Tony Stewart wins at Martinsville Speedway, warns Edwards

Tony Stewart seized Jimmie Johnson on a restart with three laps to go Sunday and captured the checkered flag in the TUMS Relief 500 at Martinsville. The win surged Stewart into contention for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship with just three races left in the 2011 season.

With his third victory of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the two-time champion jumped two spots to second in the standings and now trails Carl Edwards by eight points. Edwards rebounded for ninth after falling a lap down twice.

“He’d better be worried,” said Stewart of Edwards. “That’s all I’m going to say. He isn’t going to have an easy three weeks.”

Edwards struggled all day, running off the lead lap and outside the top 20 for a majority of the day, but rallied to finish ninth and held on to a lead that he seemed likely to lose.

“Last week we kind of rode around on purpose,” Edwards said. “This week I couldn’t get out of the back. We didn’t deserve that finish.”

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season closes with races at Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway; Edwards traditionally has done very well at the latter two.

Others weren’t as lucky, chief among them Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, who had late problems and were both passed by Stewart in the points race.Edwards struggled all day, running off the lead lap and outside the top 20 for a majority of the day, but rallied to finish ninth and held on to a lead that he seemed likely to lose.

“Last week we kind of rode around on purpose,” Edwards said. “This week I couldn’t get out of the back. We didn’t deserve that finish.”

Stewart has won at Chicagoland Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway since the Chase started.

The race featured a season high 18 caution flags (the most at Martinsville since a record 21 in October 2007) and plenty of flared tempers.

Next Sunday the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ventures to Texas Motor Speedway. The last time they raced at the track, Matt Kenseth won. Will Roush-Fenway sweep the weekend? Will Tony Stewart keep the momentum?

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