Backstretch Motorsports

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 10, 2009) — Tony Stewart’s dream season continued unabated in Monday’s rain-delayed Heluva Good! at the Glen.

After a major adjustment early in the race got Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet handling the way the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader wanted, Stewart held off Marcos Ambrose during a 17-lap run to the finish and crossed the finish line 2.969 seconds ahead of the Australian road-course ace.

The victory was Stewart’s fifth at Watkins Glen International, his third of the season and the 36th of his Cup career. Stewart opened his lead in the series standings to 260 points over polesitter Jimmie Johnson, who finished 12th after spinning off the course in Turn 1 late in the race.

The second-place finish was Ambrose’s series-best to date, improving by one position over his results at the Glen last year and at Infineon Raceway in June. Carl Edwards came home third after a strategic run from the 33rd starting position.

Kyle Busch ran fourth, and though he remained 13th in the standings, he trimmed his deficit in points to 12th position — now occupied by Monday’s 14th-place finisher Matt Kenseth — from 101 to 58 points with four races remaining before the field for the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is set Sept. 12 at Richmond.

From Stewart’s point of view, making changes to the car under caution on Lap 19 was a critical juncture in the race.

“Our crew did an awesome job on the pit stop,” said Stewart, who led the last 24 laps after out-braking Busch into Turn 1 after a restart on Lap 67 of 90. “We had asked for a lot of changes there — and a lot of lengthy changes. Our guys did a great job of getting us in and out of the pits there, and we never lost very much track position, so we were able to make it up. We had a fast car today.”

Stewart’s car was fast enough to withstand pressure from Ambrose, who dogged Stewart until the final two laps, when the driver of the No. 47 Toyota backed off to conserve fuel.

“I was watching him,” said Stewart, who will clinch a spot in the Chase when he takes the green flag Sunday at Michigan. “There were parts of the track where we were stronger than he was and parts where he was stronger than us. But I think we were stronger in the parts of the track that we needed to be to hold him off, if he got any closer.”

Ambrose said the setup of his car wasn’t quite right for a track that became hotter and slicker on Monday, after rain on Sunday washed the rubber from the racing surface.

“We missed it just a little bit,” said Ambrose who was trying to complete a double at the Glen after winning Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race. “I thought our car in practice on Saturday was better than what we had today.

“It was on the edge the whole time. If I had the perfect line — did everything just right — I could get away with it. But the track was slick. We were slightly aggressive on our setup for it. We didn’t really get a chance to tune on it, either. I think we only changed a quarter-pound of tire pressure all day because we were pitting under green and didn’t have time to do anything to it.”

Jeff Gordon, third in the standings, took a major hit in points after taking a major hit on the racetrack. After contact from Kasey Kahne, Sam Hornish Jr.’s No. 77 Dodge bounced off the tire barrier at the exit of Turn 5 and back across the track into Gordon’s No. 24, ending the race for both drivers on Lap 63.

Gordon finished 37th, and though he retained third place in the series standings, he fell 342 points behind Stewart. The accident, which also involved Jeff Burton, Andy Lally and Joey Logano, caused a 19-minute, 35-second stoppage while track workers cleaned debris from the crash.

