Racetrack Insider - News and Views of the Motorsports Industry from Insiders Drew Patey and Buddy Judy

Smoke On Top at Kansas

The Sprint Cup teams visited the mile and half oval in Kansas this weekend for the third race in The Chase for the Championship and it was Tony Stewart's day as he got his championship hopes back on track with his fourth win of the season. Stewart, Safety-Kleen sponsored owner and driver, gambled on his final pit stop and took only two tires while the other contenders took four - two paid off. Stewart's victory has allowed him to close to within 67 points of Mark Martin, who finished in seventh-place and kept his Chase lead. Jeff Gordon had a good afternoon, finishing in second place and closing in on Stewart in the closing laps. Gordon took four tires on the last stop and charged from 5th place to take the second spot at the flag. Greg Biffle was another standout in Kansas. He led the most laps and finished third while holding off Juan Montoya. The Ganassi driver put in another solid run this weekend and it's only a matter of time before he visits victory lane. Denny Hamlin finished fifth ahead of Kasey Kahne and The Chase leader Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, who is going for his fourth Sprint Cup Championship. Dale Earnhardt Jr had a good run going until a pit stop blunder put him a lap down, caused by a missing lug nut on the #88 Chevy and his day came to an end later on when his engine blew up - he finished down in the 30's. The Independence branch led by Rod Kuhn was at the track this weekend servicing the teams and organizing the garage tours. The crew did a great job of setting up the recycling efforts and spreading the Make Green Work message. Now the teams go west to Fontana, another flat two mile oval. Look for Mark Martin and the Hendrick teams to shine again as the season closes in on the final race at Homestead in November.