Tony Stewart Wins the Pocono 500
June 8, 2009 by Warren Hayashi
Filed under Racing
The sun finally shined on Tony Stewart’s dreams of a possible third Sprint Cup championship to go with his first two on Sunday afternoon as he came from behind to beat the field to the finish line and win the Pocono 500 in front of thousands of unbelieving fans. This victory along with his recent win in the All-Star Race last month certainly validates Stewart’s belief that he can still compete against the best and maybe even hang-in long enough to sneak around the corner at the end of the year and steal his third title.
Tony Stewart wins the Pocono 500
Stewart had to start at the back of the grid due to a practice accident that forced him to jump into his backup ride for the Pocono 500. He seemed to sense his situation and decided to drive safe and conservative until the final 40 laps, when he decided to take a chance that paid off for the veteran. Driving past the scheduled pit stop he gambled that he could manage his car and speed well enough to complete the final laps without the pit stop, and he won the bet.
Deciding that he doesn’t need a pit stop is a decision he can make as team owner but it’s certainly one he’s glad paid off. He still has to be accountable to himself and his team if his gamble doesn’t pay-off and thoughts of doubt must have been dancing through his mind at the time he made his decision.
Stewart is the first owner/driver to emerge victorious in a Sprint Cup race since Ricky Rudd did it at Martinsville in 1998; Stewart’s joy at his triumph was evident in his celebrations. Carl Edwards managed to drive clean and finished second, just ahead of David Reutimann in third, and Jeff Gordon, who battled through out the race. Ryan Newman didn’t have the fastest car of the day but he kept his line clean and finished fifth despite his problems. Marcos Ambrose had a pretty good showing and finished sixth, Jimmie Johnson had a frustrating day but still managed seventh, Juan Montoya grabbed eighth, Jeff Burton finished in ninth, and the top ten in the Pocono 500 was rounded out by Sam Hornish Jr.
The next venue for the Sprint Cup series is the LifeLock 400 being held at the Michigan International Speedway. If you want to watch or listen to the play-by-play of the LifeLock 400 tune into TNT at 12:30 or Radio MNR at 1:15 on Sunday afternoon, June 14th.
“Image: Zuma Press”