NASCAR Race Number 22
Unofficial Race Results for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen
(23Rd Running) - Monday, August 10, 2009
Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY - 2.45 Mile Road
Total Race Length - 90 Laps - 220.5 Miles - Purse: $4,934,858
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 13 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet 90 195 10 139.1 $234,648 Running 2 34
2 4 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie/Kingsford/Clorox Toyota 90 175 5 119.2 $178,373 Running 2 9
3 33 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 90 165 95.1 $174,656 Running
4 8 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 90 165 5 124.8 $155,523 Running 2 15
5 7 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 90 155 111.9 $114,625 Running
6 10 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 90 150 109.0 $126,473 Running
7 2 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 90 151 5 111.3 $98,525 Running 3 23
8 16 13 Max Papis # GEICO Toyota 90 142 102.6 $77,750 Running
9 38 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 90 138 86.9 $87,175 Running
10 3 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 90 134 99.6 $93,050 Running
11 20 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 90 130 88.1 $104,273 Running
12 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 90 132 5 105.7 $135,376 Running 1 4
13 18 44 A J Allmendinger Stanley Tools Dodge 90 124 86.0 $74,350 Running
14 42 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 90 121 78.1 $114,715 Running
15 11 07 Casey Mears Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 90 118 87.8 $86,100 Running
16 35 20 Joey Logano # The Home Depot Toyota 90 115 58.9 $113,876 Running
17 12 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 90 112 77.6 $108,748 Running
18 22 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Toyota 90 109 69.2 $88,960 Running
19 14 98 Paul Menard Sylvania/Menards Ford 90 106 69.7 $100,581 Running
20 27 96 Bobby Labonte DLP Ford 90 103 58.6 $99,154 Running
21 6 39 Ryan Newman U.S. ARMY Chevrolet 90 100 60.8 $96,704 Running
22 26 82 Scott Speed # Red Bull Toyota 90 102 5 52.5 $83,323 Running 1 4
23 28 5 Mark Martin CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet 90 94 48.6 $77,375 Running
24 40 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 90 91 41.4 $76,150 Running
25 25 00 David Reutimann Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 90 88 55.7 $88,498 Running
26 5 12 David Stremme No. 12 Penske Dodge Dodge 90 90 5 61.1 $100,165 Running 1 1
27 15 71 Andy Lally Adobe Road Winery Chevrolet 90 82 54.0 $67,350 Running
28 23 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 90 79 67.2 $102,090 Running
29 37 09 Ron Fellows Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevrolet 84 76 44.1 $66,925 Running
30 34 34 John Andretti Taco Bell Chevrolet 84 73 34.1 $75,775 Running
31 29 43 Reed Sorenson McDonald’s Dodge 78 70 36.6 $100,976 Running
32 19 19 Elliott Sadler Best Buy Dodge 78 67 62.7 $71,400 Running
33 17 55 Patrick Carpentier NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 78 64 50.4 $72,200 Running
34 9 08 Boris Said U.S. Chrome Ford 74 61 79.9 $63,125 Overheating
35 21 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 68 58 50.2 $100,328 Running
36 36 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 61 55 38.9 $81,560 Accident
37 31 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 61 52 55.0 $100,026 Accident
38 30 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 61 49 55.1 $109,306 Accident
39 32 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet 60 46 37.7 $80,375 Running
40 24 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 58 43 50.7 $70,240 Engine
41 39 04 P. J. Jones Jim Beam/Menards Toyota 13 40 31.9 $62,075 Overheating
42 41 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota 11 37 28.4 $61,955 Brakes
43 43 37 Tony Ave Long John Silver’s Dodge 8 34 27.8 $62,326 Transmission
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 85,000 (original crowd estimated 90,000 on Sunday), Tony Stewart won the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, his 36th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. The race was postponed from Sunday to Monday due to weather. Prior to the start, no cars dropped to the rear of the field.
Failed to Qualify: (3) 87 Joe Nemechek, 36 Brian Simo, 70 David Gilliland.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 26 Mins, 31 Secs. Average Speed: 90.297 MPH Margin of Victory: 2.969 Seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 13 laps: Laps: 19-20 (Debris Inner Loop [None]); 24-26 (#12, 24, 29 Accident Inner Loop [34]); 43-45 (#43, 88 Accident Turn 6 [12]); 64-66 (#9, 20, 24, 31, 71, 77 Accident Turn 5 [Red Flag 19 Min. 35 Sec.] [7]); 72-73 (Debris Turn 1 [71]).
Lead Changes: 12 among 7 drivers: J. Johnson 0; Kurt Busch 1-19; M. Ambrose 20-27; Kurt Busch 28; M. Ambrose 29; J. Johnson 30-33; Kyle Busch 34-45; T. Stewart 46-55; Kurt Busch 56-58; D. Stremme 59; S. Speed # 60-63; Kyle Busch 64-66; T. Stewart 67-90.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) T. Stewart 3,383;(2) J. Johnson 3,123;(3) J. Gordon 3,041;(4) Kurt Busch 2,902;(5) D. Hamlin 2,847;(6) C. Edwards 2,830;(7) J. Montoya 2,781;(8) K. Kahne 2,754;(9) R. Newman 2,727;(10) G. Biffle 2,718;(11) M. Martin 2,716;(12) M. Kenseth 2,685.
Coors Light Pole Award : Jimmie Johnson, #48 (123.633 mph) DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Marcos Ambrose, #47 crew chief Frank Kerr
DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Tony Stewart, #14 EA Sports Move of the Race : Tony Stewart, #14
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Tony Stewart, #14 (120.998 mph, Lap 75) Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Tony Stewart, #14
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Marcos Ambrose, #47 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99 (.539 sec )
O’Reilly Auto Parts People, Service and Performance : Kyle Busch, #18 159.784 seconds Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Max Papis, #113
Sunoco Diamond Performance : Tony Stewart, #14 Tissot Pit Road Precision : Jimmie Johnson, #48 86.746 seconds
WIX Filters Lap Leader : Tony Stewart, #14 34 Laps
Next Race: Aug. 16, 2009 - Michigan International Speedway