Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for SHR, finished 25th.

Both drivers struggled with the handling of their respective racecars and completed 398 of the race’s 400 laps around the 1-mile, concrete oval.

Kurt Busch won the AAA 400 to score his 24th career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his first at Dover.

Jimmie Johnson finished .908 of a second behind Busch in the runner-up spot, while Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five. Kyle Busch, A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Marcos Ambrose and Kevin Harvick comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were 10 caution periods for 44 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish.

Stewart and Newman are both in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup and came into Dover first and 11th, respectively, in the point standings. Stewart was seven points ahead of second-place Harvick, while Newman was 34 points out of the top spot. Stewart leaves Dover third in points, nine markers behind new Chase leader Harvick. Newman remained 11th in the standings, but is now 41 points arrears Harvick.

Harvick and Edwards each have 2,122 points, but because Harvick has four wins compared to Edwards’ one, Harvick was awarded the top spot. Stewart and Kurt Busch each have 2,113 points as well as two wins this season, but Stewart’s two runner-up results compared to Busch’s lone second-place finish allowed Stewart possession of third place.

With seven races remaining before a champion is crowned following the season finale Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the top-12 drivers competing for the title rank as follows:
1. Kevin Harvick (2,122 points)
2. Carl Edwards (2,122 points)
3. Tony Stewart (2,113 points, -9)
4. Kurt Busch (2,113 points, -9)
5. Jimmie Johnson (2,109 points, -13)
6. Brad Keselowski (2,108 points, -14)
7. Matt Kenseth (2,108 points, -14)
8. Kyle Busch (2,107 points, -15)
9. Jeff Gordon (2,103 points, -19)
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,080 points, -34)
11. Ryan Newman (2,081 points, -41)
12. Denny Hamlin (2,054 points, -68)*

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the fourth race of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup – is the Oct. 9 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 1 p.m.

* Maximum number of points a driver can get in a race is 48 – 43 for win + 3 winners bonus + 1 for leading a lap +1 for leading most laps.

Starting 20th for the 400-lap event at Dover International Speedway, Newman’s No. 39 U.S. Army ROTC Chevrolet struggled with track position at the all-concrete 1-mile oval.

“We just didn’t have it right all weekend,” said Newman. “We didn’t have any grip, which caused us to have poor track position all day. We tried a number of adjustments and pit strategies but nothing seemed to work in our favor. We have to put this weekend behind us and move on. Our Army Strong Soldiers fight adversity every day and they expect no less from their team. We won’t let them down. We’re a much better team than where we finished today.”

Newman’s crew chief Tony Gibson was equally disappointed in the performance.

“Ryan didn’t have much to work with and he got everything he could out of what he had to drive,” stated Gibson. “No matter how hard you try to better the car’s performance some days the dots just don’t connect. Today was one of those days. Believe me we worked hard and the pit crew did their job, but we just couldn’t put it all together. We’ll rebound, you can take that to the bank.”

Newman remained 11th in the Chase standings with seven races remaining. He is 41 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Newman’s teammate, Tony Stewart, came into the race as the points leader after winning the first two Chase events at Chicago and New Hampshire. But as was the case with Newman, Stewart also struggled, finishing 25th. He dropped to third in the Chase standings, nine points from first.

With seven races remaining before a champion is crowned following the season finale Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the top-12 drivers competing for the title rank as follows:

1. Kevin Harvick (2,122 points)
2. Carl Edwards (2,122 points, -0)
3. Tony Stewart (2,113 points, -9)
4. Kurt Busch (2,113 points, -9)
5. Jimmie Johnson (2,109 points, -13)
6. Brad Keselowski (2,108 points, -14)
7. Matt Kenseth (2,108 points, -14)
8. Kyle Busch (2,107 points, -15)
9. Jeff Gordon (2,103 points, -19)
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,080 points, -34)
11. Ryan Newman (2,081 points, -41)
12. Denny Hamlin (2,054 points, -68*)

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the fourth race of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup – is the Oct. 9 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 1 p.m.

