Stewart Coasts to Victory

Tony Stewart runs out of gas on the final lap, but luckily for him the man chasing him, Casey Mears, also ran out.

Victorious Tony Stewart Photo: NASCAR

KANSAS CITY, Kansas - The roar of Kansas Speedway's sold-out crowd kept most people from hearing Tony Stewart's car run quietly out of fuel on the final lap of Sunday's Banquet 400 presented by ConAgra Foods.

Stewart, a two-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion, said his tank went dry in the second turn, leaving him no choice but to put the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet in neutral and coast around the 1.5-mile track.

Stewart was fortunate that he had a 17-second lead heading to the final lap and top challenger Casey Mears was in the same fuel predicament. He ran out in the third turn.

Stewart was watching for Mears in his mirror, but he didn't know the situation because crew chief Greg Zipadelli was making too much noise on the team's radio.

"He was screaming so loud I thought we had lost the race," Stewart said of Zipadelli. "It wasn't until I got all the way around to the first turn that I knew we had won."

The margin of victory was 12.422 seconds, giving Stewart three wins for the season and 27 for his NEXTEL Cup career.

Stewart and Mears were among the few drivers not to pit for fuel late in the race. They were free to gamble on fuel mileage as they're not in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup race.

Mark Martin finished third in the Banquet 400 to move to third in the point standings. He is 70 points out of the lead with seven races left in the season.

Jeff Burton, who finished fifth, maintained the Chase's top position and actually improved his chances of winning his first championship. Rather than having four-time series champion Jeff Gordon six points on his heels, rookie Denny Hamlin is second, 69 points behind. Hamlin finished 18th in Sunday's race.

Burton, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Gordon all were involved in yellow-flag conditions Sunday. Burton missed hitting Ryan Newman on lap 16 of 267; Harvick and Gordon spun through the grass.

Harvick later fell a lap down, but he managed to finish 15th and keep fifth place in the standings. Kenseth finished 23rd; he's now in fourth place.

Gordon, a two-time winner at Kansas Speedway, had a fuel pump failure and finished 39th, which knocked him to sixth in the standings.

Banquet 400 Race Results

1. Tony Stewart Home Depot Chevrolet 267 Running

2. Casey Mears Texaco/Havoline Dodge 267 Running

3. Mark Martin AAA Ford 267 Running

4. Dale Jarrett UPS Ford 267 Running

5. Jeff Burton Cingular Wireless Chevrolet 267 Running

6. Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 267 Running

7. Kyle Busch Kellogg's Chevrolet 267 Running

8. Brian Vickers Garnier/GMAC Chevrolet 267 Running

9. Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel's Chevrolet 267 Running

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevrolet 267 Running

11. Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet 267 Running

12. Greg Biffle National Guard/Subway Ford 267 Running

13. Ken Schrader Motorcraft/USAF Ford 267 Running

14. Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 267 Running

15. Kevin Harvick Reese's Chevrolet 266 Running

16. Bill Elliott Melling Auto Parts Dodge 266 Running

17. Bobby Labonte Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge 266 Running

18. Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Chevrolet 266 Running

19. Travis Kvapil Tide/Downy Chevrolet 266 Running

20. Sterling Marlin Ginn Clubs & Resorts Chevrolet 266 Running

21. Dave Blaney Caterpillar Dodge 266 Running

22. David Gilliland M&M's Ford 266 Running

23. Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 266 Running

24. Ryan Newman Alltel Dodge 266 Running

25. Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 265 Running

26. David Stremme Lonestar Steakhouse Dodge 265 Running

27. Joe Nemechek U.S. Army Chevrolet 265 Running

28. Tony Raines DLP® HDTV Chevrolet 265 Running

29. Kyle Petty Wells Fargo Dodge 265 Running

30. Jeff Green Haas Automation/Best Buy Chevrolet 264 Running

31. Kenny Wallace Furniture Row Chevrolet 264 Running

32. Todd Kluever 3M Ford 264 Running

33. Kasey Kahne Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 264 Running

34. Scott Riggs Valvoline/Stanley Tools Dodge 263 Running

35. Michael Waltrip NAPA Dodge 263 Running

36. Robby Gordon Harrah's Chevrolet 263 Running

37. Chad Chaffin Oak Gloves/Sheraton Suites Dodge 261 Running

38. Terry Labonte GMAC Chevrolet 253 Suspension

39. Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 238 Fuel Pump

40. Elliott Sadler Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 228 Running

41. J.J. Yeley Interstate Batteries Chevrolet 194 Accident

42. Jamie McMurray IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford 128 Accident

43. Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 18 Accident

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