Stewart sifted through the field from the back of the pack, winning the Sprint Cup Pocono 500 for his first victory as a driver/owner.
The win was the first by a driver/owner since Ricky Rudd won at Martinsville Speedway in September 1998.
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“I’ve always had a great group of people to work with at Gibbs,” said Stewart, who won 33 races in 10 years with Joe Gibbs Racing before starting his own team for the 2009 season.
“It’s a little bit different when it’s your own.” Wilkes Barre Times-Leader
Stewart made his last pit stop with 41 laps to go and figured he could drive the rest of the way without another break. He took the lead in the No. 14 Chevrolet with 37 laps remaining and roared to a 6-second lead over Carl Edwards that gave him a crucial buffer down the stretch.
Edwards pushed Stewart and whittled the lead down to about 2 seconds with inside 10 laps remaining, and the two-time Cup champion unsure of how much gas he had left in the tank.
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“I didn’t know how close we really were,” Stewart said.
With a lead in the points standings and a spot in the Chase for the championship all but assured, Stewart could afford to take a risk.
Edwards was second, followed by David Reutimann and Jeff Gordon. Stewart’s SHR teammate Ryan Newman was fifth. Yahoo Sports
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Finish Car Driver Make 1 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 2 99 Carl Edwards Ford 3 0 David Reutimann Toyota 4 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 5 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 6 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 8 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 9 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 10 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 11 16 Greg Biffle Ford 12 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 13 26 Jamie McMurray Ford 14 7 Casey Mears Chevrolet 15 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge 16 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 17 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 18 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 19 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 20 43 Reed Sorenson Dodge 21 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 22 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 23 20 Joey Logano * Toyota 24 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 25 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge 26 6 David Ragan Ford 27 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 28 96 Bobby Labonte Ford 29 98 Paul Menard Ford 30 44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge 31 7 Robby Gordon Toyota 32 82 Scott Speed * Toyota 33 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 34 12 David Stremme Dodge 35 34 John Andretti Chevrolet 36 51 Dexter Bean* Dodge 37 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 38 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 39 9 Sterling Marlin Dodge 40 66 Dave Blaney Toyota 41 187 Joe Nemechek Toyota 42 171 David Gilliland Chevrolet 43 36 Patrick Carpentier Toyota
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