* Over 1 full race behind in points.

Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), reported early on that his car was tight in the center of the corner and it seemed that no matter what crew chief Darian Grubb threw at the problem, a solution could not be obtained. After starting 25^th, Stewart was never able to crack the top-20 and finished two laps behind the leaders when the checkered flag fell after 400 laps around the 1-mile, concrete oval.

“When you run 25^th and you’re two laps down, I don’t think you assess it as very good,” Stewart said. “We were terrible. It was just the whole package. Even when we got the balance halfway decent we didn’t have speed. We just missed it.”

With Stewart struggling with an ill-handling car, early leader Carl Edwards set a blistering pace, and with a caution-free segment of the race taking place during laps 46-138, the Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet went a lap down following a round of green-flag pit stops on lap 110.

From there, Stewart and Grubb tried valiantly to get the lap back, but with the car uncooperative and another extended green-flag run during laps 185-257, they continued to fall backward and ended up two laps off the pace.

“The biggest thing is just that we don’t have the concrete tracks figured out,” Grubb said. “It’s obvious. At Bristol (Tenn.) and Dover, we’ve just struggled for three years now with Tony there. We just need to figure out what we need to do. It’s not because of a lack of effort. We’re going to keep trying to find a few things and keep fighting.”

Stewart’s SHR teammate, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army ROTC Chevrolet Impala, finished 23^rd as he also struggled with the handling of his racecar.

Kurt Busch won the AAA 400 to score his 24^th career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his first at Dover.

Jimmie Johnson finished .908 of a second behind Kurt Busch in the runner-up spot, while Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five. Kyle Busch, A.J. Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Marcos Ambrose and Kevin Harvick comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were 10 caution periods for 44 laps, with eight drivers failing to finish.

Stewart and Newman are both in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup and came into Dover first and 11^th, respectively, in the point standings. Stewart was seven points ahead of second-place Harvick, while Newman was 34 points out of the top spot. Stewart leaves Dover third in points, nine markers behind new Chase leader Harvick. Newman remained 11^th in the standings, but is now 41 points arrears Harvick.

Harvick and Edwards each have 2,122 points, but because Harvick has four wins compared to Edwards’ one, Harvick was awarded the top spot. Stewart and Kurt Busch each have 2,113 points as well as two wins this season, but Stewart’s two runner-up results compared to Busch’s lone second-place finish allowed Stewart possession of third place.

With seven races remaining before a champion is crowned following the season finale Nov. 20 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the top-12 drivers competing for the title rank as follows:

1.             Kevin Harvick (2,122 points)
2.             Carl Edwards (2,122 points, -0)
3.             Tony Stewart (2,113 points, -9)
4.             Kurt Busch (2,113 points, -9)
5.             Jimmie Johnson (2,109 points, -13)
6.             Brad Keselowski (2,108 points, -14)
7.             Matt Kenseth (2,108 points, -14)
8.             Kyle Busch (2,107 points, -15)
9.             Jeff Gordon (2,103 points, -19)
10.         Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,080 points, -34)
11.         Ryan Newman (2,081 points, -41)
12.         Denny Hamlin (2,054 points, -68*)

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the fourth race of the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup – is the Oct. 9 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with a pre-race show at 1 p.m.

* Over 1 full race behind in points.

“I felt the Army ROTC Chevrolet stuck better than in yesterday’s practice, but it appears we still have to make more changes,” said Newman, who won at Dover in June 2003, September 2003 and September 2004. “We need to get the car a little better. We’ll go over all the data, talk to our teammate and then come up with a race plan.”

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for SHR, will start 28th after turning a lap of 22.965 seconds at 156.760 mph.

“We were just tight,” said Stewart, who won at Dover in June 2000 and September 2000. “We struggled yesterday in practice and obviously didn’t get the lap we wanted. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Martin Truex Jr., captured his sixth career Sprint Cup pole, his first of the season and his second at Dover by posting a lap of 22.641 seconds at 159.004 mph.

