Ford 400 Notes 'n' Quotes

A man for all seasons – Tony Stewart won half the races in the Chase after winning none in the regular season. He once won the Chase without winning a race. He is the only driver to win championships under the sponsorships of Winston, Nextel and Sprint and the only driver to win under the Chase format and the season-long format that preceded it.

Hard to argue with that – The format has changed, but this marked the first time in NASCAR history that two drivers ended a season with the same number of points. Stewart won a tie-breaker over Carl Edwards by virtue of five victories to Edwards’ one.

Notable numbers

0 – Champion Stewart’s point edge over runner-up Edwards.

2  – Times Edwards has lost a tie-breaker in the Chase. In 2005, he would up tied with Greg Biffle behind Jimmie Johnson.

3 – Number of championships by Stewart.

5  – Victories by Stewart in the 10-race Chase.

Quotable quotes

“We’ve had speed all year. We just need to be consistent.” – Martin Truex Jr. (third)

“Those guys earned it. We pushed them to the end, and that’s all I got.” – Carl Edwards (second)

“We had the car pretty good. We just weren’t as good as them other guys.” – Matt Kenseth (fourth)

“He’s done a lot in his career, but my gosh, this is the greatest thing Tony Stewart’s ever done.” – Jeff Gordon