The North Carolina News Network

Stewart's Patented Late Summer Streak

Tony Stewart

(UPDATE) -- Tony Stewart hopes he is getting hot at the right time. He has done it before. The two-time Nextel Cup Champion has a habit of getting hot late in the season. Sunday's win at Watkins Glen is his third in the last four races. He moves up on slot to fourth in the Nextel Cup point standings. "Take the two or three weeks and lock ourselves into the Chase there to where we can, those last couple of races just strictly try to go for the win and get those extra bonus points," said Stewart.

Looking back on Sunday's race at Watkins Glen, he believed anything less than a win would be worthless. "You might as well kiss your aunt with a hairy mustache, not something you really cared about."

If the Chase started right now, he would be seeded third, but it doesn't start right now and Stewart hopes he's not peaking too soon. "Once the Chase starts, hopefully we can be on run like we're on right now."

Michigan is next on the schedule this weekend. Stewart finished third there in June and he's got one win there.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 August 2007 )

Stewart Benefits From Gordon's Bad Luck

Tony Stewart

(WATKINS GLEN, NY) -- Jeff Gordon was within spitin' distance of his tenth road course victory when he spun out on turn one at Watkins Glen on Sunday with just two laps to go in the race. Tony Stewart capitalized on Gordon's bad luck by picking up his third Cup Series win in the last four races. "Turn one is tricky here I mean you go downhill into it, there's a couple of bumps that can make it real easy to wheel-hop whether it's due to the brake balance or whether it's where you downshift from third to second," said Stewart.

Stewart's teammate, Denny Hamlin, finished second on Sunday. Hamlin is happy that Joe Gibbs Racing got a one, two finish at Watkins Glen. "Definitely exceeds expectations we had going into this weekend, so it's still a great run for both the 11 and 20," said Hamlin.

Hamlin was followed by Jimmie Johnson. Johnson credits a combination of luck and strategy for a top-three finish. "Got some positions on my own, then some guys made some mistakes late that helped us get up into the top-three," said Johnson.

Last Updated ( Monday, 13 August 2007 )