Kurt Busch will start on the outside of row one as he timed in at 22.644 seconds at 158.983 mph. Paul Menard was third (22.659 seconds at 158.667 mph), while Carl Edwards (22.705 seconds at 158.555 mph) and Kyle Busch (22.706 seconds at 158.548 mph) rounded out the top-five.

Forty-four drivers attempted to qualify for the AAA 400. The lone driver not making the cut in the 43-car field was Mike Skinner.

Qualifying turned out to be a model of parity as all four makes qualified within the top-four. Toyota took the top spot via Truex’s pole-winning run. Dodge was next best at the hands of Kurt Busch. Chevrolet was the third-fastest make thanks to Menard, while Edwards carried the flag for Ford.

The AAA 400 gets underway at 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.

I KNOW YOU COME HERE TO WIN EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND AND I KNOW THAT SEVERAL DRIVERS HAVE SAID TODAY THAT THAT TURNAROUND CAN HAPPEN, ARE YOU SURPRISED OR WAS THERE EVER A FEELING OF FUTILITY THIS YEAR, DID YOU HOLD ON TO THE FACT THAT THAT SWITCH COULD COME THAT QUICKLY? 
“You know that this sport is so technology driven that you can find something in a week and it be a big difference so you never look at it and say it can’t happen. You just hope it’s going to happen or you hope you’re not in a situation where you are looking for that. You hope you are already there but we were in a situation where we needed some help.”

IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE AND OWNER/DRIVER HAS WON A CHAMPIONSHIP, CAN YOU KIND OF PUT THAT IN A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE? 
“Come talk to me in eight weeks and we’ll talk about it. We’ll worry about it in eight weeks. We’ve got a long way to go before we need to worry about that.”

CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT HAVING TO WEAR ALL THOSE HATS IN THIS SITUATION NOW? 
“Same thing we’ve been doing for three years now. This isn’t a new topic. We’ve been doing this for our third year now. We’re not doing anything different.” 

BUT THIS MIGHT BE THE BEST POSITION YOU’VE BEEN IN, IN THESE THREE YEARS. 
“So far, but it’s early.” 

SO WHAT’S BEEN THE BUILD-UP, HOW HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM THE TWO YEARS AND WEARING ALL THE HATS? 
“It hasn’t been different than the first year. You surround yourself with good people and that’s something we learned from Joe Gibbs a long time ago. If you surround yourself with the right people and let them do their jobs then it should work out fine.”

AFTER WINNING LAST WEEK IN NEW HAMPSHIRE YOU SAID YOU WERE CONCERNED ABOUT HERE AT DOVER, WHAT WERE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT? 
“We just haven’t been very good here the last couple of races so we definitely need to pick up our performance this week.”

WHAT CHANGED, EARLIER IN YOUR CAREER YOU WERE BETTER HERE AND NOW THE LAST FEW YEARS YOU HAVEN’T BEEN? 
“Technology has changed a lot in the last 13 years, the cars have changed a lot, the tires have changed a lot. There have been a lot of variables that have changed.”

YOU GUYS HAVE DRIVEN DIFFERENT TYPES OF VEHICLES, WHEN THERE ARE SOME OF THESE BIG CHANGES THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN THIS SPORT, IS IT AS DIFFERENT AS COMPLETELY DRIVING ANOTHER TYPE OF CAR? 
“I don’t think it quite that big of a change but it is a difference and I think that is probably the reason why I like driving different types of cars because when you do have a change like this it doesn’t seem as drastic of a change to me I guess because I’m used to bouncing around different cars in different fields. So I think you get used to it a little easier.”

WE LIKE TO THINK AS TALLADEGA AS THE WILD CARD, BUT HERE THINGS HAPPEN SO FAST COULD THIS BE A WILD CARD TRACK? 
“I don’t think so. I think the races here are pretty normal. I don’t think there is anything that is out of the norm here.”

THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE SAYING JIMMIE JOHNSON IS 10^TH IN POINTS, HE’S OUT OF IT DO YOU OVERLOOK HIM STILL AT THIS POINT? 
“I’m not even looking at any of the 11 guys; I’m worrying about what we’re doing with our car honestly and not worrying about where everybody else is at. We got to go out and do our job. If we don’t do our job it doesn’t matter where they’re at or who it is, it’s irrelevant if we don’t go do what we do.”

YOU’VE SEEN A LOT OF SWINGS FROM POINTS LEADERS, I THINK 11 POINTS LEADERS THIS YEAR COMPARED TO LIKE FOUR IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS SO IT SEEMS TO BE A LOT MORE SWINGS NOW, DO YOU KNOW WHY THAT IS? 
“I have no idea. No clue.”

THE NEXT TWO WEEKENDS ARE GOING BACK TO 1.5-MILE TRACKS, ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK TO THOSE? 
“It doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t matter what the 10 races are in the schedule. You’ve got to be good at all of them so we are just taking it a week at a time right now like we’ve been doing all year.”

KYLE LARSON SWEPT THE USAC RACES LAST WEEK, SAID HE WOULD GIVE ALL THE MONEY BACK TO GET A RIDE IN ONE OF YOUR WOO CARS, TALK ABOUT HIS SUCCESS SO FAR AND WHAT YOU’VE NOTICED ABOUT HIM. 
“He’s done an awesome job. It doesn’t matter what kind of car he gets in he goes fast. I was there to watch him last week at Eldora and it was impressive to watch him run all three divisions. The impressive part was he had never been there before. That is what was impressive is how quick he took to it and he looked like a veteran around there.” 
IS THERE A FUTURE FOR HIM AT TONY STEWART RACING? 
“Let me get through worrying about what I’m doing here first.”

ON PAPER IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE YOU GUYS CAME OUT OF NOWHERE, DID YOU COME OUT OF NOWHERE? 
“I don’t know, did we?” 
IT SEEMS LIKE IT. 
“You’re going to tell the story so you tell me whether we came out of nowhere. 
OTHER THAN ATLANTA, UNTIL ATLANTA THE NO. 14 WASN’T THERE. 
“Alright, you’re telling me something everybody already knows. We already know that part of it.” SO IT’S OLD NEWS? “Yeah. We’ve been answering that and talking about that for three straight weeks now. We weren’t good until Atlanta.” 
DON’T YOU LIKE TALKING ABOUT BEING FAST? 
“Yeah, I love to talk about being fast. We weren’t good before Atlanta and Atlanta started a four-week stretch now that’s been really good. I don’t know why it’s turned around or what’s been the answer for it but I’m happy it’s been that way”.
.I’M TRYING AS HARD AS YOU ARE TO ASK IT DIFFERENTLY AS YOU ARE TO ANSWER IT DIFFERENTLY. 
“I know, that’s why I’m smiling while I’m answering.”

LAST WEEK YOU MENTIONED GETTING RID OF DEAD WEIGHT; DOES THAT MEAN SOMETHING IT’S EASIER TO DRIVE WHEN YOU HAVE OUTSIDE DISTRACTIONS OVER YOUR HEAD? 
“I think the last two weeks have proven I don’t care what the distractions are I can focus on what I need to focus on.” 
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT, DISTRACTIONS? 
“Anything. Dealing with you guys is a distraction but we can still go do what we need to do.”

