Clockwork Orange
It was a rather methodical Chase for Tony Stewart, but it was good enough. Despite not winning once in the final 10 races, Stewart won his second Cup championship Sunday. Greg Biffle won the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway for his series-high sixth victory.

(NASCAR.com)

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Tony Stewart smokes the tires after clinching the Cup championship by 35 points over Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. Credit: Autostock

15th-place finish propels Stewart to second title
Biffle wins season-ending Ford 400, finishes runner-up in points
By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
November 20, 2005
08:37 PM EST (01:37 GMT)


HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Tony Stewart was smooth and steady for an entire race. An entire season. An entire championship run.

Stewart cruised to his second NASCAR championship in four years Sunday, capping an uncharacteristically calm season for the former Bad Boy. He won races, kept his temper in check and avoided every major incident long enough to cement himself as one of the greatest drivers of his time.



Inside the Numbers
Multiple Cup championships
Rank Driver No.

1. Dale Earnhardt 7
Richard Petty 7
3. Jeff Gordon 4
4. David Pearson 3
Lee Petty 3
Darrell Waltrip 3
Cale Yarborough 3
8. Buck Baker 2
Tim Flock 2
Ned Jarrett 2
Terry Labonte 2
Tony Stewart 2
Herb Thomas 2
Joe Weatherly 2


Needing only to run a clean race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, he hovered just outside the top 10 and away from any potential danger. He ended up 15th, winning the title by 35 points over Greg Biffle, who won the Ford 400 for the second consecutive year by besting teammate Mark Martin in a door-to-door finish.

Stewart became just the 14th driver in NASCAR history with more than one championship and joined four-time winner Jeff Gordon as the only active full-time drivers with multiple titles.

"Once you win more than one, it definitely puts you into an elite group and you are going to be looked upon different," Gordon said. "You win one, you are looked at differently. Win two and it takes you to another level."

Gordon, who failed to qualify for the Chase for the championship, rallied during the final 10 races and finished the year 11th in points. That was good for a $1 million prize and a trip to the series' banquet in New York.

For Stewart, it was the perfect finale to what's been a perfect season both on and off the track.

He had a tortured run to the title in 2002, punching a photographer the lowest point of a rollercoaster season pocked by bad behavior and blowups. So he'll treasure this title, a gift to the team that stuck with him through thick and thin.

After an emotional embrace with crew chief Greg Zipadelli -- interrupted by chants of "Climb the fence!" from his fans -- he dedicated the win to his Joe Gibbs Racing crew members, who showered him in Coke from the risers above.

"I put the team through a lot of hell ever since I've been with them but they never gave up on me," Stewart said. "Zippy didn't want to win it the way we did in 2002. It was nice to do it and do it right."

The championship was the third for Gibbs, now coach of the Washington Redskins, and first for his son, J.D., who took over the leadership role when his father went to the NFL.

"Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate," Joe Gibbs said over a telephone line while Stewart accepted the Nextel Cup trophy, "and I'm picking up the tab!"

"You're darn right you're picking up the tab!" replied Stewart, who won at least $5.8 million with the title.

Indeed, Gibbs was instrumental in getting Stewart to finally settle down.

One day during the offseason, he ordered the driver into the race shop for a heart-to-heart talk with his team. He wanted the crew to open their hearts and make Stewart see just how difficult he made their jobs.

When the meeting was over, Stewart was a changed man.

He moved back to Indiana into his childhood home, surrounding himself with family and old friends who had a calming effect on his frequent mood swings. It showed in his personality and in his performance, especially during the summer when he turned it up a notch to become the hottest driver in NASCAR.

Reeling off a string of five victories in seven races, nothing could beat Stewart, not even his old nemesis -- Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The track had tormented him his entire career, denying him time after time in both stock and Indy cars.

But not even Indy could derail Stewart this season. He finally scored a win at the Brickyard in August.

"To win at home in the Brickyard was a race of a lifetime," he said.

For the first time all season it pushed Stewart into the points lead, where he would stay for 13 of the final 14 weeks. He was on top at the start of the 10-race Chase for the championship and fell off the leaderboard just once, when he dropped to fifth after Round 2.

Stewart raced his way back on top a week later and never looked back, notching six top 10 finishes during the Chase. By the time he got to Sunday's finale, he needed only to finish ninth or better to clinch the title.

Only Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Biffle had a chance to beat him, and Johnson saw his hopes squashed 126 laps into the race when an apparent leak in his right rear tire finally gave out. The tire exploded and sent him smashing into the wall.

A two-time runner up for the title the past two seasons, Johnson desperately wanted to avoid falling short yet again. But as the cars raced around him as he stood dejected in the garage, Johnson would have traded anything to be back out there with a shot at second. Instead, he dropped all the way back to fifth in a frustrating end to his season.

