Home Depot Racing Team Report: Sonoma

by TonyStewart.com


Updated: December 21, 2007, 1:37 AM EST

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Round 16 of 36
Dodge/SaveMart 350k
Sonoma

Car No.: 20 — Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Teammates: Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet and J.J. Yeley in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet

Primary Team Members
Driver: Tony Stewart Crew Chief: Greg Zipadelli
Car Chief: Jason Shapiro Engine Builder: Mark Cronquist
Engine Specialist: Jarrad Egert (pronounced "Egg-ert") Spotter: Mark Robertson

Over-The-Wall Crew Members
Gas Man: Jeff "Gooch" Patterson Front Tire Changer: Ira-Jo Hussey
Catch Can: Brian "Shaggy" Larson Front Tire Carrier: Tom Dean
Windshield: Scott Geerts (pronounced "Gurtz") Rear Tire Changer: Todd Foster
Jackman: Jason Lee Rear Tire Carrier: Jody Fortson

Other Crew Members
Truck Drivers: Scott "Scooter" Crowell Brent Swim
Tire Specialists: Jerold Shires and Bill Byrne Brake Specialist: Jason Shapiro
Shock Specialist: Ronny Crooks and Dave Hansen Engineer: Adam Stevens

Car History - Chassis No. 48
This car is responsible for all five of Stewart's road course victories, having scored two wins at Sonoma (2001 and 2005) and three at Watkins Glen (2002, 2004 and 2005). It is one of the oldest cars in the Joe Gibbs Racing stable, but it has obviously proven its worth in its 11 career starts - all of which have come at road courses. Chassis No. 48 has only two qualifying efforts outside of the top-10, and its nine top-10 starting positions are highlighted by the pole it scored at Sonoma in 2002. (Its No. 1 starting spot at Watkins Glen last year was due to the field being lined up by points after rain washed out qualifying.) In all, Chassis No. 48 has led 220 of the 1,094 laps available (20 percent), including three occasions where it led the most laps - Watkins Glen in 2004 (46 laps led), Sonoma in 2005 (39 laps led) and Watkins Glen in 2005 (83 laps led). To prepare Chassis No. 48 for its first start of 2006 and 12th overall, the team tested it June 13 at Virginia International Raceway.
Year Event Start Finish Status/Laps Laps Led Earnings
2005 Sonoma 7 1 Running/110 39 $348,761
2005 Watkins Glen 1 1 Running/92 83 $269,006
2004 Sonoma 17 15 Running/110 1 $107,653
2004 Watkins Glen 4 1 Running/90 46 $195,288
2003 Sonoma 10 11 Running/110 0 $110,988
2003 Watkins Glen 4 11 Running/90 0 $101,233
2002 +Sonoma 1 2 Running/110 6 $143,203
2002 Watkins Glen 3 1 Running/90 34 $165,303
2001 Sonoma 3 1 Running/112 11 $139,875
2001 Watkins Glen 11 26 Running/90 0 $53,035
2000 *Watkins Glen 6 6 Running/90 0 $53,190

*Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.
+Race distance shortened due to change in track configuration.

Team History at Road Courses
Year Event Start Finish Status/Laps Led Earnings
2005 Sonoma 7 1 Running/110 39 $348,761
2005 *+Watkins Glen 1 1 Running/92 83 $269,006
2004 Sonoma 17 15 Running/110 1 $107,653
2004 *Watkins Glen 4 1 Running/90 46 $195,288
2003 Sonoma 10 11 Running/110 0 $110,988
2003 Watkins Glen 4 11 Running/90 0 $101,233
2002 +Sonoma 1 2 Running/110 6 $143,203
2002 Watkins Glen 3 1 Running/90 34 $165,303
2001 Sonoma 3 1 Running/112 11 $139,875
2001 Watkins Glen 11 26 Running/90 0 $53,035
2000 Sonoma 4 10 Running/112 2 $73,610
2000 *Watkins Glen 6 6 Running/90 0 $53,190
1999 Sonoma 2 15 Running/112 0 $43,965
1999 Watkins Glen 4 6 Running/90 0 $45,240

*Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.
+Race distance shortened due to change in track configuration.

