FORT WORTH, Texas — Tony Stewart figures he has no need to issue any more verbal jabs in what has become quite a fight for the Cup title.
Stewart raced to his second consecutive victory, and won for the fourth time in eight NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup races, finishing just ahead of points leader Carl Edwards in the so-called “Texas Title Fight” that fully lived up to its billing Sunday at the AAA Texas 500.
“I’m pretty sure what we did on the race track said everything we needed to tell him today. I don’t know how you top that,” Stewart said. “The funny thing, I don’t feel like I have to say anything. I feel like I’ve already got it done.”
Enumclaw’s Kasey Kahne finished third at Texas, followed by Matt Kenseth and polesitter Greg Biffle of Vancouver, Wash.
After winning last week at Martinsville, Stewart got out of his car in Victory Lane and said Edwards “better be worried. That’s all I’m saying.”
Now it appears to be a two-driver fight for the championship with two races left after they finished 1-2 at the 11/2-mile, high-banked Texas track.
Stewart has his focus set on winning a third Cup championship, and becoming the first person not named Jimmie Johnson to win the title since 2005 – when Stewart won while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing before becoming a driver-owner.
“I mean we are set on it, man,” Stewart said. “This is just the way it’s going to be.”
Stewart cut his points deficit from eight to three with an average speed of 152.705 mph, the fastest Cup race at Texas, and a 1.092-second margin over Edwards, the Roush Fenway driver going for his first championship.
“He’s calmed down a little bit this week. It didn’t slow him down any,” said Edwards, the points leader for the fifth straight week. “I hope this roll doesn’t last much longer, otherwise this is going to be really tough.”
The series returns next week to Phoenix, where the track has been reconfigured and resurfaced since Stewart was seventh and Edwards 28th there in February in the second race this season, and then to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the finale. Edwards won both races at the end of last season.
Stewart led seven times for a race-high 173 of 334 laps and, more important, stayed ahead of Edwards down the stretch.
On a restart with 60 laps to go after the second caution in a matter of laps, Edwards was the leader and on the inside of Stewart.
Coming out of Turn 2, Stewart shot by onto the backstretch and charged back to the lead.
“He timed it just right,” said Edwards, who led three times for 14 laps.
Stewart stayed in front until both made their final stops with 31 laps left. Though they dropped out of the 1-2 spots on the track during the cycle of green-flag stops, more important for Stewart was that he stayed ahead of Edwards.
When Stewart came down pit road after the race, Edwards stuck his head in and shared a few words with his closest competitor.
“I just told him, ‘Good job.’ He did a great job today. Those guys stepped it up,” Edwards said. “I’m proud of my guys for hanging on and still having the points lead. It looks like it’s truly going to come down to Tony and I, and that’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Kyle Busch was officially eliminated from championship contention, unable to gain any points while watching his No. 18 Toyota going around the track from atop the pit box. He’s 100 points back with two races left.
Five-time champion Johnson moved closer to the end of his unprecedented championship run when he finished 14th. He remained sixth in points, 55 back.
Stewart and Edwards were greeted at Texas with lockers complete with boxing gloves and robes, a tale of the tape and banners declaring a “Texas Title Fight” matching Cousin Carl vs. Smoke. Another banner hung near Victory lane featuring boxing promoter Don King and TMS president Eddie Gossage.
When Edwards and Stewart were announced at the end of driver introductions, when Chase contenders were presented in order of the standings, there also was the sound of a ringside bell.
They were in close vicinity of each other all day after starting nose-to-tail. Stewart qualified fifth and Edwards seventh.
After 85 laps, before the second round of green-flag pit stops before any cautions, Matt Kenseth was leading with Edwards and Stewart running 2-3, though there was a 4-second gap between them.
After 200 laps, when Stewart was leading and Edwards was running sixth — the farthest they were separated all day — they were even in points.
Stewart didn’t have a win this season before opening the 10-race Chase with victories at Chicagoland and New Hampshire, and now he’s won two more in row again. Before doing it twice in less than two months, Stewart hadn’t won consecutive races since July 2007.
Edwards’ only win this season came eight months ago at Las Vegas, where Stewart was the runner-up. But Edwards has 17 top-five finishes, and his lowest in the chase was 11th at Talladega.
Kasey Kahne finished third at Texas, followed by Matt Kenseth and polesitter Greg Biffle.
Kevin Harvick remained third in the standings, but dropped from 21 to 33 points behind Edwards after finishing 13th.
STANDINGS
Unofficial driver standings in NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup:
DriverPoints
Carl Edwards2,316
Tony Stewart2,313
Kevin Harvick2,283
Matt Kenseth2,278
Brad Keselowski2,267
Jimmie Johnson2,261
Dale Earnhardt Jr.2,237
Jeff Gordon2,235
Kurt Busch2,229
Denny Hamlin2,217
Kyle Busch2,216
Ryan Newman2,213
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.