2011 NASCAR SPRINT CUP CHAMPION TONY STEWART

With “Walk-Off Win,” Stewart Takes Third Title At Homestead

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 20, 2011) – Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Tony Stewart went from all-time great to legend, capturing his third career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in grand fashion – a number that places him among a short list of historic NASCAR figures.

With a victory in Sunday’s Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Stewart became the seventh champion to win the season finale in his championship season. He out-dueled runner-up Carl Edwards in a finale befitting a championship showdown, tying Edwards in points – but winning the championship on a tiebreaker. Stewart’s five wins bested Edwards’ one, clinching the title for Stewart.

Stewart won his first championship in 2002 and second in 2005. The Indiana native now joins David Pearson, Lee Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough – all NASCAR Hall of Fame members or inductees – as three-time champions. Nine drivers in NASCAR Sprint Cup history have won three or more championships.

Stewart entered the season-ending race trailing Edwards by three points. It marked the second consecutive season and fourth time since the inception of the position-based points system in 1975 the champion has overcome a points deficit entering the final race.

Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing with Gene Haas, is the first driver-owner to claim the championship since Alan Kulwicki in 1992. The 2011 season is the organization’s third under its current ownership.

Stewart failed to win a race during the 26-race regular season. But he quickly caught fire, winning the first two races of the Chase, at Chicagoland Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He ultimately won five times – twice on consecutive weekends – to break the record for most Chase wins in a single season. Stewart has won 11 times in Chase history, second only to Jimmie Johnson’s 20.

Entering Sunday’s season finale, Stewart had led the points just twice in 2011, ironically after Edwards’ only victory in Las Vegas and following the fall race at New Hampshire. He finished the year with 44 career victories, tied for 15th on the all-time wins list.

Those wins wound up trumping Edwards’ consistency during both the regular season and the playoffs. Stewart’s nine top-five and 19 top-10 finishes trailed Edwards, however, the series-high five wins ultimately were the decisive factor in the championship’s outcome.

BENNY PARSONS

BENNY PARSONS

Birthdate: June 12, 1941 (died January 16, 2006)
Hometown: Detroit, Mich.
Competed: 1964-1988
Starts: 526
Wins: 21
Poles: 20

Benny Parsons, an Ellerbe, N.C.-native who called Detroit home after driving a taxi for a living during his years living in the northern city, won the 1973 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in one of the most dramatic fashions in series history.

Parsons could be called an everyman champion: winning enough to be called one of the sport’s stars but nearly always finishing well when he wasn’t able to reach Victory Lane. He won 21 times in 526 career starts but finished among the top 10 283 times – a 54 percent ratio.

One of Parsons’ biggest victories came in the 1975 Daytona 500. He also was the first driver to qualify a stock car at more than 200 mph (200.176) in 1982 at Talladega Superspeedway. He was named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers” in 1998.

Parsons also was known as a voice of the sport making a seamless transition to television following his NASCAR career. He was a commentator for NBC and TNT until his passing on Jan. 16, 2007, at the age of 64.