SPEEDWAY, Ind. - For those watching Tony Stewart slowly wind his way around Indianapolis Motor Speedway for what likely will be the final time, Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race had a sense of finality.
After Kyle Busch took the checkered flag to win the race, Stewart remained on the track, savoring the moment. By prior arrangement, he was rolling near the No. 88 Chevrolet driven by Jeff Gordon, and together they completed a final lap, trading acknowledgements with fans standing in the grandstands.
If things go as planned, neither Stewart nor Gordon will ever race a stock car at the Brickyard again.
“It was cool,” said Stewart, who was mobbed by reporters after the race. “I knew when we got the checkered we just didn’t want to come in just yet. I wanted to run one more lap, and Jeff was around us.
“Before that last green run, I told my spotter to go get his spotter and said after this thing is over, we need to go a lap around here together, because most likely it is the last time we’ll both get a chance to do that. I couldn’t think of a better guy to share that moment with than Jeff.”
Despite the sentiment of the moment, Stewart still has 16 races to run this year, and he’ll compete for a fourth championship in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. That’s why his recovery from a late speeding penalty to finish 11th was important on Sunday.
“We’re just having fun with it, and that’s what we said we wanted to do at the start of the year and we wanted to have fun and win a race and we’ve done all that,” said Stewart, who announced last year that this season will be his last in Sprint Cup racing. “I don’t think we’re quite done yet.
“So, we’re just going to keep having fun and going for it. I put us way behind today with a penalty that got us a lap down and at the back of the longest line, and to battle back to 11th, I’m pretty proud of that for our whole team.”
Gordon Gets A Rude Awakening On Restarts
Gordon was driving the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in a substitute role for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has suffered concussion-like symptoms in recent weeks and was advised by doctors not to race until he recovers.
The unexpected opportunity was also a stern reminder for Gordon of the level of competition he left behind last November when he transitioned to the FOX Sports television booth. Though he lost ground repeatedly on restarts, however, Gordon finished a respectable 13th on Sunday.
“Wow—the challenges to be out there against the best, especially on those restarts,” said Gordon, who also will sub for Earnhardt next Sunday at Pocono. “I got my butt kicked on those restarts. It was embarrassing. While I will fill in for Dale Jr., and I hope he’s doing good, I needed a fill-in on restarts. It was pretty bad.
“Other than that, I thought it went really well. I really liked working with (crew chief) Greg (Ives) and this whole No. 88 team. … We just couldn’t get the track position. It was pretty tough to pass. And I didn’t want to see those cautions there at the end. But, I’m going to need some practice on restarts for Pocono anyway.”
Gordon followed with a frank assessment of his return to competition.
“On one hand, I’m relieved that this is over, and on the other hand, I would have liked it to have gone a little bit better,” he said. “I’m looking forward to going to Pocono.”
Gordon also relished the farewell lap with Stewart.
“Thank you to Tony Stewart,” Gordon said. “What a class act he is. It meant a lot to me that he invited me to come and make that last lap with him. It was a special moment.”
Logano Misses Late Chance At Unlikely Victory
Late in Sunday’s race, on the next-to-last restart, Joey Logano had eventual race winner Kyle Busch where he wanted him.
Restarting from the outside lane, Logano held Busch down near the apron as the cars approached turn 1 and got Busch’s Toyota slightly loose. But before the action could proceed, a four-car wreck caused the final caution of the day, and on the subsequent restart, Logano wasn’t as fortunate.
Busch sped away as Logano and race runner-up Matt Kenseth battled for second place. Stuck on the outside, Logano fell back to seventh at the finish, leaving team owner Roger Penske still seeking his first stock car victory at the venue that has given him 16 Indianapolis 500 wins.
“It just was not good,” Logano said of the final restart. “I had a decent restart the first time, and the second one I probably had just as good of a restart, but the 20 (Kenseth) got underneath me and I was kind of stuck from that point and kind of fell into the clutches of the (drivers on newer) tires behind me.
“I was trying to stay down and be where I needed to be to get in front of them, but they just kept turning underneath me. I hate that we finished seventh, but it’s probably where we deserved to finish from a speed point of view. I thought our execution went very well today to give us an opportunity to win, but we couldn’t quite get it done when it mattered.”
