TONY STEWART WINS AT POCONO, MAINTAINS NASCAR SERIES LEAD

Tony Stewart became the first owner/driver to win a race on NASCAR’s top series in over a decade on Sunday as he came from the back of the field to take the checkered flag in the Pocono 500 at Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway.  It had been a rollercoaster weekend for the NASCAR series leader—he was awarded the pole position for the race based on his first place spot in the standings on Friday after heavy rains washed out qualifying.  He then crashed in the first practice on Saturday, totaling his car and having to go to a backup vehicle which also meant that he would have to start at the rear of the field under NASCAR rules.

Stewart was a +1100 or +1200 choice to win the race, while Jimmie Johnson was the favorite with prices of +450 or +500.  Johnson would finish 7^th, which enabled him to hold on to third place in the Sprint Cup championship points standings.  Jeff Gordon, currently 2^nd in the points race, finished fourth.  There’s still a lot of racing to go before the overall champion is determined, but those who backed Stewart before the season would enjoy a nice payday should he take the Sprint Cup.  He was given longer odds due to the difficulty of moving to a new race team, and was priced as high as 30/1 to take the championship before the season began. 

After the improbable victory, Stewart’s crew chief Darian Grubb recounted the events of the weekend:

"This was a very interesting weekend all the way around. To come up here and sit in the rain and get the pole because we earned it -- because the guys have been working really hard and we had the points lead -- that was big for the entire Stewart-Haas organization to get that.

"Then having to go to the backup car, it was great to see everybody just keep their heads about them, stay calm and stay cool. We made all the changes we needed to between the two cars, and I think we actually made the second car better."

Grubb said that he knew early in the race that the backup car would be able to challenge for the victory:

"I knew we were fast when we went from 43rd to 20th in about the first 22 laps.”

Stewart commended the professionalism of his team in getting the backup entry ready to race:

"Nobody got upset. Nobody lost their heads when I crashed the primary car. They just do their jobs and they're efficient at it.

"That's half the battle, just having a group of guys that have the same confidence that I have behind the wheel. They have that same confidence as crew members and in the preparation at the shop before we come here to the track. It's not like they all of a sudden had to roll a backup car out and try to set it up from scratch. It was basically ready to go when it came off the trailer."

Stewart became the first owner/driver to win a race on NASCAR’s top series since Ricky Rudd took the checkered flag at Martinsville, WV in September of 1998.  Carl Edwards finished second, David Reutimann third, Jeff Gordon 4^th and Ryan Newman 5^th.  NASCAR now heads to the Michigan International Speedway for next Sunday’s LifeLock 400 followed by one of the two road course races of the season at Sonoma, California on June 21^st.  With 1^st place Stewart and 2^nd place Jeff Gordon among the best road course drivers in NASCAR history that race is an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field.