"I look back at the season and we did everything we could," he said. "So I'm disappointed. I lived my whole life for this ... I'll be back next year."

With Johnson out, Stewart only needed to keep an eye on Edwards and Biffle. It wasn't difficult -- both of them were running at the front of the pack, far ahead of Stewart.

But as long as he didn't make a colossal mistake, the title was his to lose. So he watched as the Roush Racing teammates battled for the win, focusing only on keeping his Chevrolet off the wall and on the lead lap.

He succeeded, and some 45 minutes after crossing the finish line, he was cleared to climb the fence for one final celebration.

• Feb. 20 -- Stewart led a race-high 107 laps in the season-opening Daytona 500 and appeared to be the driver to beat, but faded late to a seventh-place finish. He was baited by rival crew chief Chad Knaus after the race, but in the first sign of a calmer Stewart, walked away.

• April 23 -- Finishes a season-worst 33rd at Phoenix to drop to 14th in the points standings, the lowest Stewart would fall all season.

• June 26 -- Scored his first victory of the season on the road course in Sonoma, Calif.

• July 2 -- In his most dominating performance of the year, Stewart led all but nine laps at Daytona to score his second consecutive win. He started from the pole and lost the lead only after pit stops, breaking the record of 142 laps led set by Cale Yarborough in 1968. He also began his post-race celebration of climbing the fence after this win.

• July 17 -- Stewart cemented himself as the hottest driver in NASCAR by winning at New Hampshire, his third victory in four races. He was dominant again, leading a race-high 232 laps.

• Aug. 7 -- In a career-defining moment, Stewart overcame his demons at his beloved Indianapolis Motor Speedway and finally won a race there, moving into first in the standings and becoming the driver to beat.

• Aug. 14 -- Proving to be unbeatable on road courses, Stewart won for the fifth time in seven races with his victory at Watkins Glen. He led 83 of the 92 laps.

• Sept. 18 -- Stewart began the Chase for the championship with a second-place finish at New Hampshire.

• Sept. 25 -- A miserable 18th-place finish at Dover dropped Stewart off the leaderboard for the first time in eight weeks. He fell to fifth in the standings, but recovered a week later with a strong run at Talladega to move back to first place.

• Oct. 15 -- Stewart had his worst finish of the Chase when he was one of the numerous drivers to suffer a tire problem at Charlotte. His exploded while he was leading the race, causing him to crash and finish 25th. He maintained his lead in the standings, but fretted that the result might cost him in the race for the title.

• Nov. 20 -- Stewart finished 15th in the Ford 400, wrapping up his second championship in four years.

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Unofficial Race Results

Ford 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway

November 20, 2005 | Race 36 of 36

Fin St Car Driver Make Sponsor Pts/Bonus Laps Status
1 7 #16 Greg Biffle Ford Post-it/National Guard 185/5 267 Running
2 5 #6 Mark Martin Ford Viagra 175/5 267 Running
3 17 #17 Matt Kenseth Ford DeWalt Power Tools 165/0 267 Running
4 1 #99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 170/10 267 Running
5 6 #41 Casey Mears Dodge Target 160/5 267 Running
6 11 #07 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 155/5 267 Running
7 2 #12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 151/5 267 Running
8 14 #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 147/5 267 Running
9 12 #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 143/5 267 Running
10 13 #19 Jeremy Mayfield Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 134/0 267 Running
11 27 #22 Scott Wimmer Dodge Caterpillar 130/0 267 Running
12 19 #0 Mike Bliss Chevrolet NetZero Best Buy 127/0 267 Running
13 37 #2 Rusty Wallace Dodge Miller Lite 124/0 267 Running
14 39 #7 Robby Gordon Chevrolet Jim Beam 121/0 267 Running
15 20 #20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 118/0 267 Running
16 3 #9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers/UAW 115/0 267 Running
17 9 #88 Dale Jarrett Ford UPS 112/0 266 Running
18 8 #42 Jamie McMurray Dodge Texaco/Havoline 109/0 266 Running
19 40 #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 106/0 266 Running
20 24 #4 Todd Bodine Chevrolet Lucas Oil/Coyote Ugly Saloon 103/0 266 Running
21 36 #97 Kenny Wallace Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 100/0 266 Running
22 34 #49 Ken Schrader Dodge Red Baron Frozen Pizza 97/0 266 Running
23 23 #38 Elliott Sadler Ford M&M's 94/0 266 Running
24 10 #01 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet U.S. Army 96/5 266 Running
25 16 #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Cingular Wireless 88/0 266 Running
26 26 #40 Sterling Marlin Dodge Coors Light 90/5 265 Running
27 35 #45 Kyle Petty Dodge Checkers/Univ. of Florida 82/0 265 Running
28 15 #09 Reed Sorenson Dodge Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts 79/0 265 Running
29 41 #15 Michael Waltrip Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 76/0 265 Running
30 29 #43 Jeff Green Dodge Chex Party Mix 73/0 264 Running
31 33 #50 Jimmy Spencer Dodge Allied Steel Buildings 75/5 263 Running
32 30 #77 Travis Kvapil * Dodge Kodak/Jasper Engines 67/0 263 Running
33 42 #11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Express 69/5 263 Running
34 21 #18 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 61/0 263 Running
35 28 #66 Kevin Lepage Ford Cabela's 58/0 263 Running
36 38 #32 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet Tide 55/0 263 Running
37 25 #21 Ricky Rudd Ford Motorcraft Genuine Parts 52/0 262 Running
38 31 #10 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Checkers/Florida State Univ. 49/0 259 Running
39 43 #37 Mike Skinner Dodge Patron Tequila/BoSPOKER.net 46/0 156 Off Track
40 32 #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 43/0 124 Out of Race
41 4 #5 Kyle Busch * Chevrolet Kellogg's 40/0 115 Out of Race
42 22 #39 David Stremme Dodge Commit Nicotene Lozenges 37/0 87 Out of Race
43 18 #25 Brian Vickers Chevrolet GMAC/ditech.com 34/0 82 Out of Race

