Could a pit road blunder have cost Tony Stewart a chance at the 2007 Nextel Cup championship?

Just past halfway in Saturday's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway (Lap 177 of 334 to be exact), Stewart looked to have pulled off a coup by pitting for gas only and pulling away in hopes of grabbing the lead. Unfortunately for the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, he did not notice that cars were still streaming into the pits as he tried to make his quick exit, and he hit Paul Menard on the way out. As if that wasn't enough, he bumped into Kasey Kahne seconds later.

I won't get into whose fault it is - because that's really not relevant at the moment. What is relevant however is the points that Stewart lost as a result of this mistake.

Yes, he went on to finish seventh on the night ---- but that was after his team fixed damage to his car and he drover like a madman for the result. If he could have kept his car clear of damage, don't you think that he could have challenged race winner and championship leader Jeff Gordon?

But what do you think? Did Tony Stewart blow his chance at a championship due to the pit road mistake? Can he bounce back and win the title?

Let us know your thoughts.