HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Tony Stewart takes 3rd Championship with a tie
Tony Stewart is no stranger to sucess.� He has won Rookie of the Year awards in the 1991 USAC, 1996 Indianapolis 500, 1996 IRL Series, and 1999 Winston Cup Series.� He is also the 1995 USAC Triple Crown Champion, 1997 IRL Champion, 2006 Sprint Cup All Star Race, 2002, 2005, 2011 Sprint Cup Champion and an inductee in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
With all of that being said, Sunday’s race at Homestead is by far his greatest masterpiece. Starting the day three points down to Carl Edwards, the race was up for grabs. He had nothing to lose and the championship to gain.
While Edwards started on the pole, Stewart started back at the 15 position in the Ford 400. Within 10 laps Stewart was in the top 10 and moving up until a car in front of him had a failure that tossed parts all over the track.� A piece of shrapnel went into Stewart’s radiator grill.
Luck was with Stewart, as the metal did not puncture the radiator.� He dropped back to 40th place, but was back up in the top 10 in almost no time.
His pit crew cost him a couple of spots in consecutive stops, but finally started firing on all cylinders and he moved into the top 5.
Then came the move of the night.
Most everyone went to a pit stop during a long run of green flag, except for Stewart. Darian Grubb, Stewart’s crew chief, told him to stay out on the track for 12 more laps to conserve fuel.
Stewart was a lap up on everyone so he was able to make it, running out of gas as he coasted down pit row to his box. He came out with 4 tires and enough gas to make it to the end of the race.
Then came the rain. This is where their stategy paid off.
Again, everyone had to head to pit road, and Stewart was able to move up to the top three.� He eventually took the lead with 37 laps to go.� Of course, Edwards was right behind him.
That was how the race ended, with Edwards and Stewart tied in the points championship.
In the points championship, Edwards was in the lead by three points at the start of the race. He also grabbed a bonus point for leading at least one lap and leading the most laps which gave him 5 points.
With Stewart’s bonus point for leading at least a lap and winning the race, the two racers were tied. After 26 regular season races and then 10 chase races your top two drivers ended up in a tie.
The first tie breaker is total wins. While Edwards had a better finish average he only had 1 win during the season. With this win Stewart had a total of five and therefore won the championship.
Stewart grabbed his third title, and Edwards finished as the best second place finisher in NASCAR history.
Stewart’s five wins in the chase is a new record. He also becomes only the ninth Owner/Driver to win a championship.
2012 is looking bright for Stewart/Haas Racing. Ryan Newman is coming off a tenth place finish in the chase and newcomer Danica Patrick will be racing for Stewart/Haas in an abreviated Sprint Cup run.
The 2012 season will begin at the Daytona 500 in late February.
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