Jun 8, 2013 4 min read

LONG POND (AP) – Tony Stewart ducked through a tarp-covered tent in the garage and was off to the No. 14.

“Make it two in a row, Tony!” a fan yelled as Stewart hustled through the Pocono Raceway garage.

With a second practice session on tap, Stewart had little time Saturday to dissect why his car is suddenly one of the ones to beat.

But it sure is.

Stewart is coming off his first win of the season at Dover and his second straight top-10 finish, results that have thrust the three-time Cup champion into the No. 1 wild-card spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.

For an added boost, Stewart was one of the few drivers who participated last month in an open Pocono test in the Gen-6 race car. With practice and qualifying washed out Friday, Stewart and crew chief Steve Addington have additional resources on hand to help master the 2½-mile triangle track.

And there are more reasons to think Stewart can keep the push going at Pocono. His last win here in 2009 was his first as a car owner at Stewart-Haas Racing, and he finished fifth and third at the two Pocono races last season.

No Cup driver has won consecutive races this season, but a confident Stewart has always been a dangerous Stewart. That could be the difference today.

Stewart used his post-race news conference at Dover to sternly deny he was ever considering giving Addington the boot because of a slow start that had the team mired around 20th in the points standings. Addington, who took over as Stewart’s crew chief last season, appreciated that his boss backed him so publicly. Addington made a late pit call to take two tires at Dover that was one of the defining decisions at Dover.

For whatever reason, Stewart sputtered along for most of the season to a series of middle-of-the-pack finishes. He had seven straight races of 17th or worse and only one other top 10 before a seventh two races ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

He passed Juan Pablo Montoya with three laps left last week at Dover to snap a 30-race winless streak and remind everyone that it’s always a mistake to count ol’ Smoke out of the Chase picture.

His 48th career win pushed him to 16th in the points standings and aided his cause for a wild-card spot. The two drivers in the 11th to 20th spot in the standings with the most wins earn a slot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Stewart is the only driver in those spots with a victory.

Of course, Stewart is only 33 points outside the top 10, which isn’t much for him to make up over the next 13 races before the Chase field is set. Stewart has 42 career victories after June 1.

Allmendinger to replace Labonte: AJ Allmendinger will replace Bobby Labonte next week at Michigan International Speedway for JTG Daugherty Racing.

Allmendinger could drive even more Cup races for the struggling race team. Labonte, the 2000 Cup champion, is 28th in the Sprint Cup points standings and hasn’t finished better than 15th in a race.

With the team scuffling along, JTG Daugherty Racing decided it was time for a change in the No. 47 Toyota.

Allmendinger will likely also race for JTG-Daugherty at Watkins Glen and at three other tracks where the team was currently lacking major sponsorship.

Allmendinger has driven a limited NASCAR schedule since being suspended for a failed drug test last year. Roger Penske fired him but gave him another chance in IndyCar.