Heluva Good! at The Glen Race Report
Heluva Good! at The Glen Race Report
Date: Aug. 10, 2009
Event: Heluva Good! at The Glen (Round 22 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International (11-turn, 2.45-mile road course)
Winner: Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing (Chevrolet)
SHR Finish: Tony Stewart (Started 13th, Finished 1st / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
Ryan Newman (Started 6th, Finished 21st / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala SS, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International by winning Monday’s rain-postponed Heluva Good! at The Glen NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. He beat Marcos Ambrose by 2.969 seconds to take his 36th career Sprint Cup victory and his third of the season.
Stewart, who led twice for a race-high 34 laps around the 11-turn, 2.45-mile road course, has finished first or second in six consecutive races at Watkins Glen – a total that includes four victories (2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009). And with Stewart’s first Sprint Cup win at The Glen in 2001, he became the track’s winningest driver with five total victories – a mark that is unsurpassed in NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One and sports cars.
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS for SHR, finished 21st. Newman started sixth but began experiencing alternator issues on lap 12 which hampered him throughout the remainder of the 90-lap race.
Stewart remains atop the championship point standings, as his victory expanded his lead to 260 points over second-place Jimmie Johnson. And with a 756-point lead over 13th-place Kyle Busch, Stewart needs only to start next weekend’s race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn to clinch his spot in the 12-driver Chase for the Championship.
Newman maintained his ninth spot in the standings and is 656 points out of first and 100 points ahead of 13th-place Busch.
Finishing third behind Stewart and Ambrose was Carl Edwards, while Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle rounded out the top-five. Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch, rookie Max Papis, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin comprised the remainder of the top-10.
There were five caution periods for 13 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish the 220.5-mile race.
The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Aug. 16 CARFAX 400 at Michigan International Speedway. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.