Monday, May 06, 2002
Sunday a better one for Stewart
Driver avoids wrecks, wins Pontiac 400
The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. — Patience paid off for Tony Stewart in the wreck-filled Pontiac Excitement 400.
Steering clear of a record-tying number of accidents, Stewart pulled away from rookie Ryan Newman on a restart with 17 laps to go Sunday in the rain-delayed race.
Stewart led the last 27 laps at Richmond International Raceway, where he has won two straight spring races and three times in seven career starts. The victory was his 14th in 115 Winston Cup starts.
He also moved from 10th place to eighth in the points race, shaking off the disappointment of consecutive 29th-place runs.
“I probably ran one of the most patient races I've ever run, and it wasn't because I wanted to, but because I had to,” Stewart said.
There were a track record-tying 14 caution periods and a record 103 laps run under the yellow flag on the track billed “The Action Track.”
“There were a lot of guys that were being very courteous, a lot of give and take going on out there,” Stewart said. “And then there were a lot of guys that were in a big hurry, and it seemed like the guys that got in a hurry, sure enough, as time went on they were dropping out like flies.”
Stewart qualified third but started 41st when the race began Saturday night, because he'd changed his engine. He was 27th when the race resumed for the final 334 laps after what amounted to a 14-hour rain delay.
And he started with a bad attitude, unhappy with his car, unhappy that new sealer had created a one-groove track and thinking he had no shot.
“I'll be honest. I was down last night, I was down the first 50 laps this morning and Greg (Zipadelli) and the guys kept working hard,” he said. “When they're putting forth that effort, I've got to do the same thing.”
Slowly but surely, Stewart worked his way into contention, finally cracking the top 10 with about 160 laps to go and continuing his climb.
He passed Mark Martin for third with 67 laps to go, got by Jeff Gordon for second with 55 laps left and then set his sights on Newman, who ran in the top five all day.
and was strongest on long runs.
After following on Newman's bumper for several laps, Stewart finally sneaked his car underneath on the 372nd lap, rode side-by-side with Newman for a lap and then pulled ahead for good entering the first turn.
Newman held on for second in his Ford, followed by the Fords of Jack Roush teammates Jeff Burton, Martin and Jeremy Mayfield.
Dodge.
Burton, meanwhile, was pleased to rally for his best finish of the season after and cutting a tire with about 100 laps to go.
“I think we came out 28th with about 100 laps to go and drove up to third, so that was all we had,” he said. “That was all we could get.”
Matt Kenseth, another Roush driver, rallied from three laps down early to finish sixth, and Gordon finished seventh as the first Chevrolet.
The side-by-side duel for the lead was a rare sight, as the track was mostly a one-groove raceway because of a new sealer that didn't work.
“They took a great race track and screwed it up,” said Ricky Rudd, who made his 655th consecutive start to tie Terry Labonte's series mark.
Sterling Marlin finished 11th and remained the points leader by 132 over Matt Kenseth.
BRUISED BENSON: Johnny Benson, who broke a rib in a crash during Thursday's Hardee's 250 Busch race, was released from the hospital Sunday and went to the track to watch Joe Nemechek drive his car.
“I'm pretty tender right now, but in a couple of weeks, I'll be OK,” said Benson, who can recuperate when the series takes off next weekend in its traditional stop for Mother's Day.
INDY 500: Indianapolis Motor Speedways' new “soft” walls passed their first real test Sunday.
Robby McGehee became the first driver to crash into the walls and limped away with only a cut on his left leg after crashing in turn three during the Indy 500's first practice session.
The wall wasn't as fortunate. Workers at the track will replace the 20-foot section of four steel tubes after the bottom panel caved in when the back of McGehee's car slammed into it.
But track officials said that damage was expected and the results were encouraging — preventing what could have been far more serious injuries to McGehee.
“One thing that has happened is that we tested on the high extremes right away,” said Brian Barnhart, Indy Racing League vice president of operations. “It was a very high impact.”
Barnhart said McGehee hit going 218-219 mph with the back end going almost straight into the wall at a 90-degree angle.
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Sunday a better one for Stewart
