Stewart stealing thunder
The 2005 champ isn't in the Chase now, but he wins again. And Jimmie Johnson? He takes the points lead.
By BRANT JAMES
Published November 6, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - Tony Stewart keeps collecting race trophies. Jimmie Johnson keeps closing in on the one he wants most: the Nextel Cup championship trophy.
Both are pretty happy about now.
Stewart, the 2005 series champion who didn't qualify for the Chase for the Championship and the right to defend his title, ran off with his second consecutive Nextel Cup win Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, holding off Johnson by 0.272 seconds to win the Dickies 500.
"I wish we could have gotten on this run a little earlier," said Stewart, whose three wins are the most of any driver in the Chase.
While Stewart again gladdened the 10 Chase drivers that he is not eligible, Johnson finished second - his fourth straight finish of fourth or better - to wrest the points lead from Matt Kenseth with two races left. Johnson wasn't so upset that his No. 48 Chevrolet had little chance of running down Stewart. He got what he came for.
"We just hope we can lead this thing at the end of the year. That's the goal," said Johnson, who has finished second in points twice.
Kenseth fell to second in the standings, 17 points behind, but it could have been much worse despite his agitation. He and crew chief Robbie Reiser used pit strategy to coax a 12th-place finish out of a car that started 36th and handled poorly all day, before and after he was spun through the grass with four laps left.
"Coming out of this thing 12th was a blessing because we didn't really run that well," said Reiser, "even though we probably would have been eighth or ninth if we could have stayed out of the wreck at the end."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. overcame an accident on Lap 166 of a scheduled 334 to finish sixth and gain 16 points on the leader, maintaining slim championship hopes at 78 points back. Brandon-born rookie Denny Hamlin finished 10th to fall to 80 points off the pace.
They, too, were fortunate. They're still in this baffling Chase. Earnhardt, sick all weekend, was running second and running on a potent mix of intravenous fluid, Gatorade and Tums when he lost brief control of his car after Clint Bowyer ran up hard behind him, getting his No. 8 Chevrolet loose. Earnhardt's car sustained body damage after two quick thunks against the wall, but his crew was able to keep him on the lead lap through six pit stops and two cautions, and though he restarted 31st, he had worked his way to seventh with 72 laps remaining.
The rest of the Chase field, all at least 105 points behind, would need catastrophe to befall those ahead of them to have a chance with races at Phoenix and Homestead left.
Stewart spent most of the afternoon again dusting the 10 drivers attempting to succeed him, leading a race- and track-record 278 of 339 laps. He held off Johnson easily at the end in a green/white/checker finish, although the No. 48 Chevrolet had taken four fresh tires - compared to his two - on the final yellow-flag pit sequence.
Thirteen drivers took the lead from Stewart after he assumed the lead on a Lap 43 pit cycle. They held it for a total of 18 laps. Kasey Kahne mounted the nearest thing to a challenge with about 40 laps remaining as he got his No. 9 Dodge working in the high line, but Kahne's engine expired with 10 laps left.
The final dash was set up when Scott Riggs, running third, was spun by Chase contender Kevin Harvick on Lap 232, starting a chain reaction that involved 10 cars, including Kenseth. Riggs, apparently blocking, bobbled in front of Harvick in the low line, allowing Johnson to pass high before contact was made.
Harvick alleged a member of Riggs' crew tried to trip him and wife DeLana on pit road after the race. "I don't appreciate those guys doing what they did," he said, "acting like morons, like they race."
Johnson, who had a dream this week he finally won that coveted championship, was far more serene. That boogeyman Stewart couldn't hurt him even by beating him on the racetrack for the second straight week.
"I don't think he's remotely even worried about what we did today," said Stewart, who won for the fifth time this season and earned a purse in excess of $500,000. "I think he's worried about taking the points lead."
Brant James can be reached at brant@sptimes.com or 727 893-8804.