Tony Stewart 34th at Dover

By:
On:
In: NASCAR Cup Series News

Late-race mechanical trouble left No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS driver Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) with a 34th-place finish in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

 

Stewart raced his backup car as high as 15th midway through Sunday’s race and looked to be in contention for a top-10 finish before the car’s track bar broke, rupturing an oil line and ending his race with 58 laps to go.

 

“The track bar broke, and the back of the car flops back and forth,” Stewart said. “I don’t know what more there is to say about that. We had been fighting – the car was acting weird for the last 80 to 100 laps. I’m sure it was already starting to break, and it finally just broke the rest of the way.”

 

Stewart started the 400-mile race on the Monster Mile in 34th but advanced to 21st by the competition caution on lap 40. The No. 14 held its ground the next 150 laps, escaping serious damage when Stewart and Aric Almirola made contact at lap 130. All 40 drivers found it difficult to pass in traffic on the ultra-fast, narrow track.

 

Stewart climbed into the top-15 near the race’s halfway mark as the team worked to improve the handling. A scary moment at lap 241 saw the No. 14 break loose in turn two and head to the wall before Stewart reigned it in and resumed the race. As the race neared the finish, Stewart raced in 22nd. His team began preparing strategy for the final laps, but those plans were dashed when Stewart came over the radio to report the mechanical trouble. He stopped on pit lane before the team sent him to the garage, ending the No. 14’s race.  

 

It was a rough weekend in Dover for SHR.

 

Six minutes after practice began Friday, a mechanical problem on SHR teammate Danica Patrick’s No. 10 Nature’s Bakery/Autism Chevrolet SS caused it to spin at the exit of turn four. Her car dumped oil onto the track and caught fire. Behind Patrick, Stewart hit the oil, as did Jamie McMurray. Both of them had hard contact with the wall, while Patrick’s car kept burning as it went around on the frontstretch. All three drivers were able to climb from their cars and were later released from care center. The No. 14 crew rolled out the backup car, and Stewart logged a few laps in the final minutes of practice. Rain cancelled the qualifying session scheduled for that afternoon, forcing NASCAR to set the starting order based on practice speeds and relegating Stewart to the 34th starting spot.

TSC PR

Speedway Digest Staff
Follow Me
Latest posts by Speedway Digest Staff (see all)
Post Views: 49