Tony Stewart’s dream season continued unabated in Monday’s rain-delayed Heluva Good! at The Glen.
After a major adjustment early in the race got Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet handling the way the Sprint Cup points leader wanted, Stewart held off Marcos Ambrose during a 17-lap run to the finish and crossed the finish line 2.969 seconds ahead of the Australian road-course ace. NASCAR
Stewart has finished either first or second in the last six races at Watkins Glen. “Smoke” also recorded his third victory of the season and the 36th of his Cup career.
“We weren’t good enough at the beginning to win, but we needed to make some changes to get better,” he said. “The pit crew did an awesome job to put the car back to where it needed to be.”
“This is my house right here,” Stewart said after taking his first road course event as a driver and owner in the Sprint Cup Series. “We’ve run really well here the last eight years.”
Thundershowers at Watkins Glen on Sunday forced NASCAR officials to postpone the 90-lap race one day. For the second straight week, a Sprint Cup race ran on a Monday. Bad weather at Pocono last week also caused a one-day delay.
“I had to work really hard to keep up with ‘Smoke,” Ambrose said. “I was closing in, but he just didn’t make a mistake.”
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Heluva Good! at The Glen - Race Results
Carl Edwards came in third, while Kyle Busch, last year’s winner at Watkins Glen, came in fourth.
“That wore me out right there,” Busch said. “It was three times harder to drive this car than last year when we spanked them.”
Greg Biffle completed the top-five. MiamiHerald.com
Kyle Busch, 13th in points, closed the gap on 12th-place Matt Kenseth for the cutoff spot in the 10-race Chase. Busch, who entered the race 102 points behind Kenseth, narrowed the margin to 58. The Associated Press
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