces together to clinch a win.
The victory also clinched Stewart a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and captured him ten bonus points once the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup starts. The momentum gained from the win could be just what the No. 14 team needs going into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
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