Tony Stewart Wins Again at The Glen

Once again rain tested the patience of NASCAR fans and drivers but the race went off on Monday under mostly sunny skies at Watkins Glen International. The day may have been new but the result looked familiar. For the fifth time in eight years Tony Stewart picked up the win at The Glen.

Qualifying

Jimmie Johnson topped qualifying by just .008 seconds over Kurt Busch. Denny Hamlin and Marcos Ambrose started in row number two while David Stremme rounded out the top five.

Drop Of The Green

For the third time in 2009 and the second week in a row rain forced the race to Monday. The weather was beautiful as the green flag finally flew shortly after noon. <P> Kurt Busch won the battle through turn one from the outside lane. He pulled away as Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin battled for second. Hamlin got the spot and then leaders settled into single-file order for the early racing.

Storylines

For the second year in a row Watkins Glen reminded drivers and fans just how dangerous this sport can be even on the relatively slower road course.

Kasey Kahne got loose while battling for position on lap 62 and pushed Sam Hornish up into the grass. Hornish slammed into the tire barrier and bounced back across the track right in front of Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton. Gordon and Burton both hit Hornish's car head on and ricocheted into the guardrail.

This was as hard a hit as we have ever seen at Watkins Glen. Thankfully everyone has climbed out of their cars and seem to be ok.

Chasing The Checkers

When NASCAR crews cleaned up the mess from the Hornish/Gordon/Burton incident there were 24 laps to go and all of the pit stops were complete for the day. Kyle Busch had the lead but chose the outside lane on the restart. This proved to be a bad decision as Tony Stewart was able to beat him through turn one and take the lead. The rest of the top five were Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle and Juan Montoya.

Marcos Ambrose worked his way past Busch for second and started chipping away at Tony Stewart's lead.

Another caution set up the final dash to the checkers with 17 laps go to. Stewart picked the inside lane with Marcos Ambrose beside him for the restart. Stewart lead the train into turn one with Ambrose hot on his heels.

Tony Stewart was hunted but kept Marcos Ambrose behind him and claimed the victory in the 2009 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen. This was Stewart's fifth win in the last eight Watkins Glen races.

Top Ten

1. Tony Stewart
2. Marcos Ambrose
3. Carl Edwards
4. Kyle Busch
5. Greg Biffle
6. Juan Montoya
7. Kurt Busch
8. Max Papis
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Denny Hamlin

The Points

With the win Tony Stewart continues to extend his lead and the top six positions didn't change as a result of today's race.

At the other end of the top twelve Matt Kenseth slipped one spot to twelfth overall but he remains in a Chase spot. Kyle Busch is still thirteenth overall but cut his deficit to 58 points behind Kenseth.

The top twelve are now:

1. Tony Stewart
2. Jimmie Johnson -260
3. Jeff Gordon -342
4. Kurt Busch -481
5. Denny Hamlin -536
6. Carl Edwards -553
7. Juan Montoya -602
8. Kasey Kahne -629
9. Ryan Newman -656
10. Greg Biffle -665
11. Mark Martin -667
12. Matt Kenseth -698