BRISTOL – Tony Stewart charged to his first top-10 finish of the year in Sunday’s rain-delayed Food City 500 in Support of Steve Byrnes.
Climbing from his 21st place starting position, the driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet methodically muscled his way to the front.
While Stewart found himself at the center of the cause of the 10th caution of the night for an accident in Turn 3 involving AJ Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne and Casey Mears, Stewart was able to escape the scene with minimal damage and continue his hunt for best finish of the season.
Staying out of trouble and taking advantage of avoiding a late race tangle involving Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard and Justin Allgaier and a sputtering Austin Dillon, the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion found himself in a comfortable position.
Dodging rain drops, Stewart restarted sixth and maintained the spot during the green-white-checkered finish to earn his first top-10 finish since a fourth at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last fall.
He also bettered a 14th place finish at Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway last month.
After the race, Stewart seemed somewhat satisfied with the finish, but not thrilled.
“Yeah, no, it was a day. It was all day,” he said. “It was a decent run for us. I’m proud of Chad (Johnston, crew chief) and all these guys. We have just been battling and battling. Proud of them.”
While the finish was a step in the right direction for Stewart-Haas Racing, there’s still plenty of work to be done.
Propelling from 32nd to 28th in the championship standings, Stewart remains miles behind his Stewart-Haas Racing teammates in the championship standings. Kurt Busch is closest in 22nd, competing in just five races.
Danica Patrick sits 13th after surpassing Janet Guthrie for the most top-10 finishes by a female driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition after an impressive ninth place finish in Thunder Valley.
And, even though two-time winner this season Kevin Harvick endured troubles at Bristol Sunday, he remains atop of the championship standings with a 30-point cushion over second place Joey Logano.
But, as the Sprint Cup Series has shown, all you have to do is win and you’re in. And there’s plenty of time for Stewart to accomplish that – now that he’s inside the top-30 in the championship standings.
Time will obviously tell.
The series heads to Richmond (Va.) International Raceway next for some Saturday night short track racing – and this could be the start of some much-needed momentum for Stewart, Johnston and the entire No. 14 SHR team.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01
