20 races and an idiotic feud with a teammate later, Tony Stewart is back in NASCAR Nextel Cup victory lane.Stewart held off Matt Kenseth to cruise to his first victory of 2007 at Chicagoland Speedway in Sunday's USG Sheetrock 400.
Joe Gibbs made an unexpected visit to Chicagoland on Saturday and forced Denny Hamlin and Stewart to hash out their differences from the "one-car" crash at Daytona a week before.
"I'm glad this is over," said Stewart. "I'm going on vacation."It's funny how Stewart always seems to offset something stupid he said or did with a good run the next week. See: Watkins Glen win in 2002 after punching a photographer in Indianapolis.
2006 Cup Champ Jimmie Johnson ran strong much of the race, but an exploding right rear tire put his No. 48 car in the wall late. Johnson escaped the wicked crash with only a bruised elbow.
Pole-sitter Casey Mears was the highest-finishing Hendrick car in 5th.
The Cup Series will now be off until Indianapolis in two weeks for the 14th-running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, or in my book, the Brickyard 400.




