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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Stewart Looks To Plate Another One
Tony Stewart is the defending winner of the AMP Energy 500...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted October 29, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Tony Stewart was the winner of 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Speedway. (Photo: Getty Images)

Tony Stewart comes into Sunday’s AMP Energy 500 as the defending race champion and regardless of what happens on track this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, it’s been one heck of a first year for the Stewart as co-owner/driver of Stewart-Haas Racing.

Stewart enters the race fourth in points, a distant 192 behind Jimmie Johnson. Although Stewart professes that he’s still very much in the championship hunt, it’s highly unlikely that all three Hendrick Motorsports drivers ahead of him in the points will have simultaneous meltdowns over the final four races of the season.

No matter.

The two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has put together a frankly fairly amazing season in transforming the woebegone Haas CNC Racing squad into the race-winning and title-contending SHR. Stewart has four victories and 15 top-fives in 32 races this season, as both he and teammate Ryan Newman qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Overall, anything either of them accomplishes over the final four races of the season is pretty much gravy.

That said, Stewart definitely will be one of the favorites this weekend at Talladega. He won this race last year, as well as the restrictor-plate July race at Daytona. He also has six second-place Cup finishes at Talladega and a victory here in a NASCAR Nationwide Series car.

Like the late Dale Earnhardt, Stewart has become a serious student of the nuances of plate racing, something he now excels at. According to Stewart, there will be a lot of experimenting this weekend at Talladega, as drivers hunt for the sweet spot in the draft.

“You hit a pocket where you get a real big tow or you hit a pocket where it seems they’re getting a tow and pulling you back, and you just have to play the circumstances,” said Stewart. “That’s why we spend so much time and run so many laps in practice. You just try getting in different scenarios and try to learn if you get in the middle of the draft, what does it do? Will it give you a push? Will it not give you a push? If you get next to this car, does it suck you up or does it slow you down?”

It’s a delicate process, Stewart said.

“It’s trial and error, but at the same time, it’s like pulling a pin on a grenade,” he said. “You know through that process that if one guy makes a mistake, the car’s torn up for the race. It’s just a delicate balance of how hard you go, how many things you try, and how much time you spend doing it.”


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