From the June, 2006 issue of Stock Car Insider
Who's Not?
The dates have changed, but the faces have not in this week's Who's Not section. Suffering from mechanical failures late in the race, Tony Stewart gave up position after position to finish 28th in yesterday's Dodge/Save Mart 300. The 28th place finished booted Tony further down in the points to 7th place only 23 points in front of Jeff Gordon and 70 points in front of 10th place driver Kevin Harvick.There can't be anything more frustrating for a driver than running in the top 5 for much of the day to end up with a mechanical failure that seals your fate in the race. While yesterday's 28th place finish wasn't Tony's fault, it can't help to boost the driver's nor the team's confidence. Let's face it, the Home Depot team has been on a backwards slide since the All-Star break. In 4 of the last 5 races, the #20 team has finished 25th or worst. That's hardly satisfactory for a team coming off of a 2005 championship season.
However, Tony didn't earn the nicknames "Smoke" or "Tiger" for lying down and giving up. He is still in the top 10 (barely), and has plenty of time to get back on track before the Chase for the Championship. All teams go through a dry-spell in any season. I'm sure Tony prefers having his dry-spell now while he still has time to recover.
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