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NASCAR NATION

By Bruce Knoll, Jr

Consistency is key in stock car racing, whether it be your local short track or the Sprint Cup Series. And in the end, consistency will eventually pay off with a victory – whether it be a race, or the championship.
And while some may argue that the Chase for the Cup system eliminates the need for consistency, it still takes 26 solid races to earn a spot, and 10 flawless races to take the crown. And none, barring Kevin Harvick, has been more consistent of late than that of Tony Stewart.
This trait finally prevailed last Sunday in Atlanta, where the No. 14 Chevrolet driver dominated the Emory Healthcare 500, leading 176 of 325 laps en route to his first victory of 2010.
“We’ve kind of been silent every weekend, but we’ve been gaining on it,” Stewart said. “It was not a one-week increment where we had a big change. We’ve been taking a lot of little steps the last 10 to 12 races. Nobody’s really noticed it, but we’ve noticed. We have a much better feeling than we did compared to this time last year.”
Stewart recorded his 12th top-10 finish in the last 15 races, moving him up to fourth in the standings with only one race remaining before the field is set for the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
The victory also snapped a 31-race winless drought, dating back to October 2009 at Kansas Speedway.
Stewart led the most laps, and capitalized off a strong restart late to beat second place Carl Edwards to the line by over 1.5 seconds. Defending champion Jimmie Johnson was third, followed by Jeff Burton in fourth and Kyle Busch in fifth.
Clint Bowyer, currently holding onto the 12th and final spot in the Chase for the Cup, finished seventh. He holds a 117-point lead on 13th place Ryan Newman. A finish of 28th or better, regardless of Newman’s finish, would clinch the final spot for Bowyer.
Martin Truex Jr. of Ocean County started sixth, ran consistently in the top-10 for much of the race, and finished 12th.
Nationwide Series:
Jamie McMurray took the led away from Kyle Busch on the final restart and pulled away to win the Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch was second with Carl Edwards in third, Kevin Harvick in fourth and Matt Kenseth in fifth. Points leader Brad Keselowski finished 12th and remains some 332 points ahead of second place Carl Edwards.
Camping World Truck Series:
Points leader Todd Bodine captured the Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway last Friday night for his fourth win of 2010. Johnny Sauter was second, followed by Aric Almirola in third, Jason White in fourth, and Ricky Carmichael in fifth. Bodine now leads second place Amirola by 261 points.
Coming Up:
The field will be set for the 2010 Chase for the Cup, as the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series head to Richmond International Raceway for the last “regular season” race of the year.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com

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