"Smoke" Wins at Kansas

I've been a NASCAR fan for about three years. When Garrett was 3 he started getting NASCAR Hot Wheels from relatives. One day we decided to find these cars on TV and Dee and I have been hooked since. While Dee's and Garrett's favorite driver is "pretty boy" Jeff Gordon (car #24), my favorite is Tony Stewart (#20), whose nickname is "Smoke."

NASCAR is pretty much in the semi-finals of the season where the top 10 racers move on to the championships but others are still allowed to race. Gordon is in the top 10, Stewart isn't. But Tony still raced this past weekend in Kansas. The cool thing about this race is that not only did Jeff Gordon DNF (Did Not Finish...because of a blown engine) but Tony won the race! And he did it with no gas!

Here's how it went down. There were two drivers ahead of Tony, Jimmie Johnson (#48) and Jeff Burton (#31). But all three had been racing 60+ laps without an opportunity to get gas. All three were in desperate need of gas to complete the race. Jeff Burton "pitted" (got gas) with nine laps to go. Johnson pitted with four laps to go. That meant Burton and Johnson fell out of the top spots for a little while, and they were hoping that Tony would also pit, then Johnson or Burton could get back on the lead. However, Tony never pitted...he took a gamble, didn't get gas, and took the lead with Johnson and Burton trailing behind him. By the time the last lap came around, Tony was running out of gas fast. But he had built up such a big lead that he pretty much coasted to the finish line without gas and his gear in neutral. It was amazing! It was the slowest crossing at the finish line I had ever seen and the funniest!