Rain keeps dominant Stewart from Busch win

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- The only thing that could beat Tony Stewart was the rain. And guess what happened.

It rained.

Oh, sure, it stopped, teasing Stewart and his Chance 2 Motorsports team. But just when it looked like the track would dry and give Stewart a chance to rally back to the front, the rain came again to Michigan International Speedway, washing out the Cabela's 250 NASCAR Busch Series race and leaving Stewart stuck in 11th place.

CABELA'S 250 Kevin Harvick wins the rain-shortened Cabela's 250 Play video The race is shortened 15 laps due to rain Play video  •  Unofficial Results  •  Unofficial Standings  •  Saturday's Photo Gallery

That was hardly what the defending Winston Cup champion deserved. Stewart led twice in the rain-shortened race, getting out front for 86 of the 110 laps completed.

And it wasn't like he was barely in front. Before Stewart pitted on Lap 101 and gave up the lead, he was out front by eight seconds. And pulling away.

"We didn't need the rain by any means," Stewart said. "I think everybody knows today who's the fastest car, no matter what the outcome."

That would be the No. 8, driven this week by Stewart. That car, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt, has been fast everywhere, winning three times with Junior behind the wheel.

With Stewart driving, the car was the one to beat at Michigan. But it was hardly easy. Crew chief Kevin "Bono" Mannion directed a lot of chassis adjustments through the weekend to get it handling well.

"This thing is awesome," Stewart said. "We really worked hard (Saturday), Bono and these guys and the Chance 2 crew did a great job. We never really made any long runs. We went out, and we knew we only had 45 minutes for Happy Hour, and we'd go out and run three or four laps. We'd come in and change something, trying to get the balance right.

	Stewart is still without a Busch Series victory in his career. Credit: Autostock

"We got real close to it at the end of Happy Hour, and then we found out that somehow the leads on the scales got switched, and that's why we didn't really gain that much time as we wanted.

"We put it back on there today, and Bono made the changes he wanted to make and we talked about. The thing was perfect right off the get-go. Bono and those guys are doing a great job over there."

But they came seven laps short of pulling off a victory. Had we won, Stewart would have been the first reigning Winston Cup champion to win a Busch Series race since Jeff Gordon won at Phoenix in 1999.

Still, it's been a good weekend for Stewart so far. He was headed to Knoxville, Iowa to watch Danny Lasoski drive Stewart's World of Outlaws sprint car compete in the Knoxville Nationals.

"I'm having a lot of fun," Stewart said. "World of Outlaw sprint car racing at the Knoxville Nationals with Danny the Dude, driving the Busch car for Dale Jr., it's a lot of fun. Not to mention I get to have a lot of fun with the Home Depot car, too. I get the triple play here."