WHEN YOU MAKE CHANGES TODAY, I’VE HEARD THE ONLY CHANGES YOU CAN MAKE ARE SMALL THINGS THAT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE, WHEN YOU MAKE A TINY GAIN TODAY DOES IT MAKE A BIGGER DIFFERENCE THEN WHEN YOU WON YOUR FIRST COUPLE OF CHAMPIONSHIPS? 
“I guess the competition is just so close that a little chunk can move you a lot in the running order in practice. It used to be the field used to be separated by ¾ of a second, now it might be four tenths of a second so a smaller change is a bigger percentage of gain there. I just think with the closer the competition gets any gain is a bigger gain than what it used to be.” 
SO NOT A SPEED DIFFERENCE AS MUCH AS A RUNNING ORDER DIFFERENCE? 
“It doesn’t matter how fast you run it’s all in perspective of how fast everybody else runs so you’re gain is only relevant to the guys around you.”

Wilmington, Del., native Thorogood, and his band, the Delaware Destroyers, pumped out such hits as “Bad to the Bone” and a resounding cover of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love” en route to 16 studio albums, two of which went Platinum while six more went Gold.

But in the early 2000s, it was Stewart who seemed to be the real Delaware Destroyer, as he was bad to the bone at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.

From the time Stewart rolled around the high-banked, 1-mile oval as a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie in 1999 and then on through the 2004 season, his worst finish was 11^th. And during that span, Stewart scored two wins – back-to-back, no less, in 2000 – and notched eight top-fives and 11 top-10s in 12 starts, all while leading a whopping 1,066 laps, or 22.2 percent of the 4,800 laps available. If Stewart were asked the question, “Who Do You Love?” his answer would be “Dover.”

Then, like Austin Powers, he somehow lost his mojo at Dover, for since 2005, Stewart has only led six laps and has just three top-10s with a best finish of second in June 2009.

Now “Delaware Destroyer” takes on new meaning, for the aptly named “Monster Mile” could potentially destroy Stewart’s championship chances if he has a run like he did when the series last visited Dover in May, where he started 27^th and finished six laps down in 29^th.

But if there ever was a team that could rally from such a performance, it’s Stewart and the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 squad of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), for they’ve been rallying all season.

After round No. 3 of the 36-race season, Stewart and Co. were atop the point standings thanks to three straight races where they contended for the win. Then, adversity bit the No. 14 team, where they went from challenging for wins to enduring challenging top-10s. By the time they entered the midpoint of the season, Stewart was 12^th in points, and with no wins, was in danger of missing the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

But quietly, the Office Depot/Mobil 1 team began to rally. Five top-10s were scored in the next nine races, including a strong second-place finish in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon to SHR teammate Ryan Newman. By the time the Chase cutoff race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway was over, Stewart was ninth in points and in the 10-race Chase for the seventh time of his career.

Once in the Chase, the mojo Stewart had been searching for all season long returned. He knocked down his first Sprint Cup win of the season and the 40^th of his career when he won the Chase opener at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. It put Stewart second in points, just seven markers out of the top spot, heading into the second Chase race at New Hampshire.

In his return to New Hampshire, Stewart finished one spot better than he had in July. The victory gave Stewart back-to-back wins for the eighth time in his Sprint Cup career, with the previous occurrence coming in July 2007 when he won back-to-back races at Chicagoland and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It also allowed for a 14-point swing, with Stewart taking the lead in the Chase standings by seven points over second-place Kevin Harvick.

Now, Dover looms again. It’s the third race of the Chase, and Stewart enters it with a good bit of trepidation, but thanks to his recent win streak, plenty of momentum. His team’s uncanny ability to rally, as demonstrated over the past four races where they’ve finished third, seventh, first and first, is what has allowed them to battle back from adversity and remake themselves into championship contenders.

As a two-time Sprint Cup champion (2002 and 2005), Stewart knows that titles are hard-earned, and with 13 years of Sprint Cup experience in his pocket, he fully expects Dover to test the resolve of him and his race team. But for a team that’s been tested all season long, it’s just another performance review.

TONY STEWART, Driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Every driver says that Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway is the wild-card track in the Chase, because anything can happen there. But it seems every driver has another track on the Chase schedule where they feel a little vulnerable. Is Dover that track for you?

