Tony Stewart eased his frustration Sunday by ending a 43-race winless streak and earning his first Sprint Cup victory at Talladega Superspeedway, after Nascar ruled that Regan Smith’s last-lap pass was illegal.
Smith, a rookie, was in second and trailing Stewart for the final three laps of the Amp Energy 500. He desperately ducked inside Stewart on Lap 190, the final time around the 2.66-mile track.
When Stewart blocked him, Smith drove below the yellow out-of-bounds line at the bottom of the track to make the pass. He beat Stewart to the finish line, but Nascar reviewed the move and declared it illegal. (A driver is allowed to make a pass below the line only if officials believe he was forced there.)
“I’ve wanted to win here for so long,” Stewart said. “This hasn’t been one of my favorite places on the fan side. People haven’t always liked me here. But this was for those guys up in the stands today.”
FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE
1 34 20 Tony Stewart Toyota
2 5 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet
3 16 6 David Ragan Ford
4 17 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet
5 35 7 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet
6 32 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge
7 11 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet
8 42 7 Robby Gordon Dodge
9 20 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
10 40 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge
11 7 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet
12 14 0 Kenny Wallace Toyota
13 3 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet
14 2 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet
15 37 18 Kyle Busch Toyota
16 43 96 Ken Schrader Toyota
17 23 45 Terry Labonte Dodge
18 4 1 Regan Smith * Chevrolet
19 25 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota
20 39 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet
21 33 2 Kurt Busch Dodge
22 29 22 Dave Blaney Toyota
23 30 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge
24 22 16 Greg Biffle Ford
25 13 42 Juan Montoya Dodge
26 31 17 Matt Kenseth Ford
27 1 28 Travis Kvapil Ford
28 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet
29 12 99 Carl Edwards Ford
30 6 33 Mike Wallace Chevrolet
31 21 84 Mike Skinner Toyota
32 28 26 Jamie McMurray Ford
33 27 21 Jon Wood Ford
34 8 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet
35 9 83 Brian Vickers Toyota
36 38 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge
37 19 44 David Reutimann Toyota
38 26 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
39 36 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota
40 41 38 David Gilliland Ford
41 10 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet
42 18 109 Sterling Marlin Chevrolet
43 24 12 Ryan Newman Dodge
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