Sunday, June 26, 2016

This is pretty cool: Stewart wins at Sonoma to end 84 race winless drought

Tony Stewart wins for first time in 84 races and is close in points to making Chase in his final season.
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 in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, with Martin Truex Jr. andDenny 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.

Read More Here..........Fox Sports

Final Results



Fast Facts - Sonoma Raceway:
* Tony Stewart won the 28th Annual Toyota/Save Mart 350, his 49th victory in 598 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
* This is his first victory and third top-10 finish in 2016.
* This is his third victory and 10th top-10 finish in 18 races at Sonoma Raceway.
* Stewart's last win was at Dover on June 2, 2013. There have been 110 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races since then; Stewart has started 84 of those races.
* Stewart is now 32nd in the point standings, nine points out of 30th place and a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
* Denny Hamlin (second) posted his third top-10 finish in 11 races at Sonoma Raceway. It is his seventh top-10 finish in 2016.
* Joey Logano (third) posted his fourth top-10 finish in eight races at Sonoma Raceway.
* Chase Elliott (21st) was the highest finishing rookie.
* Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 35 points over Kurt Busch.

Now, Stewart has 10 races remaining to climb into the top 30 in points - a requirement for anyone seeking to qualify for the 16-driver, 10-race Chase. He is currently 32nd, nine out of 30th place. NASCAR can grant Stewart an injury waiver that would excuse him from missing the first eight events. The sanctioning body did the same last season for Busch, who sat out the first 11 races while recovering in 2015 before winning at Sonoma. He followed that with wins at Kentucky, New Hampshire and Indianapolis, before climbing into the top 30 in points with a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen, the 22nd of 26 regular-season races. (USA Today)

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