“Dover has been the track where we’ve struggled the most, so I think that’s the one that we have to look at and say, ‘This is one that we have to figure out and do better if we’re going to have a shot at this.’ We have to survive there.”

When you have a day where you’re struggling, how important is it to make something out of nothing?

“It can be the difference between sitting at the head table and finishing third or fourth in points. You’re not going to have 10 perfect days. You’re going to have at least one day that’s going to be a little more challenging than the rest. It’s the team that can overcome that and rebound and make the most of it that’s going to salvage that day. It can be the difference between two or three spots at the end of the Chase.”

You’ve won at every track in the Chase, including Dover. How helpful is that?

“We’ve been good at all of them at some point in the last 13 years, but we’ve struggled a little bit at some of them this year. We’ve had one of those years where we’ve been just been a little bit off and weird things have happened. Hopefully, we’ve got that bad luck behind us and we can get back on a winning streak at these tracks.”

Before you started the Chase, you didn’t include yourself among your own list of viable championship contenders. You’re the point leader now. Has your opinion changed?

“The last four weeks have been awesome, but we’ve got a tough hurdle ahead of us at Dover. We really struggled there, and that’s the one race in the Chase I’m worried about the most, but this is the best scenario we can have going into it. Our guys are pumped up and I’m proud of Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing. They never give up. We’re going to keep digging these next eight weeks.”

How much momentum has back-to-back wins given you?

“When you talk about momentum, that racecar doesn’t know anything about momentum. It knows what you put in it and it knows how we drive it, but it doesn’t know stats. It doesn’t know anything other than just what’s in it. Momentum deals with people. It’s not just these first two races of the Chase, it was the two weeks leading into the Chase, too. We haven’t finished outside the top-seven in the last four weeks. That’s huge for us. It’s huge for our guys. We had one of those seasons up to the Chase where we couldn’t do anything right. We couldn’t get it clicking. We couldn’t get through all the bad luck. It seems like every week something would happen and we’d have to dig ourselves out of a hole. I’m hoping and praying that we’re through that string of bad luck now and things are going to click the next eight weeks.”

How do you approach these next eight weeks?

“One day at a time like we’ve done for 31 years of our racing career. The philosophy of how to win races and championships doesn’t change from week to week. You do the same thing. It starts on Friday and you take it one day at a time.”

Your team has seemingly been rallying all season long. Can you speak to the resolve of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team?

“I think it shows the camaraderie that we’ve got with the whole team. Ryan (Newman, teammate) and Tony Gibson (crew chief for Newman) have been awesome the last couple of weeks, doing everything they can to help us be better. That’s just kind of the attitude our whole shop’s had. We’ve all been working together.”

Dover’s surface is concrete. Do you have to alter your driving style when you race on concrete?

“I don’t think you drive it any differently. But because it is concrete, the track has a lot more bumps than an asphalt track would. There are seams in Dover’s surface and places where they’ve cut the concrete for expansion. Those sections shift and change, and every year when you go there, the bumps are a little bit different than they were the year before. Dover is a track that’s constantly changing. But it’s one of those places where you really can’t change your driving style. You still have to do the same things you always do. It’s just a matter of finding the package that’s right for that racetrack. But other than that, you go through the same set of scenarios and challenges you would on any asphalt track – either the car is going to be tight or it’s going to be loose.”

Dover is a pretty unique track being that it’s a high-banked, 1-mile concrete oval. How do you approach it?

“Dover is a track that is kind of a two-phase deal. It’s easy to get your car too tight in the center (of the corner) trying to get it to drive up off the corner nice, and it seems like if you get it to rotate through the corner, then it’s way loose off. Those are the two things that you really battle there. It’s the sacrifice of where do you want to be a little bit off to accomplish having a balanced car.”

TONY STEWART’S DOVER PERFORMANCE PROFILE

? Car was qualified by Ricky Rudd. Race was started by Stewart, but finished by Rudd who took over for Stewart in a relief role on lap 38.