Notes of Interest

  • The Dodge/SaveMart 350k will mark Stewart's 264th career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start and his 15th career Nextel Cup start at Sonoma.
  • Stewart is currently sixth in the Nextel Cup point standings with 1,928 points, 367 markers behind series leader Jimmie Johnson. Stewart dropped two point positions after his 41st place finish last Sunday at Michigan. At this point last year Stewart was sixth in the standings with 1,862 points, 311 markers behind series leader Johnson. Stewart has scored 66 more points this year than he did last year heading into the 16th race of the season. Last year, Stewart won the championship.
  • Stewart is second in miles led this season, pacing the field for 744.83 miles. Greg Biffle is first with 1,208.56 miles led. Matt Kenseth is third with 697.70 miles led. And Kasey Kahne is fourth with 560.91 miles led. No other drivers have led more than 392 miles this season.
  • Stewart has led at least one lap in 10 of the 15 races held this season. Stewart's total of 807 laps led is second to Greg Biffle's series leading total of 846 laps led. No other drivers have led more than 528 laps. As a result, Stewart has earned a total of 65 lap leader bonus points, the second-most of any Nextel Cup driver and 35 more than championship point leader Jimmie Johnson.
  • Stewart has the 10th best average running position (14.135) in the 15 races held this season. Jimmie Johnson leads this category with an average running position of 11.166, just 2.969 positions better than Stewart.
  • Stewart has recorded the fastest lap on the race track a total of 354 times in the 15 races held this season, second only to Greg Biffle who has recorded the fastest lap 419 times.
  • Stewart has the fifth-best driver rating 15 races into the season. His 97.3 rating is 1.9 points higher than sixth-place Mark Martin (95.4). Matt Kenseth leads this category with a 105.7 driver rating. The driver rating is a formula consisting of wins, finishes, top-15s, average running position while on lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, laps led and lead lap finishes.
  • Stewart is the second-fastest driver early in a run in the 15 races held this season. His season rank of 6.3 is 1.8 points below series leader Greg Biffle (4.5), the best among Nextel Cup drivers during the first 25 percent of laps in a pit window under green flag conditions. Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson are tied for third-best with a 7.9 rating, while Stewart's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin is fourth-best with an 8.0 rating.
  • Stewart has five road course wins in Nextel Cup competition, including the past three road course races - Watkins Glen in 2004, Sonoma in 2005 and Watkins Glen in 2005.
  • In the past three road course races, Stewart has led 168 of the 292 laps available (57.5 percent).
  • In his 14 career road course starts, Stewart has six top-twos and nine top-10s. He has only one finish lower than 15th - a 26th place result at Watkins Glen in 2001.
  • Stewart has never recorded a DNF in any of his 14 career road course races and has a lap completion rate of 100 percent.
  • Stewart scored his eighth career Nextel Cup win at Sonoma in 2001. It was Stewart's first win on a road course as well as the first road course win for Joe Gibbs Racing.
  • After finishing second to Ricky Rudd in the 2002 race at Sonoma in June, Stewart scored his second road course victory a month-and-a-half later at Watkins Glen. It was also the second road course win for Joe Gibbs Racing.
  • Stewart won his fifth career Nextel Cup pole at the 2002 Sonoma race. Stewart has 10 poles altogether, with the last one coming at Martinsville last October, 19 races ago.
  • Before coming to Sonoma as a Nextel Cup rookie in 1999 - his first road course race in a stock car - Stewart attended the Bob Bondurant Driving School in Phoenix to polish his road racing skills.
  • Before attending the Bondurant school, Stewart's last foray into road racing had been while he was competing in the World Karting Association in 1987. He was 16 years old.
  • Stewart has already been road racing this year. He competed in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona Jan. 28-29 for Howard-Boss Motorsports with co-drivers Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace. It was his fourth time competing in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
  • "You Must Be a Local" - gas man Jeff "Gooch" Patterson is from Escondido, Calif.
  • Home Depot store #6617, located in Glendora, Calif., will be represented on the lower rear quarterpanel of the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet during the Dodge/SaveMart 350k. Store #6617 was judged to be the outstanding store of the past week, thereby earning its place on the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing machine.

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