Teamwork Get Smoke A Worst To First Win

The drama for this win has been building for weeks. From the get-go, Tony Stewart has arguably been the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit’s most consistent driver. The season scoreboard reflects it. The question has been simply of how long would it be before Tony Stewart would go from knocking on the door to kicking it down.

Stewart karate kicked his way to a win at the 2009 Pocono 500, the first for the newly minted Stewart- Haas Racing. It’s also the first time an owner-driver has won a race since Ricky Rudd accomplished the feat in the Fall of 1998 at Martinsville.

The irony of it was how Stewart won the race. If you know Stewart’s career record, you know that he’s scored just 15 poles for his career (compared that to 40+ by Ryan Newman). He gets the pole thanks to the anointing of Mother Nature, and then he quickly surrenders the spot after wrecking in Saturday practice- putting Stewart in the back of the field.

Oh well, it doesn’t seem its ever been the Rushville Rocket’s style to do things the easy way. It makes a better story when you win from the back.

Regardless of where he started, it was evident that Stewart’s back-up car was a top-notch piece. The 2-time Cup champion made the top 10 by lap 37- ready to challenge the likes of Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle- who had fought back and forth for the early lead.

At lap 39, Carl Edwards zooms past the “48″ and the “16″ for the lead, where he would be much of the day. Edwards’ ordinarily reliable pit crew failed to fully fill his tank during a green flag stop. It would give Edwards gas thinking about gas all day. It was also at this juncture of the race Ryan Newman began experiencing mechanical issues.

A debris caution played into Edwards’ hands and he would find himself back out front. Though the results don’t reflect it, Edwards’ teammates Biffle and Matt Kenseth would do a nice job running up front most of the day.

Jimmie Johnson would have to fight to stay in the mix. Much like Jeff Gordon last week, the defending champion was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a caution came out and he also slightly overshot his pit box. In much the same way that Stewart and Edwards overcame adversity to get back front, Johnson would do the same as he was back in the top 10 by lap 127.

At least one of two if not both things are factors in races at Pocono: weather and fuel strategy. The rain made a brief appearance, and for a moment, the “24″ team led by Jeff Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte thought they might capitalize on the weather like they did in the Spring of 2007. It didn’t work, and they would eventually pit, giving Gordon what he needed for another top 5 finish.

With 37 laps remaining, Stewart would grab the lead. To stay out front, he would need to conserve gas, knowing he had a mix of some drivers with enough fuel to make it (Gordon, David Reutimann and Edwards) and others who didn’t (Kenseth, Biffle, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin). Edwards actually thought he had Stewart on this score and he and Johnson would pace with Stewart, who was pulling out all the stops to conserve.

“I really hate racing like this” Stewart would opine. Next thing you know, Stewart is slowing down to a NASCAR crawl of 120 to 130 miles per hour, and crew chief Bob Osborne is ordering Edwards to run 58 second laps. 

As the final laps began clicking off, most of the racers short on gas would cry “uncle” and pit for fuel. Johnson would try to hang on.

With conservation measures that would make a “hyper miler” proud Tony Stewart held on for the win- followed by Edwards, Reutimann, Gordon, Newman, Marcos Ambrose, Johnson (who ran out of gas at the finish), Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Burton and Sam Hornish Jr in the top 10.

Newman and his crew definitely get my “Rocky Balboa Award” for fighting through their mechanical problems to finish in the top 5- completing a banner day for SHR. Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch were also cursed with car problems that resulted in finishes of 38th and 37th respectively for the former Pocono winners.

While Stewart’s win as owner-driver for his Hendrick-allied team doesn’t have quite the same feel as an Alan Kulwicki victory, still it is impressive on several fronts. Stewart is showing himself to be a skilled orchestrator. That Hendrick help got Stewart back out in the practice session after his wreck. Crew chief Darian Grubb is proving simpatico with Stewart. In fact, one the more impressive aspects of Stewart’s day was the fact the team was a picture of calm in spite of the obstacles. The car was a beast, as Stewart would prove over and over again.

The Hoosier opens up a 71 point lead over Gordon. Johnson, Newman, Kurt Busch, Edwards, Biffle, Kenseth, Kyle Busch (who finished 22nd), Burton, Reutimann and Hamlin round out the top 12. Mark Martin is now one point out of the chase, with Kasey Kahne and  Montoya just behind him.

Kudos to Tony Stewart. On one hand, it’s not easy trying to wear all the hats he does, but many hands make for light work. If those hands are good hands, they can make you look like a genius.

At the rate he’s going, Tony Stewart is looking like the Einstein of NASCAR. 

PHOTO CREDITS- Stewart (upper left) and Stewart burnout by amanda480744. Stewart and Newman by <3SmokesGirl14<3’s. To see more, click on the hyperlinks or visit flickr.com.