Stewart Goes Two for Two with Sylvania 300 Victory


Dinner is on Tony Stewart tonight.
Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

Tony Stewart earned his 41st career victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) and second Chase race win of the 2011 season in the 15th Annual Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS).
Stewart, who is now the points leader in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, is the only other driver besides Greg Biffle to win the first two races in the Chase. This is his 13th top-10 of the season and his third victory and 16th top-10 at NHMS.

Following the race Stewart explained that he was confident they had the winning car. "Pretty much the first two-thirds of the day we were in traffic," Stewart said in his post-race press conference. "So we just never got clean air to do anything. The closer to the front we got, the better it drove. Man, what a way to win it."
Rounding out the top-five were Brad Keselowski, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers.

The second NSCS visit to NHMS was full of surprises from the beginning. Only two of the top-five starters were Chase drivers. Newman earned his second pole at NHMS this season. Brian Vickers surprised everyone nabbing the provisional pole before being knocked off by teammate Kasey Kahne, who then was knocked off by Newman.

On lap 294 Newman pit for a down tire, placing him costing him four spots in the point standings.
Kahne who started the race in second next to Newman ended the race in 15th after issues with pit sequence. Teammate Vickers had some better luck finishing in fifth after starting third.

The biggest losers in the points race were Kurt Busch (down five spots), Newman (down four spots) and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (down three spots). The drivers who gained the most were Jeff Gordon who gained six spots and Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth who all gained three spots.

The NSCS heads to Dover next week where Matt Kenseth was the race winner in the Spring race.
Coming off of two consecutive wins, Stewart does not see Dover as his next place to take home a Chase race victory.

"We've got a hurdle ahead of us next week at Dover," said Stewart. "We really struggled there and that's the one race in the Chase that I'm worried about most. So this is the best scenario we can have going into it."

Race Results:
1. Tony Stewart
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Greg Biffle
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Brian Vickers
6. Matt Kenseth
7. David Ragan
8. Carl Edwards
9. Juan Pablo Montoya
10. Regan Smith
11. Kyle Busch
12. Kevin Harvick
13. Jeff Burton
14. Joey Logano
15. Kasey Kahne
16. Martin Truex, Jr.
17. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
18. Jimmie Johnson
19. Bobby Labonte
20. Paul Menard
21. AJ Allmendinger
22. Kurt Busch
23. Jamie McMurray
24. Mark Martin
25. Ryan Newman
26. Clint Bowyer
27. JJ Yeley
28. David Reutimann
29. Denny Hamlin
30. Marcos Ambrose
31. Mike Bliss
32. David Gilliland
33. Landon Cassill
34. Andy Lally
35. Dave Blaney
36. Joe Nemechek
37. Michael McDowell
38. David Stremme
39. Josh Wise
40. Robby Gordon
41. Scott Speed
42. Casey Mears
43. Travis Kvapil
Stewart Goes Two for Two with Sylvania 300 Victory Stewart Goes Two for Two with Sylvania 300 Victory Reviewed by Unknown on Sunday, September 25, 2011 Rating: 5