* Denotes Rookie

(NASCAR.com)

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2005 Unofficial Driver Standings

After: Ford 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | Race 36 of 36

Rank +/- Driver Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top 5 Top 10
1 -- Tony Stewart 6533 Leader 36 3 5 17 25
2 +2 Greg Biffle 6498 -35 36 0 6 15 21
3 -- Carl Edwards 6498 -35 36 2 4 13 18
4 +1 Mark Martin 6428 -105 36 0 1 12 19
5 -3 Jimmie Johnson 6406 -127 36 1 4 13 22
6 -- Ryan Newman 6359 -174 36 8 1 8 16
7 -- Matt Kenseth 6352 -181 36 2 1 12 17
8 -- Rusty Wallace 6140 -393 36 0 0 8 17
9 +1 Jeremy Mayfield 6073 -460 36 0 1 4 9
10 -1 Kurt Busch 5974 -559 34 0 3 9 18
11 -- Jeff Gordon 4174 -2359 36 2 4 8 14
12 -- Jamie McMurray 4130 -2403 36 1 0 4 10
13 -- Elliott Sadler 4084 -2449 36 4 0 1 12
14 -- Kevin Harvick 4072 -2461 36 2 1 3 10
15 +1 Dale Jarrett 3960 -2573 36 1 1 4 7
16 -1 Joe Nemechek 3953 -2580 36 1 0 2 9
17 -- Brian Vickers 3847 -2686 36 1 0 5 10
18 -- Jeff Burton 3803 -2730 36 0 0 3 6
19 +1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3780 -2753 36 0 1 7 13
20 -1 Kyle Busch* 3753 -2780 36 1 2 9 13
21 -- Ricky Rudd 3667 -2866 36 0 0 2 9
22 +1 Casey Mears 3637 -2896 36 0 0 3 9
23 -1 Kasey Kahne 3611 -2922 36 2 1 5 8
24 -- Bobby Labonte 3488 -3045 36 0 0 4 7
25 -- Michael Waltrip 3452 -3081 36 1 0 3 7
26 +3 Dave Blaney 3289 -3244 36 0 0 0 2
27 -1 Kyle Petty 3288 -3245 36 0 0 0 2
28 -- Mike Bliss 3262 -3271 36 0 0 0 2
29 -2 Jeff Green 3241 -3292 36 0 0 0 0
30 -- Sterling Marlin 3183 -3350 35 0 0 1 5
31 -- Ken Schrader 3159 -3374 36 0 0 0 3
32 +1 Scott Wimmer 3122 -3411 36 0 0 0 0
33 -1 Travis Kvapil* 3077 -3456 36 0 0 0 2
34 -- Scott Riggs 2965 -3568 36 1 0 2 4
35 -- Mike Wallace 2269 -4264 28 0 0 0 1
36 -- Bobby Hamilton Jr. 2183 -4350 33 0 0 0 0
37 -- Robby Gordon 2117 -4416 29 0 0 1 2
38 -- Jason Leffler 1538 -4995 19 0 0 0 0
39 -- Kevin Lepage 1460 -5073 21 0 0 0 1
40 -- Terry Labonte 1071 -5462 14 0 0 0 1
41 +1 Denny Hamlin 806 -5727 7 1 0 0 3
42 -1 Boris Said 791 -5742 9 0 0 1 1
43 -- Johnny Sauter 722 -5811 10 0 0 0 1
44 -- Hermie Sadler 717 -5816 12 0 0 0 0
45 -- Bill Elliott 695 -5838 9 0 0 0 0
46 -- Jimmy Spencer 667 -5866 11 0 0 0 0
47 -- Martin Truex Jr. 589 -5944 7 0 0 0 1
48 -- Mike Garvey* 491 -6042 9 0 0 0 0
49 -- Mike Skinner 487 -6046 10 0 0 0 0
50 -- Tony Raines 419 -6114 6 0 0 0 0
51 -- Stanton Barrett* 389 -6144 8 0 0 0 0
52 +3 Kenny Wallace 376 -6157 5 0 0 0 0
53 -1 Carl Long 356 -6177 9 0 0 0 0
54 -1 Stuart Kirby 352 -6181 7 0 0 0 0