† Qualifying canceled due to weather, starting position set via car owner points.

× Race length extended due to green-white-checker finish.

Despite having strong performances in the first two Chase events at Chicagoland Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Newman finds himself in 11th place, 34 markers from teammate and points leader, Tony Stewart.

“The results have not equaled the performances for our team at the past two races,” said Newman, whose U.S. Army Chevrolet at Dover will pay tribute to the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (Army ROTC), a college-based, officer commissioning program. “We know we should be up there with the point leaders. A fuel mileage issue at Chicago and a flat tire at New Hampshire cost us valuable points, especially last week at Loudon (New Hampshire).”

When Newman took the white flag at the Chicagoland Speedway race he was running fourth, but with two turns remaining on the 1.5-mile oval he ran out of gas and coasted to the checkered flag with an eighth-place finish.

At Sunday’s race in New Hampshire, a pit-road miscue knocked Newman out of first place after he led the first 62 laps. But more devastating was an unscheduled pit stop for a flat tire with fewer than five laps remaining, which dropped Newman from a probable top-10 finish to 25th.

“We’ve put ourselves in a hole, but the good news is that we still have eight races to go to make up the difference,” noted Newman. “We’ve been known for our comebacks and the way we fight through adversity. One thing you always hear from our Soldiers is that you never quit and you complete the mission. That’s what this Army race team has done and will always continue to do.”

If Newman’s history at Dover’s Monster Mile has any significant meaning, then it’s the place he wants to be at to turn around his recent misfortunes.

In 19 starts at Dover, Newman has garnered three wins, six top-fives, 11 top-10s, four poles and has led 842 laps.

“Dover ranks real high on my list of favorite tracks — it’s a lot of fun to drive there,” explained Newman. “I like everything about the facility, the ability to pass cars, the speed, the high banking and the concrete track surface. I’ve always said once you get a race car right there, it usually stays right all day. I sure like the challenge of dropping off into the corners and the way it pushes you down in the seat when you’re coming off the corners. Dover is also an awesome place to qualify at even though it’s not a forgiving track.”

Photo by Jerry Markland - Getty Images for NASCAR

“I’ve never driven so hard for so little,” said Newman after the race. “I’m not trying to beat up the guys because they know and they’re just as frustrated as I am right now. We just couldn’t get it right today. No matter what change we made, we didn’t make our Haas Automation Chevrolet any better.”

Unfortunately, Newman’s day was a disappointment from the drop of the green flag. After qualifying was rained out on Saturday, the field was set by taking the fastest lap each driver posted during Friday’s practice sessions, per new NASCAR rules for 2011. Newman started 28th.

From the beginning, Newman struggled with handling issues, which continued throughout the 400-lap event at the 1-mile oval. The car started out extremely tight, and Newman told crew chief Tony Gibson that the front end of his car wouldn’t turn at all. Under caution at lap 19, Newman pitted for four fresh tires and the pit crew removed a half-rubber out of the right-rear spring.

Only a few laps into the run, Newman told his crew that the change had somewhat helped the racecar but that he was still too tight. At lap 40, NASCAR had a competition caution in order to check tire wear since it had rained on Saturday and overnight into Sunday morning. Under the caution, Newman pitted once more for right-side tires, fuel and wedge and air pressure adjustments. Newman and Gibson opted to take only two tires in hopes of gaining track position.

Newman gained several spots and restarted in 17th place at lap 45. However, the adjustments did not help his handling woes. The Haas Automation Chevrolet was too free in, too tight in the center and even tighter exiting the corners. By lap 60, Newman had fallen out of the top-20. By lap 105, Newman was in 25th place and had lost one lap to the leaders. Throughout the course of the 400-lap race, Newman was unable to make up the lost lap because of his ill-handling racecar.

He finished the race in 28th place, two laps down to the leaders.

