NASCAR Cup

Stewart looking for win at Pocono

POCONO, Pa. - After coming so close to his first win of the season last weekend at Dover, Tony Stewart is itching to get back into victory lane this weekend at Pocono. Stewart scored his first win of 2003 here last year, and went on to garner ...

Published: Jun 12, 2004, 8:12 PM

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POCONO, Pa. - After coming so close to his first win of the season last weekend at Dover, Tony Stewart is itching to get back into victory lane this weekend at Pocono. Stewart scored his first win of 2003 here last year, and went on to garner another of his 17 career wins at Charlotte.

"It was pretty neat," said Stewart of his win here last year. "We had good pit strategy, great pit stops and a great race car. We had all of the variables we needed to win. We'd been close a couple of other times at Pocono, but it seemed like late in the race other variables would creep up and we'd lose it.

"But last year everything came together just right and it felt good to finally finish one off."

So far this season, Stewart is winless, although second place finishes at Daytona and Dover have shown that the No. 20 team is poised for a trophy. That shouldn't be too hard for the Gibbs Chevy team, in 10 starts at Pocono, Stewart has only finished outside of the top ten twice. In addition to his win, he has three top-fives and eight top-tens.

He and Team 20 are confident that they are one of the cars to keep an eye out for in the rear view mirror on Sunday as long as all mechanical difficulties can be avoided.

"Pocono is tough on engines because you're in the gas so long and you're shifting and you're up in that rpm range for a very, very long time. It's definitely a place that makes the engine builders nervous."

Stewart needs a strong finish at Pocono to continue his climb to the top of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series points. His second place finish at Dover propelled up ahead one spot to fourth in standings. He sits just 17-points behind third places Matt Kenseth, and 196-points behind leader Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

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