“There’s still plenty of contact”, said Joey Logano, who finished third. “I’ll be all right if this is the last place I win one”. That’s a long timeframe for anyone. He wasn’t having fun racing Sprint Cup cars anymore, he said, and he wanted to see what it was like to have a life outside NASCAR. “I mean, how many more chances is he going to have?” I knew he was going to drag race in that position and knew he was going to put me in the wall.
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A caution came out shortly after Stewart fended off the field on the restart with 20 to go. Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, and Kyle Larson rounded out the top five. [Hamlin] just told me he was proud of me. “But you stay so focused and you have to”.
For at least one weekend, Smoke was back.
Hamlin stuck his head into Stewart’s vehicle after the race to congratulate him. “I felt a nudge. he did the right thing doing it there, and if I could get to him he knew what was coming”. He started 10th and lead the final 22 laps – but Stewart was not uncontested.
“He could have been a lot rougher with it, he could have knocked me off the track, he could have spun me, whatever, and won the race”.
Stewart got past Hamlin and charged to the checkered flag with the entire side of his auto crumpled and his tires slightly smoking from the contact with Hamlin. “All you’ve got to do is just give me that little bit of hope, and I’ll run through it”.
“Looking out the rear-view more than looking out the front”, Hamlin said. It’s worth considering. The feisty three-time champion drove like one over the race’s final stretch. He missed races repeatedly in the time that followed, taking off half of 2013 after breaking his leg in a sprint auto accident, the first third of this season after a back injury sustained over the offseason, and three races in 2014 after the death of Kevin Ward, Jr.
Brad Keselowski ($8,100): His numbers at Sonoma aren’t great, but his three second-place finishes at Watkins Glen are proof of his road course skill.
“I just had a feeling he was going to drive in there and turn us around anyway, so I was trying to do all I could”, Hamlin said.
On the last lap, Hamlin was finally close enough to make his move.
“I believe in etiquette and I believe in racing guys the way that I want to be raced, and that’s not the way I like to race those guys, but Denny knew what was at stake for us and what the opportunity for us was”, Stewart said.
Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart (14) celebrates after winning the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday, June 26, 2016. “I guess I compare it to Jeff Gordon when he won a race and got into the Chase (last year)”.
Sunday, Tony Stewart had the ideal touch. “I think this is by far the best he’s run all year, and he’s in his final season, so his give a (expletive) factor is probably really low, to be honest with you (laughter)”. He got his first win at Sonoma and went on to win the championship. Even those who are not Stewart’s teammates. Ahead of him are Brian Scott and Regan Smith; Stewart has 10 races left to pass them.
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“Are we going to have (guts) today or no?” he asked his team. “If it doesn’t happen again, it’s cool”. I’m going for more, just for the record. “I’m thinking I’m about to get destroyed by Denny”.
