Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Stewart Knocks On Door Again
Tony Stewart scored his third consecutive top-five finish with a runner-up in Phoenix...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted April 19, 2009   Avondale, AZ
Tony Stewart continues to prove he and his new Stewart-Haas Racing team are for real, scoring a season’s-best second-place finish at Phoenix. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart continues to prove he and his new Stewart-Haas Racing team are for real, scoring a season’s-best second-place finish in Saturday night’s Subway Fresh Fit 500k at Phoenix International Raceway.

The runner-up drive, the best result in SHR’s brief eight-race history, vaulted Stewart to fourth in points and marked the third consecutive race that the Indiana native has put the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS in the top five.

“I’m just happy for everybody from Office Depot, Old Spice and Haas Automation that believed in me when I had this idea of starting this deal last year,” said Stewart, who led 19 of 312 laps at the one-mile PIR oval. “We’re getting there, man. I’m telling you, we’re so close. We’re going to get us a win here soon. We’re not going to let our fans down.”

Stewart, who previously finished fourth at Texas Motor Speedway and third at Martinsville Speedway, is a notorious slow starter, favoring the hot summer months when tracks are greasy and grip is low. And that’s made his red-hot early season streak that much more surprising, even to him.

“This is the best start to the season that I’ve ever had in my career,” Stewart said. “The last three weeks have just been amazing. I mean, it’s been so much fun. We’ve been in contention. We’ve led laps. We’re doing everything right. It’s just a matter of time. We are consistent now and that’s the way you’ve got to be. We’re just clicking them off one at a time here. I don’t think any of us would have predicted we would be in the top five in points.”

At PIR on Saturday night, Stewart finished 0.734 seconds behind his long-time friend and mentor Mark Martin, who led a race-high 157 laps in winning his first race since October 2005. And given that SHR is closely aligned with Hendrick Motorsports, the team Martin drives for, Stewart had much to cheer.

“I don’t think there’s anybody that’s not a Mark Martin fan,” said Stewart. “It was an awesome night for our organization and an awesome night for Mark. Nobody works harder to stay in shape to be good and fit and ready to go than Mark does. And when you see somebody that works that hard at it, you like to see the results come for him, too.”

Stewart has long held Martin in high regard as a role model among his fellow Sprint Cup drivers and was pleased to see the 50-year-old end up in victory lane at Phoenix.

“Mark was responsible for so many of us learning what it took to be a Sprint Cup driver,” said Stewart. “When you came up in the Nationwide Series and ran with him when he just dominated, he taught you a lot while you were running those races. And when you had a good day against Mark, when you did things right and you watched him and learned from him – that just accelerated the learning curve to get you ready for the Sprint Cup Series. Mark has taught us all a lot about what it takes to be not only a good driver in this series, but a good competitor and somebody that everybody respects.”

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RACE RESULTS: PHOENIX

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

Play Super 7 Sweep Fantasy Racing powered by Wind Tunnel!
tom_jensen's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.