Stewart chooses not to race at Knoxville
Tony Stewart has bowed out of what would have been his second attempt at the Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals crown this week.
The two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion will not race in the event, which runs Thursday through Saturday, but will sign autographs for the first 750 fans to fill Knoxville Raceway's grandstands for Saturday's championship show.
"As much as I wanted to race in the Late Model Nationals at Knoxville, I thought it would take away my main focus of winning a Nextel Cup championship," Tony Stewart, who will compete in Sunday's Cup race at Kansas Speedway, said in a news release Monday night. "We have over 400 people back at Joe Gibbs Racing pouring everything they have into giving me the best race cars possible to win a third championship. I owe it to them to remain healthy and focused on achieving that goal."
Tony Stewart ranks second in the Chase for the Nextel Cup Championship point standings.
He finished second to Brian Shirley in last season's Late Model Nationals after starting 17th.
Unlike last year, he will race in the Busch race Saturday at Kansas, further complicating matters regarding Knoxville.
"I sincerely apologize to anyone who was looking forward to seeing me race at Knoxville, and I hope that my fans can understand my reasons for not competing," Tony Stewart said.
NASCAR's Ryan Newman and Ken Schrader are slated to race at Knoxville this week.
THE CHASE: Once the smoke from the final caution cleared in Dover, Del., Jeff Gordon was among many in the 12-driver Chase for the Nextel Cup struggling to grasp how the reshuffled points reflected their on-track performance.
Jeff Gordon, who started the race second in points behind defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, reclaimed the top spot despite never leading Sunday's Dodge Dealers 400. He finished 11th and a lap down to winner Carl Edwards. Now just three points separate him, Tony Stewart (two back) and Edwards, and the next four drivers are within 46 of first place.
It's the closest margin among the top seven since the 10-race Chase title run began in 2004. The previous closest margin between first and seventh place after two races was 81 points in 2005.
It was a day in which every Chase driver except Edwards and Kyle Busch seemed cursed at Dover International Speedway.
