Stewart Finishes 11th in Fontana Busch Race

Tony Stewart advanced 12 positions in Saturday’s Stater Bros. 300 NASCAR Busch Series race at California Speedway in Fontana to finish 11th in his first Busch Series start of the year for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR).

Stewart began the 150-lap race from 23rd in the 41-car field, but quickly took his No. 18 Z-Line Designs Chevrolet toward the front, cracking the top-10 on lap 12 and breaking into the top-five on lap 32.

Stewart stayed within the top-five until the midpoint of the race, for when the sun set on the 2-mile oval and its surface cooled, Stewart’s car wasn’t as potent as it had been at the beginning of the race.

“I need it be a little free through the corners,” said Stewart to crew chief Jason Ratcliff over the radio on lap 73. “It’s not terrible in the corners, but I just can’t run with them in a straight line.”

While Stewart worked with what he had, a few of his competitors got better as the race wore on. Instead of being in or near the top-five, Stewart was fighting to stay in the top-10.

“As soon as I lose the draft, these guys just drive away,” said Stewart on lap 132.

By lap 140, Stewart was securely in 11th. The Z-Line Designs driver had a healthy buffer ahead of 12th-place David Stremme while 10th-place Dave Blaney enjoyed an equally solid advantage over Stewart.

“Overall, a pretty uneventful race,” said Stewart, whose best Busch Series finish at California remains the second-place result he earned in May 2004. “We just needed a little bit more to run with those guys up front. But it’s only the second race of the year. This team will have a lot more opportunities.”

Stewart’s JGR teammate – Denny Hamlin – finished eighth to score his 37th career top-10 Busch Series finish.

Matt Kenseth scored his 22nd career Busch Series victory and his fourth at California by winning the Stater Bros. 300. Casey Mears finished second, while Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle secured the rest of the top-five. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Hamlin, Regan Smith and Blaney comprised the remainder of the top-10.

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