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By KEVIN KELLY
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 26, 2001
The way Tony Stewart explained his strategy for winning the Dodge/Save Mart 350 on Sunday, it sounded so simple.
"We were fast, and when opportunities presented themselves, we were in position to take advantage of them," said Stewart, who passed Robby Gordon with 11 laps to go at Sears Point Raceway and won in his fifth Winston Cup road race. "And that's what we did all day."
It's also what he has done the past 10 races.
Eighteenth in the standings after the first six races, Stewart has climbed steadily since by consistently running near the front.
The driver of the No. 20 Pontiac ranks fourth, 234 points behind Jeff Gordon, after eight top-seven finishes in the past 10 races, including two victories and one second.
His teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing is enjoying an equally impressive surge upward.
Bobby Labonte, the defending Winston Cup champion, has gone from 19th to eighth in part because of six top-10 finishes in the past 10 races.
HE'S HUMAN: For all the talk about Jeff Gordon's dominance on road courses leading up to the race at Sears Point -- six straight wins at one point -- the three-time Winston Cup champion has not won his past two road-course events.
But by finishing third Sunday, Gordon distanced himself further from Dale Jarrett in the Winston Cup standings. He gained 90 points and leads Jarrett by 126.
"For the most part it was good," Gordon said. "We led a bunch of laps. We finished third, and I made up some points. That's what we want to do: take advantage of the places that are good tracks for us. And this is one of them."
FORGETTABLE DEBUT: Given the opportunity to drive for one of the premier teams in CART last weekend, Memo Gidley's tenure with Chip Ganassi Racing may be short-lived.
The 30-year-old journeyman, hired last week to replace rookie Nicolas Minnasian, crashed on the first lap of the Freightliner/G.I. Joe's 200 on Sunday at Portland International Raceway.
Gidley collided with Tony Kanaan, who had slipped off the track before the last turn, and finished 25th.
"I was looking forward to having a solid race and make up positions as the day went on," said Gidley, who has a week-to-week contract with Ganassi. "It is disappointing for us. ... I was hoping to make a good impression on my new team, but that is how racing goes sometimes.
"I'm already looking forward to next week in Cleveland."
RECORD SETTER: As much as he'd like to, Warren Johnson won't be able to avoid attention if he keeps winning.
The Pro Stock driver beat Jim Yates by 0.086 seconds for his 85th career NHRA victory during the Sears Craftsman Nationals on Sunday.
The win tied Johnson with Bob Glidden as the drivers with the most wins in Pro Stock history, and it pulled him within 10 of the NHRA's career victories leader, John Force.
"I think the media is making a bigger deal out of the Glidden deal then we are," Johnson said. "We're after the championship this year. That's all."
Johnson is 4-for-4 in final rounds this season. He leads Yates by 76 points in the Pro Stock standings.
NOT COMING BACK: The Michigan 500 on July 22 will be the 33rd and final CART race at Michigan International Speedway.
Officials from the International Speedway Corp.-owned track and sanctioning body announced Monday that CART will not return next season.
"The CART races at Michigan International Speedway have provided our fans with some terrific racing over the years," track president Britt Shelton said. "And although this is a difficult decision, we believe it is in the best interest of both CART and ISC's long-term growth strategies."
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.