DARLINGTON, S.C. — Darlington Raceway may be sporting new asphalt, but it was the same old story in Friday’s Nationwide Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200 as Tony Stewart drove the No. 20 Old Spice Toyota to the team’s fourth-straight victory and Joe Gibbs Racing’s sixth in a row.
Stewart’s victory was his fourth of the season and the sixth of his Nationwide Series career, but marked the first time the two-time Sprint Cup champion has visited victory lane at the 1.366-mile oval.
“With the rich heritage and history here at Darlington, to win here and be the first guy to win after they resurfaced it, it’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. It’s just cool to win at Darlington,” Stewart said. “You think back to guys like David Pearson who were so good here…It’s just fun. This series is so deep in history in general and this is one of those tracks that history goes as deep as NASCAR does, for the most part. To finally win here is just a huge honor to me.”
Stewart took the lead early, moving past Clint Bowyer from his third-place starting spot to take the race lead after a lap-12 restart. From there, it was smooth sailing for Stewart, who put lapped cars between he and the fast-closing Kyle Busch.
But as Stewart made easy work of the field, his closest competitors fell one by one on the track tagged “too tough to tame.”
The first to stumble was Busch. Going three wide into turn one on lap 101, Busch made contact with the lapped car of Brad Keselowski, then slammed driver’s side first into the wall, putting an end to Busch’s quest for his fourth series victory of the season.
Matt Kenseth, who took the top spot when the leaders pitted under caution on lap 87, appeared to have a car strong enough to battle Stewart. Kenseth, though, pitted abruptly for a loose wheel on lap 121, handing the lead back to Stewart. Eight laps later and a lap down to the leaders, Kenseth’s No. 17 CitiFinancial Ford drilled the frontstretch wall, bringing out the red flag and ending Kenseth’s night.
“We were a lap down and I was trying to catch up where I thought the lucky dog was, and I just let it get away from me,” Kenseth said. “I was frustrated and mad at the moment and driving a little faster than I knew the car would take me, and it just got away from me.”
Stewart continued to pace the field, pulling away from second-place Mark Martin once the race resumed with 13 laps to go. But even Martin, who has eight Nationwide Series wins at Darlington, could not avoid trouble.
On a lap-144 restart, Martin’s No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet ran out of fuel at the start/finish line, and mayhem ensued as Jason Leffler, Mike Bliss, Mike Wallace and Kelly Bires collided behind him on the frontstretch, bringing out a second red flag period.
The race resumed for a green-white-checkered finish, and Stewart easily pulled away from the field, taking the checkered flag by .814 second over Bowyer.
Stewart credited crew chief Dave Rogers and the crew for getting him to victory lane.
“All three of us on the team (Stewart, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin) have won in this car, so it’s not one driver winning all of the races. It’s the team. It’s been proof of that,” Stewart said. “It’s easy to point the finger at where the success lies and where it comes from, and it starts with Dave. It starts with him and his guys.
“People kind of make fun of you when you say it is an honor. It is. It is an honor to drive for this team this year.”
Bowyer now has a 112 point lead over Busch in standings.