Tony Stewart wins rain-shortened NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Fontana
Tony Stewart claimed his second win of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season by passing Kyle Busch to dominate before rain forced the Fontana race to be halted 71 laps from the end
The reigning Cup champion claimed the lead from the Joe Gibbs Racing driver on lap 85, after Busch had been up front for most of the running. Once ahead, there was little challenge for Stewart as the race ran caution-free until the expected rain arrived.
When the pits opened during the caution, Stewart seemed to be driving onto pit-road with Denny Hamlin following him, but he then drove back on the track at the last second, while the JGR driver stopped for tyres and fuel, as did a handful of other top contenders.
Although the rain was initially mild, forecasts showed a high chance of it intensifying, making an eventual restart unlikely.
In the end that latter scenario unfolded as cars lined up on pit-road under the red flag, officials then calling the race, to Stewart's joy.
"I've got awesome racecars," said Stewart. "It starts with all of our guys at Stewart-Haas Racing and the Hendrick chassis department. Especially here at California, the Hendrick Engine department really shows up here."
Busch, who led 80 of the 129 laps after passing polesitter Hamlin on lap one, lost some of his early speed following a brush with the wall, finishing second ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. His JGR team-mate Hamlin was classified 11th after his stop.
"Trying to run back with Stewart's lap times, that's when I was trying too hard, too close to the fence, got myself in trouble there, caught the right side a little bit," said Busch.
"Overall I'm glad that the rains came when they did, as heavy as they were, we were able to go home with a second-place finish."
Earnhardt, who drove a solid race, also stayed out while his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Jimmie Johnson pitted ahead of him. The five-time champion emerged in 10th place after his stop and was lucky the race was halted as his car developed a suspected oil leak while running behind the pace car.
Their team-mate Jeff Gordon was a top-five contender as well but had to serve a pit-road penalty under green after motoring from his box while the refueling can was still attached to his car, during his third stop of the day.
Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick finished fourth after enjoying an interesting battle with Stewart early on, as the eventual winner made his way through the field.
Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards seemed to be gaining momentum as the race progressed but was only able to move up to fifth place by the time it rained.
Kurt Busch stayed out during the caution as well and got his first top-10 finish for Phoenix Racing.
Roush's Matt Kenseth finished the race in 13th but was put back to 16th as the last car on the lead lap, due to a pit road penalty caused by an uncontrolled tyre from his crew during his last stop under caution.
Results - 129 laps: Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap 1. Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Chevrolet 1h36m39.000s 2. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota + 3.556s 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet + 5.767s 4. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet + 6.951s 5. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford + 9.307s 6. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford + 9.664s 7. Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Chevrolet + 11.001s 8. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota + 11.579s 9. Kurt Busch Phoenix Chevrolet + 14.285s 10. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet + 14.930s 11. Denny Hamlin Gibbs Toyota + 15.311s 12. Mark Martin Waltrip Toyota + 15.713s 13. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford + 16.302s 14. Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota + 17.412s 15. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet + 18.244s 16. AJ Allmendinger Penske Dodge + 24.558s 17. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevrolet + 1 lap 18. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge + 1 lap 19. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet + 1 lap 20. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet + 1 lap 21. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford + 1 lap 22. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet + 1 lap 23. Casey Mears Germain Ford + 1 lap 24. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota + 1 lap 25. Aric Almirola Petty Ford + 1 lap 26. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet + 1 lap 27. David Reutimann Baldwin Chevrolet + 2 laps 28. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota + 2 laps 29. Travis Kvapil BK Toyota + 2 laps 30. David Gilliland Front Row Ford + 2 laps 31. David Ragan Front Row Ford + 2 laps 32. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevrolet + 3 laps 33. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet + 3 laps 34. Ken Schrader FAS Lane Ford + 4 laps 35. JJ Yeley Robinson-Blakeney Toyota + 4 laps 36. Landon Cassill BK Toyota + 5 laps Did not finish: Josh Wise Front Row Ford 52 laps Michael McDowell Parsons Ford 41 laps David Stremme Inception Toyota 37 laps Mike Bliss Humphrey-Smith Toyota 19 laps Scott Riggs R3 Chevrolet 18 laps Reed Sorenson Turn One Chevrolet 7 laps Brendan Gaughan Childress Chevrolet 2 laps
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments