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Date: Oct. 21, 2007
Event: Subway 500 (Round 32 of 36)
Series: NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location: Martinsville (Va.) Speedway (.526-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 34th/13th (Running, completed 506 of 506 laps in a green/white/checkered finish)
Winner: Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), battled from a 34th-place starting spot to finish 13th in Sunday’s Subway 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In an event that saw a record number of cautions and even more gambling on pit road, the top-15 result was a welcome one.
From the drop of the green flag, Stewart began to charge through the field. His only complaint was that the car was a little loose and needed forward bite. By the first caution on lap 45, the No. 20 team had already picked up eight positions, but at Martinsville, track position is everything. Crew chief Greg Zipadelli brought Stewart onto pit road for fuel and air pressure adjustments, and in a move to garner better track position, changed only two tires on the Home Depot Chevrolet.
While his intentions were good, the small quarters of Martinsville’s pit road threw a kink in Zipadelli’s plans. Stewart tried to exit his pit stall after the stop was complete, but there was no room. Stewart had to put his machine in reverse to avoid hitting the car of David Reutimann, who was pitted in the stall directly in front of him. As a result, the No. 20 team lost valuable time on pit road.
The two-tire stop did offer some track relief however, with Stewart able to restart the race in 20th on lap 50.
From that point on, Stewart was quiet on the radio and relatively content with the way his race car was running. The Home Depot team continued to march toward the front using pit strategy and patience to pick off one position at a time.
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By lap 248, Stewart had climbed through the field to second, but with all 43 teams utilizing varying pit road strategies, the No. 20 Chevrolet wouldn’t stay there long.
Overall, it was an up-and-down day for the Home Depot team, as they yo-yoed from the back to the front to the back of the pack throughout the race. But with 80 laps to go and Stewart in eighth, it looked like the team might bring home its 11th Martinsville top-10 finish.
But as the race drew to a close, Stewart began to complain that the No. 20 Chevrolet had quit turning through the track’s tight corners. He was in desperate need of forward bite. Zipadelli coaxed Stewart to stay on the race track, reminding him how valuable track position was. But by a caution on lap 459, Stewart had had all he could take. He needed major adjustments to the race car.
The Home Depot team pitted for four tires, fuel, air pressure and wedge adjustments and Stewart was forced to restart the race in 22nd with only 37 laps to go.
There were four more caution flags thrown in the final laps of the Subway 500, but for the most part, Stewart managed to stay out of trouble and was able to bring his No. 20 Chevrolet home in 13th.
Having a much better day was Jimmie Johnson, who went on to win the Subway 500 to score his 30th career Nextel Cup victory, his seventh this season and his third in a row at Martinsville.
Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five. Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick comprised the remainder of the top-10.
Stewart’s JGR teammates –Hamlin and J.J. Yeley – finished sixth and 42nd, respectively. It was Hamlin’s 17th top-10 finish of the season and the fourth in five career starts at Martinsville. Yeley’s 42nd-place finish was the result of an engine problem which forced him to retire from the race on lap 258. Yeley started eighth after qualifying in the top-10 for the third time this season.
There were 21 caution periods for 127 laps – both Martinsville records – with six drivers failing to finish the race, which was extended to 506 laps by a green-white-checkered finish.
With six races down in the 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup, Stewart is fourth in points, 36 markers ahead of fifth-place Carl Edwards and 244 points behind series leader Gordon.
The point standings for the entire, 12-driver Chase for the Nextel Cup heading into the Oct. 28 Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway are:
1. Jeff Gordon (6,050 points, -0) 0
2. Jimmie Johnson (6,002 points, -48) 0
3. Clint Bowyer (5,940 points, -110) 0
4. Tony Stewart (5,806 points, -244) 0
5. Carl Edwards (5,770 points, -280) 0
6. Kyle Busch (5,770 points, -280) 0
7. Kevin Harvick (5,686 points, -364) +1
8. Denny Hamlin (5,681 points, -369) +1
9. Jeff Burton (5,646 points, -404) +1
10. Kurt Busch (5,635 points, -415) -3
11. Martin Truex Jr. (5,608 points, -442) 0
12. Matt Kenseth (5,593 points, -457) 0
The Pep Boys Auto 500 begins at 2 p.m. EDT, with live, high-definition coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.