Spring Isn’t Blooming for Stewart
Here we are after the fifth race of the season and still no victory for the No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet.  After a 15th-place start, in front of a sold-out Bristol Motor Speedway, Stewart dropped two places to finish 17th, a lap down.  We’ll give a shout out to the fact that he was the first car one lap down.  Perhaps, if it had been the Food City 600, he could have moved within striking distance, but, as it was only a 500, Stewart ran out of race.

Again, Stewart had to deal with a slippery race car.  He’d reported loose conditions and slowed by lap 240.  Then, by lap 269, he was the last car on the lead lap.  Some long, green-flag runs never gave him the break he needed to get back into contention.  Maybe he needs to speak to his team owner about those handling issues.

Although his teammate, Ryan Newman, garnered a seventh-place finish, giving that team some much-needed momentum, Stewart dropped one position in the standings to seventh —161 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.

Our old friend Juan Pablo Montoya finished the day in ninth.  This may actually be one of those rare instances in which Stewart wishes he actually had finished one position ahead of the No. 42.

CORRECTION: In my last blog, I mistakenly stated that Stewart had claimed his fourth eighth-place finish of the season.  In fact, his finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway was only his third eighth-place finish of the season.  Sorry, Tony.
Posted: 3/23/2009 11:03:22 AM
Comments:
Have you stopped posting because you're too busy stuffing your mouth full of crow?
Posted On: 4/6/2009 6:03:11 AM

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