55 -1 John Andretti 304 -6229 4 0 0 0 0
56 -- J.J. Yeley 276 -6257 4 0 0 0 0
57 +2 David Stremme 244 -6289 4 0 0 0 0
58 -1 Scott Pruett 230 -6303 2 0 0 1 1
59 -1 Ron Fellows 230 -6303 2 0 0 0 1
60 -- Bobby Hamilton 201 -6332 3 0 0 0 0
61 -- Kerry Earnhardt 195 -6338 3 0 0 0 0
62 -- P.J. Jones 189 -6344 4 0 0 0 0
63 -- Morgan Shepherd 162 -6371 4 0 0 0 0
64 -- Johnny Benson 150 -6383 3 0 0 0 0
65 -- Brian Simo 134 -6399 1 0 0 0 1
66 -- Randy LaJoie 134 -6399 3 0 0 0 0
67 +14 Reed Sorenson 119 -6414 2 0 0 0 0
68 -- Todd Bodine 103 -6430 1 0 0 0 0
69 -2 Clint Bowyer 97 -6436 1 0 0 0 0
70 -2 David Reutimann 97 -6436 1 0 0 0 0
71 -2 Paul Menard 82 -6451 1 0 0 0 0
72 -1 Anthony Lazzaro 79 -6454 1 0 0 0 0
73 -3 Chris Cook 79 -6454 1 0 0 0 0
74 -2 Shane Hmiel 77 -6456 2 0 0 0 0
75 -2 Johnny Miller 76 -6457 1 0 0 0 0
76 -2 Ted Christopher 74 -6459 2 0 0 0 0
77 -2 Joey McCarthy 70 -6463 1 0 0 0 0
78 -1 Greg Sacks 68 -6465 2 0 0 0 0
79 -3 Jeff Fuller 68 -6465 2 0 0 0 0
80 -2 Eric McClure* 67 -6466 1 0 0 0 0
81 -2 Derrike Cope 64 -6469 1 0 0 0 0
82 -2 Jorge Goeters 63 -6470 1 0 0 0 0
83 -1 Jerry Robertson 40 -6493 1 0 0 0 0
84 -- Brandon Ash 37 -6496 1 0 0 0 0
85 -2 Kirk Shelmerdine 37 -6496 1 0 0 0 0
86 +1 Chad Chaffin 34 -6499 1 0 0 0 0
87 -2 Tom Hubert 34 -6499 1 0 0 0 0
88 -2 Wayne Anderson 34 -6499 1 0 0 0 0

* Denotes Rookie

(NASCAR.com)

 

Congrats Smoke! #20

 

Tony's a punk! But at least Gordon get's the 1 million award though!

 

Two things I find amusing:

1) Jeff Gordon winning the 1million dollars, not to mention he finished better during the chase then most the other Chase drivers....

2) Tony Stewart only winning his championships after he switched from Pontiac to Chevy....quite amusing to me really...

That said, I'd have been happy for either Stewart or Johnson to win, since I am a Gordon fan and I really cant stand a majority of the other drivers. I'm a true NASCAR fan, but I quit watching when Davey Allison died, as he was my favorite racer. I really didnt start watching it again until I started hearing about Gordon....and since he was a "Hoosier" if you will....I paid attention to him. Stewart was never a big name outside of Indiana until after Gordon was in NASCAR....so I never really got into him....

Besides, NASCAR already had the biggest a$$hole of them all in Dale Earnhardt Sr. I really miss watchin that guy.

 

He was something wasn't he!? I miss him as well, he had some charisma on that track and off. But I'm really happy Mark is going to stay for one more year!