SONOMA, Calif. (AP) – For at least one weekend, Smoke was back.
Tony Stewart returned to victory lane for the first time in three years in vintage fashion – refusing to let Denny Hamlin steal a win at Sonoma Raceway away from him on the final lap Sunday.
Now he’s probably got a shot to run for a fourth NASCAR championship in his final season before retirement.
Stewart, mired in an 84-race losing streak dating to 2013, finally won to stop a slide of poor performances, injuries and personal turmoil that has tarnished the end of his career. He missed the first eight races of this season, his last as a NASCAR driver, with a back injury suffered in an off-road vehicle accident one week before the season opened.
It meant Stewart would have to win a race and crack the top 30 in points to have one last shot at glory before he stepped out of the No. 14 Chevrolet for good. It was a long shot considered the way he has run the last three years, but those who know Stewart knew not to count him out.