Monday, November 21, 2011
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Stewart
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, Fla.
Tony Stewart won the biggest game of winner-take-all in the history of NASCAR.
Rebounding from a succession of setbacks, Stewart took the checkered flag in Sunday’s rain-interrupted Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in a tiebreaker over race runner-up Carl Edwards.
With four new tires to Edwards’ two — thanks to a strategic gamble that paid off when rain hit the 1.5-mile speedway for the second time on Lap 213 of 267 — Stewart gradually pulled away after a restart on Lap 231 and claimed his third Cup title, bookending the five straight championships won by Jimmie Johnson from 2006 to 2010. Stewart also won in 2002.
The victory was Stewart’s fifth of the season — all coming in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup — and the 44th of his career.
The bonus points for winning allowed Stewart to make up the three-point lead Edwards held with one event left. Stewart and Edwards ended the Chase tied at the top of the standings, but Stewart claimed the title with five victories this season to Edwards’ one.
Stewart, who left Joe Gibbs Racing to become co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009, became the first owner-driver to win the title since Alan Kulwicki accomplished the feat in 1992.
“We said all week, [if] we just go out and win the race, we didn’t have to worry about what he did — and that’s what we did,” Stewart said in victory lane, as rain pelted the winning team. “If this doesn’t go down as one of the greatest championship battles in history, I don’t know what will.”
Magnanimous in victory, Stewart turned the page from the relentless ribbing he had given Edwards during the weeks leading up to the finale.
“Great guy, and we’ve been giving him a rough time this week, but it was all in an effort to do what we did and that’s to win this championship,” Stewart said. “But it shows how classy a guy he is. He was the first one to me over there [to offer congratulations], and he just said, ‘Promise me one thing: You’ll enjoy this, and I hope you and I are in this position again next year.’
“So much class. A great guy.”
Stewart’s crew chief, Darian Grubb, forced Edwards’ hand late in the race by getting 56 laps out of a tank of fuel. Stewart came to pit road for the last time on Lap 211 — 10 laps later than Edwards — with the option to go the rest of the way without pitting.
When rain hit for the second time on Lap 213, Edwards had to pit under caution but faced the choice of taking four tires and losing track position and possibly the championship, if rain washed out the race. The race went green for the final 37 laps, and Edwards did everything to overtake his rival — but in vain.
“We led the most laps [119], and Tony still managed, you know, him and Darian to do a good job with their strategy,” Edwards said. “That’s all I had at the end. That’s as hard as I can drive. I told my wife, if I can’t win this thing, I’ll be the best loser NASCAR has ever had, so I’m going to keep my head up and know that we’ll go next year and be just as hard to beat.”Stewart’s quest for a third title was derailed early when contact with debris — of origin unknown — punched a hole in the grille of his No. 14 Chevrolet. Stewart fell to 40th while his crew made repairs under caution on Lap 17.
By Lap 32, Stewart had worked his way up to 23rd.