Tony Stewart charges to victory in Toyota/Save Mart 350

A last lap maneuver in Turn 11 stole the lead from Denny Hamlin and probably launched Tony Stewart to a berth in NASCAR's Chase.|

SONOMA - Tony Stewart, pugnacious veteran of 18 seasons in NASCAR’s highest circuit and devotee of dirt tracks and go-kart battles, might be harder to pass than any driver of his generation. But Denny Hamlin got him.

Less than a mile later, Stewart got him back.

In one of the most heart-pounding finishes ever at Sonoma Raceway, Stewart passed Hamlin in the final turn of the final lap and took the checkered flag Sunday in what will go down as his final Toyota/Save Mart 350.

“If I left anything on the table and ran second and felt like I left anything out there, I was going to be a miserable A-hole the rest of the ride home,” Stewart said afterward.

As it is, the flight out of Northern California promises to be a lot gloomier for Hamlin, who ran his finest race at Sonoma, led for 33 laps but ultimately lost the victory with one crucial mistake.

Joey Logano finished third, pole sitter Carl Edwards fourth and Martin Truex Jr. fifth, but it’s first and second that will be remembered for years to come.

The race’s final sequences were set up by a brilliant piece of strategy, or perhaps a case of blind luck, by Stewart’s race team. With 24 laps (of 110) to go, the No. 14 car was running out of tire tread and had just enough fuel to die one lap short of the finish line unless Stewart conserved. He would have to pit sometime. And monitoring the NASCAR feed on his radio headset, crew chief Mike Bugarewicz was noticing a lot of chatter about debris on the track.

Anyway, Stewart was stuck in the middle of the pack, running a lackluster 17th at the time.

“At the end of the day we weren’t gonna have an opportunity to win just doing what everybody else did, so we had to take a chance here and pit early in hopes that we would get a caution,” Bugarewicz said. “… It could have worked out not in favor of us and we could have lost points today. Instead, it worked out.”

Just as Stewart pulled into pit road, race officials ordered a caution flag. Jimmie Johnson had lost a spring rubber between Turns 6 and 7, and they had to clear the track. With tires at a premium, just about everyone decided to pit. When they re-entered the course, Stewart was sitting up front.

The race was far from over, though. Twenty-two laps remained, and Hamlin and Truex would hound Stewart for the remainder of the race. Fortunately for Stewart, those other two wound up expending more energy dueling one another for second position.

By Lap 109, Hamlin had emerged as the primary threat. Stewart wheel-hopped in Turn 7 on that lap, but Hamlin wasn’t close enough to capitalize. When it happened again on the final lap, though, Hamlin passed Stewart on the outside as the crowd inhaled a collective gasp.

A three-time Cup champion and renowned tactician, Stewart hadn’t finished better than 25th in the points standings since 2012. He had gone 84 races without a win. This year he missed the first eight events of the season after breaking his back in an accident while riding an all-terrain vehicle. Stewart has announced that this will be his final Sprint Cup season. Now, half a lap from a redemptive victory, he stumbled.

Realistically, Stewart had just one more opportunity to pass Hamlin, the hairpin right known as Turn 11. Unrealistically, Hamlin allowed him to do just that.

“I didn’t run a low enough line in Turn 11 from wheel-hopping in Turn 7,” Hamlin said. “I got the rear (tires) hot, wheel-hopped it a little big again, got out of line and obviously gave him the inside line.”

Stewart took it.

“When he went into 11, I was probably more surprised than anybody,” the winner said. “As good as he was braking into 11 all day, I couldn’t believe he missed the corner. … You can’t crack the door open with me on the last corner of the last lap and expect me to not take it. I’ll kick the door in or drive a bulldozer through it to keep it open.”

Hamlin tried to cut off Stewart’s angle but it was too late. Hamlin bumped into his former teammate, then swerved into the outside wall before righting his course.

It was Bugarewicz’s first as crew chief.

Stewart, who has a reputation for aggressive racing, thought Hamlin might be mad at him after their contact on the last turn.

“I sat there as soon as they threw the checkered,” Stewart said. “I didn’t slow down right away because I’m like, the faster I go, the less of a running start he’s going to have to plow into me. But he pulled up, he saw me and thumbs up, and I’m like, ‘Great, I didn’t want to have to fight today.’ ”

For Stewart, the triumph wasn’t simply an emotional boost. It will likely get him into the Chase, NASCAR’s seven-race playoff system. To guarantee a spot, a driver must win at least one race and finish within the top 30 in points. Because of his late start, Stewart entered the weekend 36th in the standings; now he’s 32nd, nine points off the pace. And he has his victory.

Kevin Harvick, who finished sixth with a late push in the Toyota/Save Mart 350, retained his points lead. Kurt Busch is second and Edwards third.

If anyone could sympathize with Hamlin’s plight on Sunday, it was A.J. Allmendinger. The Los Gatos native had qualified second for the race and ran well all afternoon. After the pit stop that boosted Stewart, Allmendinger was set to be sixth in line. But his pit crew let a tire drift over the boundary line into Kyle Larson’s box and Allmendinger was penalized and had to start at the back of the pack. He finished 14th.

Clint Bowyer, who won here in 2012, had an electrical fire under his dashboard and had to abandon his car after five laps.

For the most part, though, it was a day of little drama. There were four caution flags for a total of 10 laps, and no real wrecks.

“I couldn’t believe how clean a race it was,” Stewart said. “Where has that race been for the last eight years we’ve been coming here? Normally you get guys driving through each other and over each other and running each other off the road and everything. We just didn’t see a lot of that today.”

Thanks to Stewart, though, we saw a hell of a finish.

You can reach staff writer Phil Barber at 521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.