Mulligan Stew

Tony Stewart came up roses on a fuel gamble Monday at Chicagoland, canceling out his failed gamble last year in the Chase opener at New Hampshire.

Several others in the Chase crowd weren’t so lucky, and they will pay the price. Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon all ran out on the final lap.

You see, there are no “mulligans” this year, with the new point structure. Take co-leader Busch, who had to stop late for gas and finished 22nd. He dropped 8 spots to ninth in the points and trails Harvick by 19 headed to NHMS.

Gordon dropped eight as well to 11th with a 24th-place run, also running out on the final lap. He’s 25 points out.

Denny Hamlin, who entered the final race of 2010 with the point lead, finished 31st and is likely out of the Chase this year. He trails by 41 points…with nine races left.

For Stewart, he broke a 32-race winless streak and got sweet redemption for running out a lap early last year at NHMS. That cost him five spots in the standings, and he was never able to dig himself out of that hole.

“It's huge,” said Stewart in Victory Lane. “We've had a rough year, so this is a good way to start it off.”

To top it off, Ryan Newman and Stewart finished 1-2 at NHMS in July.

The best news of the day was that Dale Earnhardt Jr. benefitted from so many running out on the last lap. He vaulted to third at the stripe, his best run since Kansas in June, and rallied five spots in the points to fifth.

Johnson, who led a good deal of the race Monday, wound up 10th, and dropped two spots to eighth in the standings.

Kenseth was pushed across the finish line by JJ. Yeley, help NASCAR deemed illegal and the punishment dropped Kenseth to 21st. He fell six spots in the standings to 10th.

Kenseth was as incensed as he gets after the race.

“I don't know what to do about the fuel mileage,” said the polesitter. “It is really frustrating to be a race car driver and they drop the green on the last run of the day when you are supposed to put on a show for the fans, and you have to run half throttle and can't floor it or you will run out of gas.

“It is pretty aggravating to do all the work and qualifying and pit stops and adjustments but none of it makes a difference.”

That’s NASCAR racing these days…