Tony Stewart celebrated his first victory with his Stewart-Haas Racing team Saturday night by winning the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Stewart passed Roush Fenway Racing’s Matt Kenseth off Turn 2 on the next-to-last lap to take the lead, and Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet pulled away to his first all-star win.
Kenseth finished second, with Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch finished third, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin fourth and Roush Fenway’s Carl Edwards fifth.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Mark Martin was sixth, followed by JGR’s Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, Roush Fenway’s Jamie McMurray and Hendrick’s Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Logano had made it in the race by winning the Sprint Fan Vote, while McMurray advanced by finishing second in the Sprint Showdown.
Stewart started sixth for the
final 10-lap segment, but as leaders in front of him jockeyed for position and slammed together, Stewart tip-toed to the front.
With four laps to go, Stewart passed Busch for third, and a laps later he tried Kenseth off Turn 2 for the lead but slipped back. Stewart regrouped and stayed on Kenseth’s bumper before making the winning pass.
Jeff Gordon led the field to the final segment, but the race went under caution when Hamlin nudged Jimmie Johnson off Turn 2, sending Johnson spinning down the backstretch.
On the next restart, Kyle Busch made a bold move into Turn 1 between Gordon and Kenseth and then passed Gordon off Turn 2 for the lead.
Gordon tried to move inside Busch for the lead, but Ryan Newman made it three-wide off Turn 2. The three were again three-wide off Turn 4, but Gordon slipped into Busch, who bounced off Newman and hit Gordon.
Gordon spun and slid into the outside wall, ending his night. Newman later went to the garage with damage to his car.
Gordon passed Kyle Busch with nine laps remaining to win the third segment. Kenseth finished second, with Kurt Busch third, Kyle Busch fourth and Johnson fifth.
Sam Hornish Jr., the winner of the Sprint Showdown, slipped in Turn 1 and hit Greg Biffle, and both hit the outside wall on the second lap of the third segment.
Kyle Busch used pit strategy to win the second segment, leading all 20 laps of the segment. One 20-lap segment and the final 10-lap segment remain in the all-star race.
Four drivers changed only right-side tires after the first 50-lap segment, and they led the field for the second segment, a 20-lapper: Kyle Busch, Kenseth, McMurray and Hornish Jr.
Busch and Kenseth pulled away as Johnson and Martin, who both changed four tires, moved into third and fourth, respectively.
With six laps to go in the segment, Kenseth made a move inside Busch into Turn 1 but couldn’t complete the pass.
Kenseth finished second, with Johnson third. Martin and Jeff were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Johnson led all 50 laps and won the first segment after winning the pole. Kurt Busch finished second, with Gordon third, Martin fourth and Kyle Busch fifth.
Johnson chose to use the outside lane at the
drop of the green flag instead of the usual inside of the front row. He used the outside lane to his advantage, jumping to the lead on the first lap.
Johnson pulled out to a three-second lead on Kurt Busch before Gordon took over second place on lap 15.
Gordon slowly closed the distance before Busch passed him back on lap 22.
Busch and Gordon moved to within less than a second before a mandatory green-flag pit stop for all drivers on lap 26.
Kyle Busch had been fourth before the stop but slid through his pit stall, and after his JGR crew pushed him back and completed the stop, Busch slipped back to sixth.
Johnson stayed out front after the pit stop and maintained a two-second lead until late in the segment, when Busch and Gordon again closed in.
Johnson nipped Busch at the line as they tried to lap Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Newman.
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