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Boy was it.
With an electric drafting jolt from Earnhardt Jr., Stewart soared past Ken Schrader with 24 laps to go, then held off a hungry line of suitors to win the Budweiser Shootout for the second-consecutive year, this time by .172 seconds.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Best Shootout finish Credit: Michael Romano |
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After pitting on lap 40 of 70, Stewart reentered the track behind a long line of competitors trailing leader Rusty Wallace. Wallace, who led by nearly three seconds after choosing to take just two tires on the required stop, didn't stay out front long, however. As the long train of cars, led by Schrader, hooked up, it was only a matter of time before they caught and disposed of Wallace.
Just as Schrader took the lead, Stewart yanked his Pontiac to the low line in an attempt to pass. Junior chose to follow Stewart rather than Schrader, a move that eventually handed Stewart the victory.
"I never once had an opportunity to pass him, never even got a run on him," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I was trying to help him because we worked together for most of last year's shootout. I was sticking with him, but there's a point in time when you decide to try and win for yourself. I never had that opportunity."
Jeff Gordon saw an opportunity late, and staged a furious run to the front. Gordon, who started death last in the 22-car field, slowly worked his way into the lead five-car draft. After running along in fifth position for most of the race, Gordon jerked his car to the high-line past Schrader and onto Junior's bumper.
He then went high to pass Junior. Their cars touched, bounced off one another and then ran side-by-side to the finish line with Junior a blink-of-an-eye ahead of Gordon.
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Jeff Gordon: Late rally Credit: ASP |
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"Man, that was a lot of fun," Gordon said. "(The top-five cars) stretched away from the other guys. But I knew I wouldn't be able to do much if I was the last guy in the top-five. I got to fourth and was able to start making some moves. Me and Junior were bumpin' and bangin'. That was a good time."
Fun maybe, but a moot point if you ask Junior.
"I think the race was over with about five laps to go," Junior said. "With this aero package, you can actually trail brake (which means) using a little bit of brake to slow your car down where it gets the guy behind you right up behind you.
"That way, the leader loses all his steam without you pushing him. You get a run on him, and you're five-mph faster than him and you can make the pass. But every time I let off, Tony let off. So he was counteracting everything we were trying do to."
The race saw six different leaders, Stewart being the most proficient of the bunch. Overall, he led 31 laps in a race that lasted 58 minutes.
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