Great at Eighth
The motorsports media seem all abuzz over Tony Stewart’s fourth eighth-place finish of the 2009 season.  It is a testament to Stewart as a driver that he survived early trouble and raced back to a top-10 finish.  But, are we really that excited over eighth?

Stewart started the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the 11th spot.  It wasn’t long before all 43 drivers were dealing with ill-handling race cars.  The problems with the No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet had Stewart two laps down by lap 100 — the first lap was lost after a green-flag pit stop that was quickly followed by a rare caution for crew-member safety.  The second was lost after the restart, when he was in 18th, the last car on the lead lap, and his car continued to handle poorly.

Crew chief Darian Grubb continued to work on the No. 14 and Stewart began to make up some time.  As a result, he was able to stay in front of leader Kurt Busch to get one lap back following a restart.  He finally got back on the lead lap after getting the “lucky dog” pass.  A two-tire stop on lap 221 put Stewart back on the track in the 13th spot.

He worked his way up to eighth, but couldn’t get around Kasey Kahne for seventh before the checkered flag waved.

The eighth-place showing gained him two positions in the standings; he’s moved to sixth.

If that’s the measuring stick, then Stewart is, indeed, having a successful season.  But, we are celebrating eighth?  It’s better than ninth — or 27th, like Juan Pablo Montoya.
Posted: 3/10/2009 9:03:59 AM
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