Coming Back To Tony Stewart’s Turf

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will travel to Watkins Glenn International for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen. The Glen is, of course, the second road course race on the Sprint Cup schedule and is also the strongest track for Tony Stewart.

Stewart, a perennial summer powerhouse, has not yet found his summer strength and currently finds himself 9th in the points, one point ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 10th, and with no wins. Stewart is also only 24 points ahead of 11th place Denny Hamlin, a position where Stewart would find himself outside of the Chase without any wins.

The question for many NASCAR fans, specifically Stewart fans, is will Stewart make The Glen his starting point for the rest of the season. If so, he could relax their fears that he could miss the Chase for the first time since 2006, and only the second time since its inception.

The two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion must feel some comfort in returning to the New York track where he has 5 wins in the last 9 races. He certainly knows what it takes to navigate the track, but the only stat that spotlights that fact more than his five wins is the fact that from 2004-2009 his average finish there was 1.34. During those six races he had 4 wins, and either won or was chasing the winner.

There is no doubt that the winner this weekend will either have a 14 on his hood or will have to beat someone with a 14 on their hood.

If Stewart were to get a win this weekend, or even a top 5 finish, he could definitely feel a bit more comfortable with his standing above 11th heading toward the Richmond Chase cutoff. His closest competitors, Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, and Boyer have nowhere near the average finish that he has established. The strongest of these, Hamlin, has an average finish of 13th.

If Stewart and each of his chasers reached only their average finish this weekend, Stewart would leave The Glen with a 32 point lead over 11th place. If that were so, Stewart would have to finish an average of 8 places behind Earnhardt Jr. and Hamlin in Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond. Not likely.

Either way, I am certain that only one number will be on Tony Stewart’s mind on Sunday, and that is 1st. And I definitely wouldn’t pick this Sunday to be blocking the 14…but here’s hoping someone tries…


Follow JD on Twitter @the_Bumpdrafter

Posted in: Clint Bowyer,Dale Earnhardt Jr,Denny Hamlin,Nascar,Nascar Blog,nascar news,Sprint Cup,Stewart-Haas Racing,Tony Stewart,Watkins Glen