Tony Stewart provided a spark to the NASCAR Sprint Cup season with a thrilling victory Sunday at Sonoma, Calif., one of two road course races on the Cup schedule. Stewart’s emotional Sonoma win follows a similar scenario in last year’s race, where Kyle Busch, who had missed time with a broken leg and foot suffered in a crash at Daytona on the season’s opening weekend, won at the road course to help his playoff bid. The final restart came with 14 laps remaining – the same number as Stewart’s auto – and he held off a trio of Toyota drivers for his third career victory at Sonoma.
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Stewart, like everybody else, is trying to move on from the circumstances – aka #Stinkeroocity – that preceded his game-changing victory at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday.
Talking about fellow drivers, including Jamie McMurray, who messed up Stewart’s qualifying lap: “Some of the things some of these guys do nowadays doesn’t make sense”.
Stewart winning is one of the biggest stories of the NASCAR season and provides the series with a storyline that blends Gordon’s 2015 retirement with Kyle Busch’s comeback to the Chase title all into a single theme that even non-NASCAR fans can take interest in. “I don’t know what the deal is with Sonoma”. “I mean, they threw a caution for a rag earlier”. It’s pretty ironic that the last win we got was in a Code 3 Associates auto, and I’m proud to do it again. I wish we did more. Hamlin knocked Stewart out of the way with a half-lap to go after hounding the three-time Cup champion for several laps.
I know for myself and the rest of our FOX NASCAR team we were absolutely thrilled to get the Sonoma race back in our portion of the broadcast season.
Sunday, Tony Stewart had the ideal touch. “I felt a nudge when I got down there and he knew where it was and he did the right thing doing it there, but if I could get to him, he knew what was coming”. I felt like MI and Pocono we got jogging, and we’re getting closer to being where we need to be. This win was special for Tony Stewart because he just said 2 days ago ” I don’t enjoy racing in sprint cup anymore”. To guarantee a spot, a driver must win at least one race and finish within the top 30 in points.
Stewart’s last win came in June 2013 at Dover. As drivers decompressed after their own day, many offered words about Stewart’s win. Prior to the race, Bugarewicz reminded Stewart to have fun. On his next lap Stewart’s vehicle struck Ward, who had climbed out of his auto and was walking down the track pointing his finger in the direction of Stewart. Stewart comes to Daytona just nine points behind in the standings to be eligible for the postseason. I just overshot the corner a little bit. “We flew out together maybe to California or Phoenix or something, and he was watching the entire race and writing notes down off of the previous race there”. “I thought we would have a really good shot at getting a pole and we still had a shot”.
“Feel like we had the best auto; we just couldn’t get track position”, Truex said.
In other racing news: Fifty years after its first win at the 24 hour race at LeMans the Ford Motor Company returned with a GT and won its class this year. Hamlin was able to rub Stewart and take the lead on the last lap, but in the last turn of the last lap, Stewart returned the favor and retook the lead. “They said he wheel hopped it, but I was shocked that the door was open like that”.
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“I’m going for more, just for the record”, Stewart said.
