Stewart miffed, Johnson sorry for late pinch in wall (cont'd)

Despite having one of the top cars all day, a pit stop miscue on Lap 143 nearly wrecked Stewart's chances.

"We had a pit stop where we lost a lug nut off the left-rear tire, I guess," Stewart said. "Instead of leaving and having to come in and redo it, the guys took the extra time to get it on there.

"It's kind of like golf, it's all about recovery. We came in fourth or something and came out 13th."

But the No. 20 crew was up to the challenge for the rest of the afternoon, putting Stewart back in prime track position. Within 30 laps, Stewart was back in the top 10. By Lap 200, he was fifth.

Following a restart for a four-car accident involving Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, David Reutimann and Brian Vickers, Stewart motored around Johnson for the lead and held it for 76 of the last 82 laps.

"The guys rebounded from that stop and had really good pit stops under green there," he said. "We made up a lot of track position and got a lot of spots, and the next thing you know, we're back in the top five and racing for the win there at the end."

No matter what, Stewart wasn't willing to jump to conclusions about the incident with Johnson until they had talked.

"You know, we're both racing hard with three laps to go," Stewart said. "You don't know if his spotter told him he was clear so he kept coming. You don't know what the circumstances are without talking to him.

"It is what it is. At the end, he's in Victory Lane and we're here, talking about finishing second."

Johnson was apologetic afterwards, and with good reason. With Bristol next on the schedule, trying to avoid getting paid back for previous transgressions is paramount on the high-banked half-mile.

"I have the utmost respect for Tony Stewart as a racer and I think we showed that in the laps leading up to that, racing side-by-side," Johnson said. "He's a true champion and somebody I truly enjoy racing with."