By Staff
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - Tony Stewart held off a stirring charge by sophomore phenom Kasey Kahne in the exciting final laps of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Sunday and won a race he so wanted to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Hoosier native from nearby Columbus, where he grew up, took the lead from Kahne with just 11 laps remaining and held off Kahne to win the historic event before a capacity crowd of an estimated 300,000 partisan fans who chanted, "Tony! Tony! Tony!" for several minutes following Stewart's emotional victory.
Hendrick Motorsports' young gun Brian Vickers was third, Jeremy Mayfield fourth, and Matt Kenseth, fifth.
While it was definitely Stewart's day, the race was filled with twists and turns that kept the huge crowd on its feet much of the muggy afternoon.
Jimmie Johnson, the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series points leader at the start of the day, fought back from numerous problems including an early race spin, a gas catchcan that failed to disconnect during a pit stop that sent him to the rear of the field for the second time, and finally, another spin after battling his way back into contention, this one that sent him into the outside SAFER barrier and out of contention.
Johnson wound up 38th and lost the points lead to the hometown Hoosier, Tony Stewart.
Johnson's teammate and four-time Indy winner Jeff Gordon battled an ill-handling car much of the race but came on strong at the end to finish eighth.
Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a terrible day, starting near the back of the 43-car field and staying there before getting hit in the rear on a restart, sending him careening across the track into his DEI teammate Martin Truex Jr..
The incident knocked both cars out of the race as Earnhardt finished 43rd and Truex was 42nd.
Stewart fullfilled a lifelong dream of winning a race at the historic old track and let out a "whoop" and a "holler" after taking the checkered flag. He then told his team, after pulling his car to a stop at the start-finish line, "Don't get excited, boys. I'll be back. I'm gonna enjoy this one."
He then drove around the track to where friends and family had watched him win from a trackside suite in Turn Two.
He climbed up on the wall and waved to the wildly cheering clan. He then drove back around to the start-finish line, climbed a few strands of the fence, which has become a Stewart trademark with him winning four of the past seven races. He then laid down on the wall and said, "I need to catch my breath for five minutes and then I'll celebrate."
The racing continues next weekend at the Watkins Glen International Speedway for the Sirus Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen