By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Monday, August 16, 2004
Tony Stewart had a stomach ache during the Sirius at the Glen NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race Aug. 15 at Watkins Glen International, but it was Ryan Newman who needed some Tums at the end of the race.
Stewart overcame stomach cramps to win the road-course race for his second victory of the season. Newman, on the other hand, had a queasy feeling in his gut because he placed 26th and fell out of the top 10, to 12th, for the first time since April 18 at Martinsville, Va.
For Newman, driver of the ALLTEL Dodge, his nosedive could not have come at any worse time. Only four races remain to decide the top-10 cutoff for the final 10-race Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.
Jeremy Mayfield is feeling good all over. He benefited from Newman's second straight poor finish and a seventh-place finish at Watkins Glen to jump two spots into that desirable 10th position in the standings. Mayfield, driver of the Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, has climbed back from 16th in points in mid-May. He was still 15th after the Dover race June 6.
This doesn't mean Mayfield, who placed 11th in the Brickyard 400 on Aug. 8 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is secure in his new position. Teammate Kasey Kahne is just 24 points behind in 11th and Newman just five points behind Kahne. Mark Martin finished third in Sunday's race and holds 13th, trailing the 10th position by 72 points.
Two-time Brickyard 400 champion Dale Jarrett could do no better than 26th at Watkins Glen and is 14th, 87 points behind Mayfield.
The top seven in the standings remained the same although Jimmie Johnson, driver of the Lowe's Chevrolet, experienced his second straight poor finish after winning at Pocono. He fell out after 23 laps and finished 40th.
This allowed teammate Jeff Gordon, who started second in his DuPont Chevrolet, to close within 40 points of Johnson's lead despite his own 21st-place finish at The Glen. Dale Earnhardt Jr., finally recovered from his fiery sports-car accident July 18 at Sonoma, Calif., drove his Budweiser Chevrolet to fifth and is only 112 points behind Johnson.
Stewart began to experience stomach pains about 15 laps into the race, and his Joe Gibbs Racing team began searching for a possible relief driver, finding Boris Said. A drink during a pit stop helped some, and Stewart gutted it out to edge road course specialist Ron Fellows for his 19th career victory.
When he pulled his The Home Depot Chevrolet into Victory Lane, Stewart immediately was placed on a gurney and taken to his motorhome. He returned later to participate in the post-race ceremonies.
Matt Kenseth, Elliott Sadler and Kurt Busch finished ninth, 15th and 10th, respectively, to hold onto their fifth, sixth and seventh positions in the points. Kevin Harvick brought his GM Goodwrench Chevrolet home sixth and moved around Bobby Labonte into eighth in the points. Harvick has only a three-point advantage over Labonte, but a 61-point edge over 10th place Mayfield.
Johnson and Gordon are close to clinching a place in the top 10 following the Chevy Monte Carlo 400 on Sept. 11 at Richmond, Va. They need only an average finish of 35th and 31st, respectively, in the next four races. Earnhardt needs an average of 24th and Stewart 19th. Only 27 drivers remain who mathematically could get a top-10 finish.
The next race is the GFS Marketplace 400 on Aug. 22 at Michigan International Speedway.
INs
1. Jimmie Johnson 3,143 points
2. Jeff Gordon -40
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -128
4. Tony Stewart -192
5. Matt Kenseth -267
6. Elliott Sadler -351
7. Kurt Busch -389
8. Kevin Harvick -426
9. Bobby Labonte -429
10. Jeremy Mayfield -487
OUTs
11. Kasey Kahne -511
12. Ryan Newman -516
13. Mark Martin -559
14. Dale Jarrett -574
15. Jamie McMurray -586
16. Casey Mears -691
17. Michael Waltrip -772
18. Rusty Wallace -781
19. Robby Gordon -854
20. Sterling Marlin 865
21. Terry Labonte -889
22. Brian Vickers -899
23. Jeff Burton -906
24. Greg Biffle -911
25. Joe Nemechek -948
26. Scott Wimmer -1,031
27. Ricky Rudd -1,077
28. Ward Burton -1,162
29. Brendan Gaughan -1,262
30. Scott Riggs -1,304
31. Kyle Petty -1,208
32. Ken Schrader -1,325
33. Jeff Green -1,328
34. Ricky Craven -1,361
35. Dave Blaney -1,848
36. Jimmy Spencer -1,859
37. Johnny Sauter -1,926
38. Derrike Cope -2,254
39. Morgan Shepherd -2,497
40. Kevin Lepage -2,561
41. Todd Bodine -2,624
42. John Andretti -2,683
43. Kirk Shelmerdine -2,706
44. Hermie Sadler -2,730
45. Bill Elliott -2,733
46. Bobby Hamilton Jr. -2,811
47. PJ Jones -2,827
48. Johnny Benson -2,872
49. Carl Long -2,922
50. Scott Pruett -2,936
51. Joe Ruttman -2,936
52. Andy Hillenburg -2,937
53. Larry Foyt -2,949
54. Geoffrey Bodine 2,951
55. Stanton Barrett -2,959
56. Ron Fellows -2,973
57. Mike Wallace -2,973
58. Boris Said -2,993
59. Larry Gunselman -2,996
60. Kerry Earnhardt -3,006
61. Tony Raines -3,027
62. Kenny Wallace -3,030
63. Klaus Graf -3,031
64. Tom Hubert -3,033
65. Kyle Busch -3,036
66. Jim Inglebright -3,037
67. Andy Belmont -3,045
68. Mike Skinner -3,046
69. Eric McClure -3,053
70. Mike Bliss -3073
71. Tony Ave -3,073
72. Ted Christopher -3,088
73. Austin Cameron -3,094
74. Jason Jarrett -3,100
75. Brandon Ash -3,103
76. Greg Sacks -3,106
77. Jason Leffler -3,109
78. Randy LaJoie -3,109
79. Chad Blount -3,109 ***
2005 tickets: The 12th Brickyard 400 is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005. Customers who are upgrading or purchasing Brickyard 400 tickets for the first time should act quickly to increase their chances of obtaining their desired seats.
To purchase tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, (317) 492-6700 locally or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
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