Indianapolis – When victory finally came for Tony Stewart at Indianapolis on Sunday, it was everything he thought it would be.
“This is one of those days, I don’t want it to end,” Stewart said. “I don’t want to see the sun set. It’s definitely the greatest day of my life, professionally and personally up to this point.”
A lifelong quest to win a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway ended with Stewart finally getting his “Holy Grail,” and he made sure to draw out the celebration as long as he could while the partisan crowd roared with approval.
It wasn’t the native Hoosier’s beloved Indianapolis 500, but the former IndyCar champion, who has longed to win a race at the historic speedway, held off a determined challenge from Kasey Kahne to grab an emotional victory in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
As the partisan crowd screamed “Tony! Tony! Tony!” a beaming Stewart said, “You dream about something for so long, you become consumed by it. To finally get to see what it was like coming down that main straightaway seeing the checkered flags was just incredible.”
Stewart, who came to NASCAR in 1999 from the Indy Racing League, where he was a champion, grew up coveting a victory at the historic track on the west side of Indianapolis.
In five tries in the 500, though, he never finished better than fifth. Until Sunday, his NASCAR résumé wasn’t any better, with two fifth-place finishes his best efforts in six previous starts.
Stewart, 34, dominated the Brickyard race in 2002, starting from the pole and leading 43 laps only to fade to a 12th-place finish. He was so frustrated, NASCAR’s sometimes bad boy snapped and punched a photographer after the race.
Stewart was again the driver to beat in 2003, leading a race- high 60 laps. But two questionable stops for tires late in the race sent him reeling to another 12th-place finish and left him disappointed and frustrated.
Last year, he never led a lap and finished fifth.
His father, Nelson Stewart, has seen his son stress out in each previous try at Indy, saying, “When you do that, then anything can go wrong. It has (in the past), and that’s generally what happens.”
Not this time.
Stewart moved from North Carolina back to his hometown, Columbus, Ind., this year and has repeatedly said he has changed his attitude, enjoying life more and not getting upset when things go wrong.
He came to the speedway this month hopeful and confident, the winner of four of his past six races and riding a string of seven consecutive top-10 finishes. Besides fulfilling his dream, Sunday’s victory vaulted Stewart into the lead in the Nextel Cup standings for the first time since he wrapped up his only Cup title in 2002.
Stewart slept a little later than usual Sunday morning and skipped the usual sponsor obligations, staying as calm and focused as possible. In the race, he was the epitome of patience – not his usual style. It paid off.
This race was up for grabs nearly to the end, with Stewart taking his first lead by passing Brian Vickers with 60 laps to go. But Kahne, last year’s top rookie, didn’t make it easy, passing Stewart for the lead with 27 laps left in the 160-lap event – bringing a groan from the crowd of more than 250,000.
Stewart stayed with Kahne, though. After Jimmie Johnson – who came into the race as the points leader – blew a tire and hit the wall on lap 144, bringing out the last of nine caution flags in the race, Stewart took advantage of the restart on lap on lap 150 to regain the lead.
Kahne hung onto the rear bumper of Stewart’s orange No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet for a couple of laps, but Stewart began pulling away and raced on to win by 0.794 of a second – about 5 car lengths.
Johnson, who fell to second place in the standings, 75 points behind Stewart, was examined at Methodist Hospital and released.
Nextel Cup/glance
Keys to victory: This one was up for grabs nearly to the end, with Tony Stewart taking his first lead by passing Brian Vickers with 60 laps to go. But Kasey Kahne, last year’s top rookie, didn’t make it easy, passing Stewart for the lead with 27 laps left in the 160-lap event. Stewart stayed with Kahne, though. After Jimmie Johnson blew a tire and hit the wall on lap 144, bringing out the last of nine caution flags in the race, Stewart took advantage of the restart on lap on lap 150 to regain the lead.
What you might have missed: There were more tire problems Sunday, and Michelin wasn’t involved in any of them. Goodyear tires on at least eight cars went flat during the race. Most of the problems were on the left front, including one that caused heavy damage to the front bodywork on Joe Nemechek’s car from the shredded rubber.
Back on track: Sunday, Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen, Watkins Glen International, Ch. 9, 11 a.m.
