Tony Stewart raced from behind and outperformed Sprint Cup leader Jimmie Johnson to win at Fontana on Sunday, which is his first victory at the Auto Club Speedway.
Stewart did not have a good start as he was at the 22nd starting position after surviving the qualification rounds. He went on to gain strong lead in the race. His first win came in 19 tries at the San Bernardino County track where Johnson finished third with a 36 point cushion over Denny Hamlin, in what were the last six races.
Stewart's Chase dreams remained a possibility despite his earlier struggles at Loudon – where he had a lead – and after performing badly at Dover. He finished fourth at Kansas last week but the current event was not that good for him as he was 10th in the points table, trailing Johnson by 127 points.
Stewart did not budge from his winning ambitions and was at fifth by the midpoint where he took the lead with 51 laps left. There was a brief trailing behind Juan Pablo Montoya but he soon overcame him. He decided against pitting after Kurt Busch sustained an injury. Stewart pulled away from Johnson on the restart when two laps were remaining in the race.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel won the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka by edging past teammate Mark Webber and ensuring a good place in the Formula One lead. Vettel defended his title after starting from the pole at the 3.61-mile circuit. Ferrari's Felipe Alonso finished third in the race.
With three races remaining, Webber is leading the circuit with 220 points with Alonso and Vettel each having 206 points.
