Post by dalejrfan on Sept 3, 2005 14:03:59 GMT -5
Tony Stewart's eighth-place finish last Saturday night in Bristol hardly caused a ripple of excitement in NASCAR, even though he earned the result by jumping 11 positions in the final 30 laps.
After all, the 2002 champion has been setting a higher standard recently.
With five wins in his last nine starts and no finish worse than eighth, Stewart is riding the hottest streak in NASCAR's top stock car series since Jeff Gordon won seven of nine and closed the season with 20 consecutive finishes of seventh or better -- 18 of them third or better -- in 1998, on the way to one of his four championships.
But now that he is assured a spot in the second Chase for the championship, the 10-race playoff that begins in two weeks, Stewart notes that he has won nothing -- yet.
Once the drivers get through California and Richmond, the top 10 drivers in the points -- as well as any others in the now unlikely situation of being within 400 points of the leader -- will have their points reset. Any margin Stewart builds over the rest of the field will be mostly wiped away, with each of the drivers in the Chase starting the 10-race dash separated in increments of five points.
"For so many years, the Cup Series was about winning the title based upon what guy had the most points at the end of the year because he was the most consistent," Stewart said. "The Chase for the championship is just a change in time.
"I'm not sure it really matters what I feel about it. It is what it is. I think it can be a positive thing for our sport, but we'll just sit back and see what happens. I'm not sure if any of us like or dislike it, but we can't do anything about it. Its second year hasn't even started, so we'll just ride it out and see how it works."
While Stewart and several of the other drivers at the top of the standings can just relax and go racing over the next two weeks, there are seven drivers feeling the pressure.
www.nascar.com/2005/news/headlines/cup/09/02/tstewart_chase.ap/index.html
After all, the 2002 champion has been setting a higher standard recently.
With five wins in his last nine starts and no finish worse than eighth, Stewart is riding the hottest streak in NASCAR's top stock car series since Jeff Gordon won seven of nine and closed the season with 20 consecutive finishes of seventh or better -- 18 of them third or better -- in 1998, on the way to one of his four championships.
But now that he is assured a spot in the second Chase for the championship, the 10-race playoff that begins in two weeks, Stewart notes that he has won nothing -- yet.
Once the drivers get through California and Richmond, the top 10 drivers in the points -- as well as any others in the now unlikely situation of being within 400 points of the leader -- will have their points reset. Any margin Stewart builds over the rest of the field will be mostly wiped away, with each of the drivers in the Chase starting the 10-race dash separated in increments of five points.
"For so many years, the Cup Series was about winning the title based upon what guy had the most points at the end of the year because he was the most consistent," Stewart said. "The Chase for the championship is just a change in time.
"I'm not sure it really matters what I feel about it. It is what it is. I think it can be a positive thing for our sport, but we'll just sit back and see what happens. I'm not sure if any of us like or dislike it, but we can't do anything about it. Its second year hasn't even started, so we'll just ride it out and see how it works."
While Stewart and several of the other drivers at the top of the standings can just relax and go racing over the next two weeks, there are seven drivers feeling the pressure.
www.nascar.com/2005/news/headlines/cup/09/02/tstewart_chase.ap/index.html