Hitting on 20 again
Gamble pays off for winner Stewart
LOUDON, N.H. - It would seem the No. 20
For the eighth time this season the car took the checkered flag, the latest win coming in yesterday's Camping World RV Sales 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Tony Stewart won his fifth race this year with the car. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin also have taken the checkered in the No. 20.
The crew, led by chief Dave Rogers of Marshfield, Vt., has been able to insert a driver, adjust, win, and repeat.
"A wise man once said, 'I can see so far because I stand on the shoulders of giants,' " said Rogers after the race. "These guys [his crew] have done so well."
Stewart won for the third consecutive time in the car, after a fifth caution was unfurled on the 200th, and final, lap. He had won Nationwide races at Talladega April 26 and Darlington May 9.
"It shows the depth of this team today," Stewart said.
Stewart started in eighth place yesterday. Eighteen-year-old Landon Cassill, making just his 15th career start, won the pole but was sent to the rear because of an engine change after qualifying. A collision with Bobby Hamilton Jr. ended Cassill's day after 46 laps.
The critical moment in the race came on Lap 130, when Stewart pitted in third place. Rogers shrewdly chose to replace two tires instead of four, which helped Stewart avoid a traffic jam on pit road. It improved Stewart's track position and enabled him to take the lead five laps later.
"I just watched what everyone was doing and immediately a parking lot erupted," said Rogers, who had an unobstructed view from near the end of pit road. "Immediately they were all coming and I knew we were going to get buried in traffic and have a bad day so I called the audible, went with two tires, and hoped for the best."
Stewart, who also led from Laps 22-31, held off teammates Hamlin and Busch, who finished second and third, respectively.
"We were a top-five car all day and we had the lead for a little bit but we were too tight and guys would catch us and go by," Stewart said. "But that last stop, that's what won us the race and that was Dave's call."
"Tony always drives a brilliant race when he's in our car," Rogers said. "He doesn't push it when he doesn't have to and he beat those guys through traffic. He gives [us] a lot of credit for the stop but I think the driver had a lot to do with it, too."
It was more than just any race for Rogers. It was homecoming.
The New England native first came to the "Magic Mile" in Loudon in 1990 with his father, Dave Rogers Sr., who was in the pits yesterday when his son made the call for a two-tire change.
"For this being a home race for him, it puts a lot of pressure on him," Stewart said. "It puts a lot of pressure on all of us because we want to win for him and his dad."
Rogers tried to rank this win the others. He said Stewart's wins at Talladega and Darlington were both big, but this one was special.
Rogers said the team logged more than 50 hours in the garage over three days to prepare the car. Of course it was important for the team to win the race, said Rogers, "but the last five laps, I realized 'Whoa, this is a pretty big one for me.' When he crossed the stripe, it was very emotional. Darlington was big, Talladega was big, this is probably the biggest."
"It's good, too, because Dad was about off the guest list," added Rogers, laughing next to his father at the postrace news conference. "He's been at a few races and we haven't got it done. I thought he was bad luck but we'll bring him back for a few more."
Considering the success of the No. 20 car, maybe they'll even let him drive.
