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But if there's one driver who hates fuel-mileage races and the track-position game like God hates sin, it's Tony Stewart. Hates them.
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Stewart, you see, is an old-school driver. Forget about trying to win on strategy, Stewart would rather beat you with his right foot planted on the accelerator.
Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Stewart tried to beat 'em with his right foot. He and crew chief Greg Zipadelli worked all day to get their car better, and Stewart drove it as hard as he could.
But winner Ryan Newman and third-place Jeremy Mayfield stretched their fuel mileage. And with Stewart back in traffic, track position wasn't in his favor, either.
"We never got good track position," Stewart said. "This is a pretty good run considering you get back in the Kansas tornado back there from about eighth, 10th on back, you couldn't do anything. Fun parade in Kansas today."
Stewart somehow managed to smile. Maybe it was a sarcastic smile, but it was a smile.
Maybe it was because Stewart's team is on a bit of a roll now. He's had a tough season defending his Winston Cup championship, falling out of five races in 2003, three by engine failure and two by accident.
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| Stewart was in the top 10 for 158 of the 267 laps at Kansas. Credit: Autostock |
Stewart has one victory this year, and he recently went through a stretch where he finished out of the top 10 eight times in nine races. That came to a halt at Dover, where he finished third. Last week at Talladega, Stewart rallied to another third-place finish.
And now comes a fourth at Kansas, and Stewart has moved himself to eighth in the points. He's an evil 666 points behind Kenseth, but there are still positions to gain.
As long as Stewart doesn't have to play the fuel-mileage or track-position game.
"A guy wins it on fuel mileage today," Stewart said. "I hate to say anything, because Michael Waltrip loves to bash me when I talk about fuel mileage races. Some guys would rather win than finish fourth."
That's Stewart in a nutshell.
"We had a couple of really good pit stops, and we passed a lot of cars to get some track position," Stewart said. "It's amazing how good the car drove once we got in the top five and we could get in relatively clean air. I'm happy for this race team.
"We've got a lot to be proud of. We had one of the best car all day. But we drove away from Ryan Newman all day. Track position means everything. This just proves it."
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