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Tony Stewart Finds Victory Lane At Atlanta

An Opinion



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September 6, 2010

By Ron Felix


Ron Felix

Tony Stewart was beginning to wonder if he'd be able to find Victory Lane again, atr least again before the Chase for the Championship began.

Stewart had gone 31 races without a victory, his last one came at Kansas Speedway in 2009

But Stewart has a knack for making his own luck at this time of the year and he pulled the rabbit out of the hat again at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday night -- in the Emory Health Care 500 Sprint Cup race. To say Stewart had trouble with his restarts would be an understatement.

"Are you kidding me? I didn’t hit a restart all night until right there at the end," said Stewart. "It was the last pit stop that got us the track position to give me the opportunity. When I got back in traffic I was in really bad shape."


CIA Stock Photos
Pit Stops Were Key To Stewart's Win

Stewart led 175 0f 325 laps, the most of any driver, on way to his first win of the year and his 38th victory in 417 career races. It was his second win at Atlanta.

"I forgot what it was like, it has been so long," Stewart grinned. "It's been, 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 a week away now, we needed these 10 points and we need this momentum."

Carl Edwards was second but had a great night compared to the way he has been running this year.

“That was fun," said Edwards, referring to the battle with Stewart. "Tony just had such a fast car there at the end, but we’re back. We’re doing it. We’re scoring more points than anybody. We’re heading into the chase. I feel like we locked ourselves in. It hasn’t been good, but the last couple of months have been great. I’m excited about going to Richmond. I’m real excited about starting the chase. We had something that could win the race tonight and that’s a blast.”

Jimmie Johnson finished third, but it was hard fought third. Johnson's team had trouble hitting the right setup and he bounced all over the top-ten, including leading at one point.

"There were times where we lost the handle and were able to adjust the car and get it back -- something that we’ve had struggles with on the mile-and-a-half tracks the last couple months,Johnson explained. "So all-in-all, it was a solid day. We did a good job in the pits, good job on the track. Glad to get a good run on a track that has been tough on us. This track is hard to get it right.

Johnson locked himself into his seventh consecutive Chase. He is the only driver to qualify for every Chase since its inauguration in 2004.

Jeff Burton brought his Chevrolet home in the fourth spot followed by Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose to round out the top ten.

Series point leader Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet, had a strong car but a blown left-front tire and subsequent damage to the car relegated him to the 33rd finishing position.

The Sprint Cup Series moves to Richmond International Raceway next Saturday night for the final race to determine who goes and who doesn't go to the "Chase for the Championship". The top ten drivers are locked into the Chase and the final two will be determined next week.

The race will also be broadcast live on MRN Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.



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The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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