Sprint Cup - Stewart Duels Report

Daytona, Feb. 24, 2012: After a strong second-place showing last Saturday night in the non-points Budweiser Shootout at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Tony Stewart continued to flex his muscles in Thursday’s Gatorade Duel, twin qualifying races that set the 43-car field for the season-opening Daytona 500.

Stewart improved his finishing position by one, winning his Gatorade Duel race in convincing fashion by leading three times for a race-high 21 laps, including the final 18 around the 2.5-mile oval. The win places the three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion third in the starting lineup for Sunday’s 54th Daytona 500.

“This Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy has been awesome all weekend,” Stewart said. “This thing has been fast, so we’re hoping to be there at the end on Sunday.”

The win was Stewart’s 17th overall triumph at Daytona, including previous Gatorade Duel victories in 2005 and 2007. Stewart now stands alone at second on Daytona’s all-time win list, surpassing 2011 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Allison and trailing only the legendary Dale Earnhardt, who has 34 victories at Daytona and was a part of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame induction class of 2010.

Despite all of that success, Stewart remains winless in the Daytona 500 as he heads into his 14th career start in the Great American Race.

“To be able to come out and have two really good strong and solid races, back-to-back, is an awesome start for us,” Stewart said. “It’s good momentum for the crew – everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing – to carry that momentum from last year. It gives you confidence going into Sunday.”

Forty-nine drivers were split among the two Duels, putting 25 drivers in the first 150-mile race and 24 drivers in the second 150-mile race.

“We only raced against half the field in this qualifier,” Stewart said. “It’s a long race on Sunday, and a lot can happen. Even though we had success today, it’s no guarantee that can happen Sunday.

“I think we showed the rest of the field that we have a car that has good speed. That’s a really strong point, just like Trevor Bayne (defending Daytona 500 winner) showed last year that he had a strong car, so people wanted to go with him. Hopefully that will work for us on Sunday, too.”