Tony Stewart picked up his first win of the season Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway!

It had been nearly a year since Stewart last visited victory lane -- 32 races to be exact.

photo credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

“It’s been a long time since we have been in victory lane,” Stewart said. “So it’s something we are not used to. Luckily, we have had the good fortune to not normally go this long without a win. But we had an awesome race car tonight!”

Stewart was dominant from the drop of the green flag and lead a race-high176 of 325 laps. It came down to a duel between Stewart and Carl Edwards on the last two restarts of the night on laps 300 and 307, but Stewart pulled away to lead the final 18 caution-free laps.

“It was fun,” Stewart said. “Tonight is probably the only time that I can ever remember being at Atlanta and being able to take off and have the beginning of the run speed that we had. We had to be the fastest car all night at the beginning of the run; if we got track position and we got anywhere close to clean air, we were able to just take off. Once we get two or three laps in, I didn’t have to run as hard as the guys behind me or to try to pass me — I was able to take care of the tires and after five more laps we with are able to drive away from those guys and open up a huge gap. For a driver, that’s a nice benefit to have, because you can get out there and you’re making those guys have to chase you down. And there were times we were not the fastest car the last half of the run but we were able to stretch a big enough lead up the first half of the run, those guys were not able to make that deficit up.”

It’s Stewart’s 3rd win and 14th top-10 finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 24 races.

Carl Edwards led three times for 32 laps. He held off a fast charging Jimmie Johnson over the closing laps to score a runner-up finish.

“There was nothing significant specifically for this race, but I feel that this race suits my driving style, you know, very well,” Edwards said. “I really enjoy this racetrack. I mean, when Jimmie (Johnson) and Kasey (Kahne) and I were racing, you know, two- and three-wide for the lead there for a few laps, I mean, there’s one point where I was laughing done going down the front straightaway. It was just fun. That’s what racing’s about is having some fun. I feel like this racetrack really lends itself to that style of racing, so I enjoy it and it was a good coincidence my crew and my car were on their game tonight, as well.”

Johnson finished third.

“Tonight was a solid night,” Johnson said. “We had a race with the 9 (Kasey Kahne) and 99 (Carl Edwards), that was so much fun, and that’s the way racing should be. Even there at the end, running the 99 down and we got a little strung out there, but still, to have a car to see the front and to race hard with these guys and adjust on it all night says a lot for the 48 team going forward.” Johnson called his run a “big confidence booster” after finishing 22nd or worse in five of the past seven races.

Kasey Kahne, the defending race winner, was a strong contender to win after leading 16 laps and riding in the top-5 throughout much of the night only to finish a disappointing 32nd, 15 laps behind. Kahne and Ryan Newman made contact over the closing laps of the race which eventually sent Kahne to the garage for repairs.

“I felt like we were there,” Kahne said. “We had a top-five car and when we got out front we were pretty good, but I was still trying to hold off Carl and Jimmie, and Tony was really quick. I was just going down the straightaway and got hit from behind and I know it was the 39 (Ryan Newman), so I feel like he lost us about 20 spots today. He said he got hit from behind and that forced him into me, so that’s racing, but either way, we’re the one that took the big shot there.”

Newman was seen immediately after the race talking to Kahne, before Kahne even had a chance to crawl out of his race car.

“Ryan and I are fine,” Kahne explained. “We don’t have an issue with each other. It’s just that when you get racing sometimes it gets you mad. He lost about four spots from me rubbing him a little bit and I lost about 25 or 30 from him rubbing me, so he got me a little better.”

The night wasn’t any better for the polesitter, Denny Hamlin. His engine let go on lap 144, giving Hamlin a dead last finishing position.

“We just have one more week to hopefully survive,” Hamlin said. “At this point, I’m so lucky there’s no more races before the Chase cutoff, or else we would be in danger of missing it. It’s just very discouraging, but I know we can get it together.”

Hamlin dropped five spots in the point standings, but still clinched his berth in the Chase at Atlanta due to the points leader rough night. Kevin Harvick’s left front tire blew causing much damage to his #29 ride and bringing out the fifth caution for debris as green flag pit stops were in progress. Harvick was held on pit road by officials for a lap so the scoring system could be corrected and the running order sorted out.

Earlier during the race after a green flag pit stop, Harvick had to make a second trip to his pit stall when a valve stem came out of his tire which went unnoticed by his crew until after he exited. Harvick finished 33rd, 16 laps down.

Chase contender Greg Biffle was involved in an accident on lap 152.

“It was my fault,” Biffle said. “I didn’t know we were still three-wide and I guess I cut down on the 39 (Ryan Newman). I have to watch the replay. He certainly didn’t cut us any slack. He could have cut us some slack and let us go there. I don’t know, I’ll have to watch the replay before I make my judgment, but I didn’t know we were still three-wide. It looked like I had cleared him, along with the 43 (AJ Allmendinger), and I just turned down into the corner and, unfortunately, he was there. We still locked ourselves into the chase, so we’re excited about that.” Biffle finished 36th.

Jeff Burton finished fourth at Atlanta followed by Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose completed the top-10.

For the (unofficial) race results, click here (nascar.com)

There were 8 caution flags for 53 laps and 22 lead changes among 7 drivers: D. Hamlin 1-15; R. Newman 16-24; D. Hamlin 25-51; T. Stewart 52-54; D. Hamlin 55-63; T. Stewart 64-86; D. Hamlin 87-90; T. Stewart 91; D. Hamlin 92-94; T. Stewart 95-96; D. Hamlin 97-98; T. Stewart 99-126; D. Hamlin 127-140; C. Edwards 141-147; T. Stewart 148-161; J. Johnson 162-169; T. Stewart 170-249; C. Edwards 250-271; Kurt Busch 272-280; K. Kahne 281-296; Kurt Busch 297; C. Edwards 298-300; T. Stewart 301-325

The top 10 drivers in the standings are all now locked into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Only the top two drivers were locked in before Sunday night’s race while eight drivers gained their entry into the Chase at Atlanta. One race remains until the Chase begins.

“We’ve seen some clear favorites, in my opinion, over the years,” four-time reigning champion Jimmie Johnson said. “But this year, it’s just been — maybe it’s because it’s been more unpredictable than what we have seen in the past and guys have been on streaks and when they are off, they are cold and nothing is going on. It’s just been a different thing. It’s been real tough to understand who is the clear favorite. I would say outside of the 29 (Kevin Harvick), because it doesn’t matter the track or where or what we were doing this year, he’s always been up front and running well and the rest of us have kind of been playing catch up.”

Current Driver Standings

1.	Kevin Harvick	3585
2.	Jeff Gordon	-219
3.	Kyle Busch	-260
4.	Tony Stewart +2	-283
5.	Carl Edwards -1	-297
6.	Jeff Burton +1	-324
7.	Jimmie Johnson +2	-338
8.	Kurt Busch +2	-357
9.	Matt Kenseth -1	-360
10.	Denny Hamlin -5	-438

On The Bubble

11.	Greg Biffle	-475
12.	Clint Bowyer	-519

Outside of the Top 12

13.	Ryan Newman +2	117 points from 12th
14.	Jamie McMurray -1	128 points from 12th
15.	Mark Martin -1	147 points from 12th

Next:
Saturday, Sept. 11th -- Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway (7:30 pm/ABC)