“We never hit it from lap one,” said Gibson following the race. “We were extremely tight, and then as the rubber built up on the racetrack, we’d get loose. We were slinging big things all day long and we couldn’t keep up with it. It’s just hard to take when you’re sitting there watching him struggle and you can’t do anything to help.

“I’m sorry to all the fans out there of Ryan Newman because we didn’t do him a very good job this weekend. We appreciate all of our sponsors. We’ll keep our heads up and keep digging. We’ve got a great race team and a great driver, and we’re going to one of our favorite race tracks next week – Charlotte.”

Both SHR drivers struggled with the handling of their respective machines as Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala, finished 29th.

Matt Kenseth won the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks to score his 20th career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his second at Dover.

Mark Martin finished 2.122 seconds behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, while Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers rounded out the top-five. Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 28 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish.

With round 11 of 36 complete, Newman dropped from sixth to seventh in the Sprint Cup championship standings. He now has 340 points and is 76 markers behind series leader Edwards. Stewart dropped three positions to 10th in the standings. He has 328 points and is 88 points back of Edwards.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the May 21 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The non-point-paying event begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by SPEED beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m. (SPEED’s “RaceDay” will begin at 4 p.m.)

Photo by Jerry Markland - Getty Images for NASCAR

Stewart started the 400-lap event from 27th in the 43-car field and was able to crack the top-20 within the first 50 laps. Despite gaining several spots, Stewart radioed to crew chief Darian Grubb that he was battling a tight-handling condition. So, during the first stop of the day on lap 42 during a NASCAR-mandated competition caution, Grubb called for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to help the car’s handling.

When the race restarted, Stewart told Grubb that his car was still tight, and with only eight laps of caution in the first 100 laps, Stewart was close to going one lap down to the leaders as the race neared the 110-mile mark. That turned out to be just the beginning of his problems.

Stewart pitted on lap 109 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, but unfortunately, the fuel never found its way into Stewart’s Chevrolet.

For 2011, NASCAR introduced a self-ventilating fuel can, which not only dumps fuel into the car, but also catches the overflow fuel when the tank is full. It’s a complicated system that every once in awhile still presents a challenge to race teams.

Such was the case for the No. 14 team at Dover, as the can of gas never connected with the fuel hook-up on Stewart’s machine. That meant no gas went in the car and Stewart had to return to pit road on lap 116 to fill the tank. The miscue put Stewart three laps down and in 35th place.

From there, Stewart battled an evil racecar and ended up six laps behind the leaders in 29th when the checkered flag mercifully waved.

Stewart’s SHR teammate, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala, fared slightly better, finishing 21st.

Matt Kenseth won the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks to score his 20th career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his second at Dover.

Mark Martin finished 2.122 seconds behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot, while Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers rounded out the top-five. Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 28 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish.

With round 11 of 36 complete, Newman dropped from sixth to seventh in the Sprint Cup championship standings. He now has 340 points and is 76 markers behind series leader Edwards. Stewart dropped three positions to 10th in the standings. He has 328 points and is 88 points back of Edwards.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the May 21 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The non-point-paying event begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by SPEED beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m. (SPEED’s “RaceDay” will begin at 4 p.m.)

Photo by Jason Smith - Getty Images for NASCAR

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), will start 27th. His SHR teammate, Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, will start 28th.

Stewart has won two Sprint Cup races at Dover, as he swept both events in 2000. Newman has three Sprint Cup victories at the 1-mile, concrete oval – he swept both races in 2003 and won the fall race in 2004.

Five-time and reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will start first as he posted the fastest speed in yesterday’s two practice sessions. Joining him on the outside of row one is A.J. Allmendinger, while Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano comprise the remainder of the top-five. Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick round out the top-10.

With 44 drivers slated to qualify for the 43-car field, only Scott Riggs failed to make the starting grid.

The FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks gets underway at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 15 with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 12:30 p.m.