Tony Stewart totally dominated again today (that’s 3 of the last 4 for the #20 Home Depot Chevy) and went on to win the New England 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway by a comfortable .0851 seconds. How dominant was he? He led six times for 232 laps….no one else led more than 22. This was win #3 for Tony this season, #22 in his Cup career, and he’s now tied with Terry Labonte for 25th on the all-time win list. Win #45 for Joe Gibbs racing was worth $283,986 from the over $5.1M in posted awards.
Kurt Busch (2nd) had his best finish since he won at Phoenix is April.
Bobby Labonte (3rd) had his best finish since he was runner-up at Lowe’s in May.
Kasey Kahne (6th) had his best finish since he won at Richmond in May.
Ryan Newman (7th) had his best finish since he was 5th at Lowe’s in May.
STREAKIN….Tony Stewart has 5 Top-5’s in a row.
Rusty Wallace has 4 Top-10’s in the last 5 races.
Matt Kenseth has 4 Top-10’s in the last 5 races.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is NOBODY. It takes a 20 position move for this illustrious honor…..Dale Jarrett gets honorable mention with +18. DOWN: The Big Dropper was Elliott Sadler (-36), followed by Jamie McMurray (-23).
Jimmie Johnson had 31 points trimmed from his lead today….it’s down to 77. Only the Top-10 are now qualified for the “Chase”.
Kurt Busch made the best move upward in the standings today….he advanced five spots from 10th to 5th. Elliott Sadler (5th to 9th) fell the most spots.(Stock Car Fans)(7-17-2005)
