Stewart-Haas Racing Aaron’s 499 Race Report

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot “Matterhorn” Chevrolet Impala, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent by finishing 16th in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for SHR, finished a disappointing 35th after being involved in a multi-car accident late in the event.

Kevin Harvick won the Aaron’s 499 to score his 12th career Sprint Cup victory, his first of the season and his first at Talladega.

Jamie McMurray finished .011 of a second behind Harvick, while Juan Pablo Montoya, Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin rounded out the top-five. David Ragan, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Mike Bliss comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were eight caution periods for 32 laps, with 13 drivers failing to finish the 200-lap race, which was extended 12 laps past the scheduled distance due to three attempts at a green-white-checkered finish. The race, which was the longest in Talladega history at 532 miles, set an all-time NASCAR records for leaders (29) and lead changes (88).

With round nine of 36 complete, Stewart is 14th in the Sprint Cup championship standings. He fell from a tie for 12th and now has 1,061 points, 262 markers behind series leader Jimmie Johnson. Newman lost two positions to fall to 18th in the standings. He has 995 points and is 328 points back of Johnson.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the May 1 Crown Royal 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.