bigbadbrother
06-27-2016, 12:28 AM
Joe Menzer
Tony Stewart won the drama-filled Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, increasing his chances of making the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup despite missing the first eight races of the season.
"It's special, trust me," Stewart said after ending an 84-race winless streak with his 49th career Cup win.
The closing laps were intense as Stewart worked hard to hold off the rest of the field, with Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin stalking him.
But Truex and Hamlin kept battling each other hard, which helped Stewart increase his lead. With eight laps to go, Stewart's lead was close to two seconds over Hamlin, who finally made the pass for second on Truex one lap earlier.
By five to go, Stewart's lead was down to less than a second.
Hamlin finally caught and passed him going into Turn 7 on the final lap, and looked as if he was going to go on to score the win. But Hamlin came into the final hairpin turn too hot in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, opening the door for Stewart to pass him back for the lead and the win.
Hamlin hit the wall as he tried desperately to pass Stewart back once again heading to the checkered flag, but was fortunate the be able to hold on for second. Joey Logano finished third, with Carl Edwards and Truex rounding out the top five.
After missing eight races at the beginning of the season while recovering from an off-season back injury, Stewart needed to win a race and finish in the top 30 in points after the first 26 regular-season races to qualify for a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Sunday's race was the 16th of the regular season.
The 45-year-old Stewart took the lead on fuel strategy during a caution with 24 laps to go, and had to hold on after another yellow flag stalled the race. The final restart came with 14 laps remaining -- the same number as Stewart's race car -- and he held off a trio of Toyota drivers for his third career victory at Sonoma, and eighth on a road course overall
http://a.fssta.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/MOTORS/images/2016/06/26/062616_nascar_glen_results.vadapt.664.high.26.jpg
Tony Stewart won the drama-filled Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday, increasing his chances of making the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup despite missing the first eight races of the season.
"It's special, trust me," Stewart said after ending an 84-race winless streak with his 49th career Cup win.
The closing laps were intense as Stewart worked hard to hold off the rest of the field, with Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin stalking him.
But Truex and Hamlin kept battling each other hard, which helped Stewart increase his lead. With eight laps to go, Stewart's lead was close to two seconds over Hamlin, who finally made the pass for second on Truex one lap earlier.
By five to go, Stewart's lead was down to less than a second.
Hamlin finally caught and passed him going into Turn 7 on the final lap, and looked as if he was going to go on to score the win. But Hamlin came into the final hairpin turn too hot in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, opening the door for Stewart to pass him back for the lead and the win.
Hamlin hit the wall as he tried desperately to pass Stewart back once again heading to the checkered flag, but was fortunate the be able to hold on for second. Joey Logano finished third, with Carl Edwards and Truex rounding out the top five.
After missing eight races at the beginning of the season while recovering from an off-season back injury, Stewart needed to win a race and finish in the top 30 in points after the first 26 regular-season races to qualify for a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Sunday's race was the 16th of the regular season.
The 45-year-old Stewart took the lead on fuel strategy during a caution with 24 laps to go, and had to hold on after another yellow flag stalled the race. The final restart came with 14 laps remaining -- the same number as Stewart's race car -- and he held off a trio of Toyota drivers for his third career victory at Sonoma, and eighth on a road course overall
http://a.fssta.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/MOTORS/images/2016/06/26/062616_nascar_glen_results.vadapt.664.high.26.jpg