Coke Zero 400 Race Report
STEWART-HAAS RACING
Coke Zero 400 Race Report
Date: July 3, 2010
Event: Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola (Round 18 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Winner: Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing (Chevrolet) in a green-white-checkered finish
SHR Finish: Tony Stewart (Started 9th, Finished 25th / Running, completed 158 of 166 laps)
Ryan Newman (Started 14th, Finished 26th / Accident, completed 148 of 166 laps)
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Burger King Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent by finishing 25th in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Stewart was caught up in a huge, multi-car wreck 12 laps short of the race’s originally scheduled 160-lap distance. The resulting red flag allowed the No. 14 crew to evaluate the car’s damage once it was towed back into the garage, and upon the red flag being lifted, they were able to go to work. Miraculously, the team repaired the car well enough for Stewart to make a handful of laps and leapfrog many of the other drivers who were involved in the same accident. Seven spots were picked up, allowing Stewart to bring home a top-25 finish.
The accident overshadowed what had been a strong run for Stewart, as he led twice for a total of seven laps around the 2.5-mile oval.
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet Impala for SHR, finished 26th after getting caught up in the same lap-148 melee.
Stewart and Newman were two of 19 drivers involved in the “Big One.” Nine of those drivers were forced to retire as a result of damage sustained in the accident.
Kevin Harvick won the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola to score his 13th career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his second point-paying win at Daytona.
Kasey Kahne finished .092 of a second behind Harvick in the runner-up spot, while Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Burton rounded out the top-five. Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Reed Sorensen, Mike Bliss and Scott Speed comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were nine caution periods for 37 laps, with 18 drivers failing to complete the 166-lap race, which was extended six laps via a green-white-checkered finish.
With round 18 of 36 complete, Stewart is ninth in the Sprint Cup championship standings. He maintained his position and now has 2,251 points, 433 markers behind series leader Harvick and 120 points ahead of 13th-place Mark Martin. Newman fell one spot to 15th. He has 2,090 points and is 80 points back of 12th-place Carl Edwards, who holds the final spot in the 12-driver Chase for the Championship with eight races remaining before the Chase begins.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the July 10 LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at 6:30 p.m.
-SHR-
