June 8, 2009
By Ron Felix
CIA Stock Photo
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Stewart First At The Line
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The last race that Tony Stewart won -- he picked up a pile of cash and a ton of pride, this time he not only got the cash, but his name will be forever be etched into the record books as a car owner-driver-winner.
Stewart had to save fuel to make it to the finish line and he and his crew chief, Darian Grubb, worked the plan to perfection. After starting at the rear of the field, Stewart took the lead on lap 162 as race leader Jeff Gordon ducked onto pit road to make a fuel stop. Gordon got four tires and fuel.
Stewart had to drag race Carl Edwards out of the pits and that move probably was the difference in the final result. Almost all the drivers were low on gas, most of them slowing down to save on fuel and Stewart was doing the same. So Stewart outlasted the field to win the Pocono 500, his first point-paying race as a car owner.
“There at the end we had an awesome pit stop,” Stewart said. “Our guys have been doing such a great job all year and come in second and come out with the lead like that I mean that was really the turning point for us there at the end. Once we got that lead and we were able to hold Carl off they went into fuel mode and tried to conserve and as soon as we got a little bit of lead we were able to do the same thing.
“So at that point just listening to Darian, and he knows what pace we need to run, he kept backing me down when I’d get going too hard or too quick. He would tell me he needed more and we’d slow down a little more. We’re just thankful we could make it. That’s due to Hendrick horsepower and their engine department. They make good power and they make good mileage too.”
Stewart did win the All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway several weeks back but it didn't count as a Sprint Cup victory since it's really only considered to be an exhibition race.
Edwards, who led 103 of the 200 laps, held on to second place and was disappointed once again.
“I’ll probably be happy later today, but right now, man, to be that close to victory and to not win, that is frustrating," said Edwards. "The cool part about it is, it kind of felt like we’re in the form that we were in at the end of last season. We ran really well, I could pass people, I felt like if Tony and I had to race there at the end, I felt really good about my chances of being to win the race on speed. So, the points are great, though. That’s really what it boils down to. All this is great, but you’ve got to keep your pride in check, and know that the real race is with 10 to go. So, I definitely take something good out of this.”
Coca-Cola 600 winner, David Reutimann, was third. He gave all the credit to his crew chief for the great finish.
“Yeah, he (Rodney Childers, crew chief) had another one," said Reutimann. "He has been keeping us up front all year. We had a pretty decent car all day, he told us to save, save , save that last pit stop and said we were probably one of the few cars that could make it. There towards the end I think we were all running five seconds slower. We were supposed to be trying to save fuel and it ended up working out. We had a good day, good pit stops all day and the car was pretty good since we unloaded it. Guys at Michael Waltrip Racing and Aaron's Dream Machine -- just real happy. This is like a win for me here because I have sucked so bad here in the past, it is great to be in the top five.”
Jeff Gordon battled his way back to fourth place, from mid-pack and Ryan Newman took the fifth spot. Marcos Ambrose finished sixth followed by Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Burton and Sam Hornish Jr. to round out the top ten.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't have the kind of day he was looking for, he finished 27th.
Stewart still leads in the Sprint Cup point standing with a 71 point cushion over Jeff Gordon and 103 over Jimmie Johnson.
Stewart’s first victory of the 2009 season was his second in 15 races at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and his 34th in 370 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. He scored the first owner-driver victory in the series since Ricky Rudd won at Martinsville (Va.) in 1998.
“I’m ecstatic,” Stewart said. “It was nice to get that All-Star win this year but it was nice to get that first point win too. It’s nice to extend the point lead and nice to do it here in front of these fans who have always been good to the NASCAR league when we come here.”
Joey Logano scored a 23rd-place finish in Sunday’s Pocono 500. He claimed Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the fifth consecutive race and for the 11th time this season.
“We started off bad, kind of like I was going to expect to run, and I learned a lot about where to be on the racetrack and was able to adjust our car accordingly," said Logano. "Kind of wish we had practice back to adjust on where I needed to be and that kind of thing. It’s kind of typical when you come to these places and you don’t know. I thought we learned a lot. We were running good at the end. It was too late. Maybe we should have finished a few spots better. Some guys got us on fuel mileage but besides that I feel like I’m going to have a better piece when I come back here next time.”
Unofficially Logano leads Scott Speed by 17 points (157-140) in the Raybestos Rookie standings.
The next race on the Sprint Cup schedule – the 15th event of 36-races for the 2009 Sprint Cup Championship. The LifeLock 400 will be on Sunday June 14th, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The race begins at approximately 12:30 PM. eastern time -- with live, high-definition coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at 12:00 p.m. eastern time.
The race will also be broadcast live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128 and MRN radio.
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