NO. 80 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET TONY STEWART POST RACE RECAP
NO. 80 HENDRICKCARS.COM CHEVROLET TONY STEWART
POST RACE RECAP
DATE: 2/14/2009
EVENT: NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
RACE: CAMPING WORLD 300
TRACK: DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
START: 5th
FINISH: 1st
OVERALL:
Tony Stewart drove the No. 80 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to Victory Lane on Saturday afternoon, winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
This marks the second consecutive win for the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion in the 300-mile Nationwide Series season-opening event and his fourth overall. In the last five years, Stewart has won this race four times.
Stewart, in his first-ever start for car owner Rick Hendrick, climbed from his fifth-place starting position and led four times for 23 laps during Saturday’s 120-lap event.
Hendrick now has 14 total NASCAR wins at Daytona, including four in the Nationwide Series. He has won the prestigious Daytona 500 six times.
IN THE BEGINNING:
Stewart lined up fifth for the race and worked his way up to third by Lap 15. Seven laps later, Stewart reported to crew chief Lance McGrew that the No. 80 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet needed to be slightly tighter in order to lead the race.
LIFE IN THE PITS:
Debris on the track prompted the race’s first caution on Lap 28. During this caution period, Stewart made a stop for four tires, fuel, a windshield tear off as well as an air pressure and wedge adjustment in attempts to tighten the No. 80 Chevy’s loose handling. Stewart, who entered the pits running third, restarted in the second position on Lap 31.
On Lap 51, Stewart reiterated to his team the No. 80 Chevy still needed to be a little tighter. When the yellow flag was waved on Lap 57, McGrew called Stewart in for four tires, fuel, a track bar adjustment and also a windshield tear off. Stewart was sixth at the restart on Lap 60.
Thirteen laps later, a three-car accident in Turn 3 brought out the third caution of the afternoon. McGrew called Stewart in during that yellow-flag period on Lap 73 for four tires and fuel. Stewart rejoined the field 12th for the restart on Lap 77. He quickly made his way back up to front and was running fifth on Lap 85.
The fifth caution came out on Lap 91 due to an accident on the front stretch, and McGrew told Stewart, who was running third at the time, to stay out. But Stewart made a last second decision to come down pit road for his last stop of the day in order to get fresh tires. McGrew ordered the team to give the No. 80 Chevy four tires and fuel. Stewart was running 22nd on the restart at Lap 93.
Stewart steadily worked his way through the field and climbed into the second position 20 laps later.
HOW IT ENDED:
Stewart took the lead again on Lap 113 and held on until the final lap when Kyle Busch charged hard at Stewart’s bumper. Busch pushed Stewart down the backstretch and up the banking in Turn 3. However, Stewart straightened out his No. 80 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet and maintained the lead coming off Turn 4 to cross the finish line first.
QUOTES:
TONY STEWART (ON THE FINAL LAP OF THE NATIONWIDE SERIES RACE.): “I got really, really loose. Kyle (Busch) pushed me all the way through the corner. What Kyle did was try to get me in a position where my car got loose, and I had to try to race it up the racetrack to give him the bottom. And that happened. [But] in doing so, he had to run up the racetrack, too. It wasn't like he just ran us up into the fence. He didn't do that. I don’t know how we held on to it, but I think he kind of cut us a break off of [Turn] 4, so he kind of let us back in.”
STEWART (ON THE WIN.): “I’m ecstatic about [the win]. It’s the first time I’ve gotten to drive for Mr. [Rick] Hendrick. Just an unbelievable run. I’m honored. (Hendrick Motorsports) has been a great organization in NASCAR racing, whether it has been in the (NASCAR Camping World) Truck or the Nationwide or the (NASCAR Sprint) Cup Series. It’s a huge honor to drive for this organization.”
STEWART (ON WINNING FOR TEAM OWNER RICK HENDRICK.): “I’m one-for-one so far with Mr. [Rick] Hendrick. It makes me wish I would’ve taken him up on his offer to drive the (No.) 25 (Cup) car 10 or 12 years ago. It’s an awesome day. (Crew chief) Lance McGrew and these guys are so accommodating. It’s hard to do a one-off deal with a team you never ran with before and go out and be successful right off the bat.”
STEWART (ON THEIR LAST PIT STOP.): “I was kicking myself because I thought I might’ve made the call that lost us the race. Lance said stay out. We kind of watched everybody, and everybody was hugging down on the line like they were coming in. I came in, and then everybody stayed out. I thought I made the worst call of the year. It actually ended up saving us at the end, though. We were fortunate we were able to get through the pack like that."
RICK HENDRICK (ON THE WIN.): “It was a real special, special win. After watching (Tony) win this race so many times on Saturday, it was good to have him in our car doing it. It’s been a long time since we’ve won a Saturday race in Daytona, so it’s a real special feeling.”
PHOTOS:
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