Stewart's Talladega slump remains even in dominance

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- It's no secret Tony Stewart has never won at Talladega. In 19 races at the track he's been the runner-up six times and in the top 10 in 11 events. Sunday's Aaron's 499 looked to be lucky No. 20.

Stewart led a race-high 61 laps and appeared to be on his way to Victory Lane. But on Lap 144 of the 188-lap event, Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were battling for the lead when Stewart's No. 20 Toyota had a tire go down, pushing him into the wall.

Aaron's 499

Official Results

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Kyle Busch	Toyota
2.	Juan Montoya	Dodge
3.	Denny Hamlin	Toyota
4.	David Ragan	Ford
5.	Brian Vickers	Toyota
6.	Travis Kvapil	Ford
7.	Casey Mears	Chevrolet
8.	Ryan Newman	Dodge
9.	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet
10.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet

• Complete Results | Lap-by-Lap
• Race Video | Photo Gallery

Stewart was able to remain on the lead lap, but restarted 31st and had a ton of spots to make up.

"The majority of the day we had a great day going," Stewart said. "We were really in good shape in this car until I had the right-front go down and then I got us in the back. As late as it is in the race with 15 laps to go, you've got to sit there and do what you can to get those spots back."

Stewart was able to work his way up to 13th when he and Earnhardt bumped, causing Bobby Labonte to spin on Lap 173, collecting Stewart and five other cars and ending the No. 20's day (watch video).

"I thought we were all right and the closer we got to Turn 1 the smaller that hole got so I was as close to Bobby as I could get and the hole closed up," Stewart said. "It's just what happens late in these races. If it was my fault, I'm sorry. By looking at the video, though, I don't feel like I did anything wrong, really."

When good cars go bad
Sunday's running of the Aaron's 499 was clean for most of the day. The first 166 laps saw just five cautions -- two for debris and three for single-car incidents. But the final 13 laps saw three cautions, two for the Big One, including the one on the final lap that ended the race under yellow and ruined possible top-10 days for multiple cars (watch video).

"We were in good position toward the end but got there just a little too early," said Jimmie Johnson, who finished 13th. "[Michael Waltrip] and I were working well together but I think he blew up at the end there with me pushing him. We got some damage on the last lap, but we came out OK."

Johnson was one of the lucky ones. Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick was on the move the final lap until bad luck ruined his day.

"We were in a good pack moving up in the field there at the end, then we got caught in the big wreck on the last lap," Harvick said after finishing 24th. "Wish we had a better finish but it could be much, much worse." (Continued)