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Stewart stays cool enough

Tony Stewart dodges many wrecks and uses his crew chief's calming influence to win the Pontiac Excitement 400.

Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 6, 2002

RICHMOND, Va. -- Patience paid off for Tony Stewart in the wreck-filled Pontiac Excitement 400.

Steering clear of numerous accidents, Stewart pulled away from rookie Ryan Newman on a restart with 17 laps to go Sunday in the rain-delayed race.

Stewart, driving the No. 20 Pontiac, led the last 27 laps at Richmond International Raceway, where he has won consecutive spring races.

"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 .75-mile oval 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 Saturday night because his team changed the 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.

Crew chief Greg Zipadelli convinced him he did.

"I'll be honest. I was down last night, I was down the first 50 laps this morning and Greg and the guys kept working hard," he said.

Slowly, Stewart worked into contention, cracking the top 10 with about 160 laps to go.

He passed Mark Martin for third with 67 laps left, got by Jeff Gordon for second 12 laps later, then set his sights on Newman, who ran in the top five all day and was strongest on long runs.

After being on Newman's bumper for several laps, Stewart got his car underneath on the 372nd lap, rode side-by-side with Newman for a lap, then pulled ahead for good entering Turn 1.

Newman held on for second in his No. 12 Ford, followed by the Fords of Jack Roush Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Martin, and Jeremy Mayfield's Dodge.

"From the drop of the green flag last night to the checkered flag today, we knew we had a good car," Newman said. "We had a car that was capable of winning, but sometimes you can't finish what you start."

Burton, meanwhile, was pleased with his best finish of the season after cutting a tire late.

"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 rare; officials used sealer recently on the track, which made it a one-groove circuit for most of the race.

"They took a great racetrack and screwed it up," said Ricky Rudd, who made his 655th consecutive start to tie Terry Labonte's series mark, but had a chance at victory taken away when he crashed with 91 laps to go.

Gordon was just as blunt: "They did a horrible job."

Speedway president Doug Fritz said his crew didn't do anything different with the sealer than in the past.

Rudd had the dominant car and led until a flat front tire caused Rusty Wallace's car to clip Rudd's, sending it into the wall on Lap 309.

Rudd was upset that Wallace didn't get out of the way after blowing the tire; the two had a couple of on-track altercations last season.

One lap after a restart with 67 laps left, Jimmy Spencer bumped Martin from behind, getting Martin loose and causing a pack of cars to try to brake in a cloud of smoke on the backstretch. Ten cars were involved in the accident, including Winston Cup points leader Sterling Marlin.

Marlin finished 11th and remained the points leader by 132 over Kenseth, who passed Kurt Busch for second. Busch is third, 191 behind.

BENSON UPDATE: Johnny Benson was released from Memorial Regional Medical Center in Richmond, where he was treated for injuries after a crash in Friday's Busch Grand National race. Joe Nemechek took his place in the No. 10 Pontiac and finished 12th.

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