Jeff Gordon's junk is Tony Stewart's treasure

Late spin ends wild day at The Glen

JIM UTTER, jutter@charlotteobserver.com

Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007

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WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – It was everything NASCAR could hope for and more.

Sunday’s Centurion Boats at the Glen was long on drama but more than that, the race revived a concept many fans and even NASCAR officials have been graving – a serious, determined effort by Nextel Cup Series drivers to choose winning a race over settling for a good finish.

Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart were already securely entrenched in this season’s Chase for the Nextel Cup, but as the final controversy-filled laps wound down at Watkins Glen International it was the victory – and the 10 bonus points that come with it when the Chase field is set – that drove their actions.

Gordon appeared to have his 10th road course victory well in hand but spun on his own entering Turn 1 on Lap 89 of 90 while trying to hold off Stewart.

With Gordon out of the picture, Stewart still had to hold off a wild, daredevil-like charge from Carl Edwards to claim Sunday’s win – Stewart’s third win in the past four races and 31st of his career.

Edwards threw caution to the wind on the final lap, trying desperately to catch Stewart and ran his No. 99 Ford off the track in the process, finishing eighth.

“I think it shows the significance of how important those 10 points are,” Stewart said. “You want to win here anyway but running second for myself or Carl didn’t mean anything.

“It was all about winning today because we want those extra 10 bonus points. If you’re solidly in the top 10 right now – settling for second, you might as well kiss your aunt with a hairy mustache. That’s generally not something you really care about.”

The top 12 drivers in points after the 26th race are locked in the Chase. As part of a few changes NASCAR made this season, those 12 drivers are then reseeded, with each driver receiving 10 bonus points for each win earned in the first 26 races.

As more and more drivers become locked in the Chase, the extra points that come from a win are quickly becoming a bigger priority. With Sunday’s win, Stewart would now receive 30 extra points, quickly gaining on Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, who each would get 40 for their four wins apiece.

Even Stewart fell victim to pushing his car too hard. He ran off the course in Turn 1 on Lap 45, regrouped and rejoined the field in 20th. Still, Stewart said Gordon was the last driver he would have thought would make a mistake on the final laps.

“I think it shows the strength of our car. We probably stayed closer to him than probably anybody else had all day,” Stewart said. “We kept him from getting in a spot where he could take it easy and get comfortable.”

After Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet came to stop in Turn 1, he mustered a disappointed report back to his crew: “The team deserved to win and the driver didn’t get it done.”

Gordon, too, seemed to subscribe to the theory that racing for the win was now the sole objective.

“I wanted that win really bad. Points don’t mean anything,” Gordon said. “I pushed and I pushed too far. I was driving the wheels off of it and (the crew) was doing an awesome job in the pits and making good calls and put us in position to win.

“I don’t like giving up wins. I don’t like making mistakes.”

The late-race battle for the win was nearly overshadowed by an on-track confrontation earlier in the race between Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya.

While attempting to block the advance of Martin Truex Jr., Montoya got bumped from behind and slammed into Harvick, wrecking them both. Both drivers exited their cars and got in a heated pushing and shoving match on the track until broken up by NASCAR officials.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s hopes to make the Chase took another hit, as the engine in his No. 8 Chevrolet blew up with 27 laps remaining. He fell to 14th, 100 points behind Kurt Busch, the last driver currently in the Chase field.

Jimmie Johnson, who had his own run-in with Montoya earlier in the race, finished third, Ron Fellows was fourth and Robby Gordon fifth. Jeff Gordon still maintains a hefty 344-point margin over second-place Hamlin in the series standings.

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