For the first half and then some of Sunday's Food City 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart was performing his own rendition of the Bristol Stomp. The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet Impala SS for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) had led four times for a race-high 257 laps, with his nearest pursuers resigned to the fact they were running for second. But misfortune struck the No. 20 machine on lap 289 when the fuel pump cable broke. With no fuel pressure, the engine shut off, forcing Stewart to come to pit road. Crew members were able to replace the cable, but the process was lengthy.
The two-time Nextel Cup champion was able to return to the 504-lap race, albeit 25 laps down. After dominating the race, Stewart was forced to simply ride around to the finish, where he posted a gut-wrenching 35th-place result.
"The guys worked real hard, because we didn't have a really good test here," said crew chief Greg Zipadelli, referring to the team's test session at the .533-mile oval in early March. "I'm proud of everybody. They kept their chins up and came back here tough and we brought back a really good race car. But, we don't have anything to show for it. We'll go to Martinsville next week and try to have a better race."
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