Event: Diamond Hill Plywood 200 (Round 12 of 35)
Series: NASCAR Nationwide Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 3rd / 1st (Running, completed 149 of 149 laps in a
green-white-checkered finish)
Winner: Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Tony Stewart showed that "Experience is Everything" as he dominated
Friday night's Diamond Hill Plywood 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race
at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway to take his first win of any kind at the
track "Too Tough to Tame."
The driver of the No. 20 Old Spice Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR)
started third and led three times for a race-high 90 laps en route to
his fourth Nationwide Series win of the season. The win also marked
the fourth consecutive victory for the No. 20 Nationwide Series team,
as Kyle Busch drove the No. 20 to victory at Mexico City before
Stewart won with the No. 20 at Talladega (Ala.), which was followed by
Denny Hamlin's win last week at Richmond (Va.).
"It's just been such an honor to drive the Old Spice car for Dave
Rogers (crew chief) and all of these guys on the 20 team," said
Stewart, who helped Joe Gibbs Racing score its sixth consecutive
Nationwide series win and its eighth Nationwide Series victory this
season. "It's not the drivers, I'm telling you that. It's been here
with three different guys, so it's this team behind us and all of the
guys at JGR who do such an awesome job."
The win was yet another meaningful triumph for Stewart, as it was his
first victory in 20 total starts at Darlington – 15 in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series and five in the Nationwide Series. Stewart's best
Darlington finish prior to Friday night's Diamond Hill Plywood 200 was
fourth in the Sprint Cup events in March 2000 and November 2001.
"At the start of this year we had never won at California, Las Vegas,
Talladega or Darlington," said Stewart, whose previous best Nationwide
Series result at Darlington came last May when he finished seventh.
"Thanks to Dave (Rogers) and the guys on the 20 car on the Nationwide
Series side, we've now conquered three of those four and should've won
the fourth one (Las Vegas), but I'm not going to be greedy. It's
pretty special to get four wins with these guys this year at three of
the tracks I haven't won at before."
At the drop of the green flag, Stewart knew his Old Spice Toyota was a
car to be reckoned with as he quickly took the lead on lap 14. He led
the next 39 laps before giving up the top spot to Busch just prior to
pitting for fresh tires and fuel on lap 57. Stewart re-took the lead
on lap 65 after a strong pit stop by the Old Spice team got him out
front. He held the lead for 22 more laps before surrendering the point
when he pitted for the last time on lap 87. Stewart took back the top
spot for the final time on lap 121 and handily led the final 29 laps,
as Mark Martin and then Clint Bowyer were unable to mount a charge on
the final two restarts of the race.
In a crash-filled event that saw a total of eight cautions and two red
flag periods, Stewart's "experience" proved valuable in keeping his
Old Spice machine in front and out of harms way.
"You've got to be there at the end to win, and that's what we did.
Dave (Rogers) reminded me early in the race that the 'Lady's' got a
new dress, but it's the same old Darlington," said Stewart, referring
to the 58-year-old track's other nickname – the Lady in Black. "I knew
saving my stuff was going to be really important. With the rich
heritage and history here at Darlington – to win here and be the first
guy to win after they resurfaced it – it's a feeling that's hard to
describe. It's just cool to win at Darlington."
Stewart's sixth career Nationwide Series win extended the No. 20 car's
lead in the Nationwide Series owner standings to 127 points over of
the No. 2 entry of Richard Childress Racing after 12 of 35 races.
The eight aforementioned caution periods totaled 36 laps, with 20
drivers failing to finish the 149-lap race, which was extended two
laps past its scheduled 147-lap distance due to a
green-white-checkered flag finish.
Finishing .814 of a second behind Stewart in the Diamond Hill Plywood
200 was runner-up Clint Bowyer, while David Reutimann, Todd Bodine and
Steve Wallace rounded out the top-five. David Stremme, Jason Keller,
Chase Miller, Jason Leffler and Marcos Ambrose comprised the remainder
of the top-10.
The Nationwide Series takes a rare weekend off before heading to
Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway for the May 24 Carquest 300. The race
starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN2 beginning
with its pre-race show at 7 p.m. The race will also be broadcast live
on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.
Stewart returns to the No. 20 Old Spice Toyota June 28 at New
Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon for the Camping World 200.
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