Tony Stewart had ’em covered all day…..for that matter, he’s had ’em covered for the last two months! Tony was all about total domination today (he led 83 of the 92 circuits) at Watkins Glen International as he captured the Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen for his 5th victory of the season (and all in the last 7 races), back-to-back Jack (he won at Indy last week), and his 3rd road course win in a row. They even extended the event two laps with a green/white/checker….and it made no difference.
This was career win #24 for Tony, and he’s now in sole possession of 24th place on the all-time win list. Win #47 for Joe Gibbs Racing was worth $269,006 from the over $4.6M in posted awards.
Robby Gordon (2nd) had his best finish since he won here in August of 2003.
Boris Said (3rd) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 6th twice….at Infineon in June of 2003 & 2004.
Scott Pruett (4th) had his best finish since he was 3rd at Infineon in June of 2004 (only three races). The Top-5’s by Gordon, Said, and Pruett make 30 drivers at that mark this season….last year we had 31. Those same three drivers’ Top-10’s put us over last years mark. We’ve had 41 drivers this season and only 39 last.
Joe Nemechek (9th) had his best finish since he was 6th at Michigan in June.
Paul Menard (27th) had his career-best finish today. In his only other Cup race, he was 29th here in August of 2003.
Anthony Lazzaro (28th) had his career-best finish today as well. His only other Cup race was 34th here in August of 2001.
Johnny Miller (29th) had his best finish since he was 24th at Infineon in June of 2003 (only two races).
STREAKIN….Tony Stewart has 8 Top-10’s in a row.
Mark Martin has 4 Top-10’s in the last 5 races.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is tie between Robby Gordon (+38 ) and Boris Said (+38 ). The only other driver on the plus side was Scott Pruett (+21). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Greg Biffle (-35), followed by Kurt Busch (-34), Jeff Burton (-25), Ryan Newman (-23), and Michael Waltrip (-22). When you line up by points and put those good roadies in the back you can count on a great day in the “Shaft”.
Jorge Geoters led a lap today in his NEXTEL Cup debut. He’s the 46th different driver to lead a lap this season….last year we had 50 of ’em.
Tony Stewart tacked 30 points onto his lead over Jimmie Johnson….it’s now at 105. Jamie McMurray moved above the “Stayin’ Alive” line as he replaced Dale Jarrett in the Top-10. DJ & Elliott Sadler are taking this “teammate” thang” a little too far as they have identical point totals tied for 11th (and three points out of the “Chase” at the moment).
Brian Vickers (22nd to 18th) made the best move forward and Jeff Burton (18th to 22nd) went in the opposite direction.
We put three more drivers in the “Mathematically Eliminated” category today…..everybody from 33rd on down is out of the game.(Stock Car Fans)(8-14-2005)
