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May of 2013.

It's been a while but Tony Stewart was determined to park his No. 14 Chevrolet SS in Victory Lane again before the end of his storied Sprint Cup career. Stewart accomplished this goal in Sunday's Toyota/Save-Mart 350 from Sonoma Raceway. 

The win snaps a 84-race drought for the three-time Sprint Cup champion which spanned three years and also propels him one step closer to becoming eligible for NASCAR's Chase for the Championship. Similar to last year's champion, Kyle Busch, Stewart needs a win and to be inside the top 30 in driver points to be eligible for NASCAR's playoff format.

 “I made mistakes the last two laps" Stewart said. "I had just a little bit too much rear brake for Turn 7, and wheel-hopped it two laps in a row. But, I felt a nudge when I got down there and he knew where it was and (Denny Hamlin) did the right thing doing it there; but if I could get to him, he knew what was coming. He told me he was proud of me. He knows what it means. We were teammates for a long time and we respect each other a lot.”

The win at Sonoma gives 'Smoke' a total of eight wins on road courses with just one more race at Watkins Glen left in his Sprint Cup career. Stewart once won three road course races in a row in 2004-2005. 

After leading nearly all of the race's final 22 laps, Stewart lost the lead on the race's final lap to Denny Hamlin. On the race's final turn Hamlin appeared to wheel hop and swing out wide giving Stewart the opportunity to drive by on the inside. 

Hamlin, who has never won a road course race in his 11 year Sprint Cup career, admits he made too many errors to capitalize on Stewart's late race mistakes.

"He (Stewart) wheel hopped two laps in a row into (turn) 7 and missed the corner quite a bit and that allowed us to get in shouting distance," Hamlin said. "My biggest problem all day is I wasn't very good on the second half of the track. I thought my car was very good up until Turn 7, and then down the hill in 11 we just weren't very fast for whatever reason. It's a problem I've had here for 11 years. I just knew -- I was trying to gain all the time I could down that hill knowing I needed a big gap, and I just heated up the tires too much going into the final corner. I've blown through them for the last two laps, spinning them. I wheel hopped twice before the final corner, and the car wouldn't take it. It wouldn't take the braking zone that I had before.

"It's part of racing.  It's fun road course racing, and even though we were on the short end of it, it was fun to race."

Hamlin also recounted a road course story from 2006, his rookie season in NASCAR's Sprint Cup division.

"My rookie season Jeff Gordon gave me the rookie chop with a few laps to go at Watkins Glen when I was running second so I backed off, Tony (Stewart) turned me and knocked me up the racetrack," Hamlin recollects. "I remember the next corner, Jeff wheel hops, spins out, Tony goes on and wins the race, and I was thinking that  I owed him one on a road course, but I'm sure he wasn't thinking of that in his final season at a road course trying to get into the Chase. Tony has been ultra fair to me quite a bit. He's treated me really well my entire career.  

"It's not like I gave him one by any means. He gave us an opportunity to move him, we did, and then we got it back. It's just part of the deal."

Joey Logano finished right behind his former JGR teammates, Stewart and Hamlin, bringing his top-ten total for the 2016 season to 10 and it also marks his highest career finish at the Northern California road course. 

2014 Sonoma winner Carl Edwards finished in fourth place just ahead of 2013 Sonoma winner Martin Truex, Jr. Kevin Harvick finished in sixth place followed by Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch rounding out the top-ten.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr, ran in the top ten for most of the day suffered significant damage after contact with Carl Edwards in the race's final stages but still managed to grab an 11th place finish.

Stewart believes the victory is a good tune for which to exit the sport and appreciates what the road courses have meant to the path of his career but also believes there is a lot more racing left for him to do.

"This place has meant a lot to me," Stewart said. "It's nice to -- if I don't win another one, it's cool to win the last one here. If it doesn't happen again, it's cool. I'll be all right if this is the last place I win one. I'm going for more, just for the record. I see pens going crazy. I'm not saying I'm laying down, I'm saying if that's the only one I get this year, then I'll be content. But I don't think -- I think you've known me long enough, you guys know that I don't lay down for anything.

"All you've got to do is just give me that little bit of hope, and I'll run with it."

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 16
Unofficial Race Results for the 28Th Annual Toyota/Save Mart 350 - Sunday, June 26, 2016
Sonoma Raceway - Sonoma, CA - 1.99 Mile Road
Total Race Length - 110 Laps - 218.9 Miles

Leader
Fin    Str    Car    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Status    Tms    Laps
1    10    14    Tony Stewart    Code 3 Assoc/Mobil 1 Chevrolet    110    44    4    107.0    Running    1    22
2    6    11    Denny Hamlin    FedEx Cares Toyota    110    41    2    122.3    Running    2    33
3    7    22    Joey Logano    Shell Pennzoil Ford    110    38        99.7    Running        
4    1    19    Carl Edwards    Stanley Toyota    110    38    1    124.4    Running    2    24
5    3    78    Martin Truex Jr    Furniture Row Toyota    110    36        124.5    Running        
6    25    4    Kevin Harvick    Mobil 1 Chevrolet    110    36    1    100.0    Running    1    3
7    8    18    Kyle Busch    M&M's 75th Anniversary Toyota    110    35    1    110.0    Running    1    2
8    17    31    Ryan Newman    WIX Filters Chevrolet    110    33        86.0    Running        
9    19    5    Kasey Kahne    Great Clips Chevrolet    110    32        89.9    Running        
10    4    41    Kurt Busch    Monster Energy/Haas Automation Chevrolet    110    31        91.1    Running        
11    13    88    Dale Earnhardt Jr    Axalta Chevrolet    110    30        103.9    Running        
12    5    42    Kyle Larson    Target Chevrolet    110    29        97.4    Running        
13    15    48    Jimmie Johnson    Lowe's Chevrolet    110    28        87.7    Running        
14    2    47    AJ Allmendinger    Ralph's/Kingsford Chevrolet    110    28    1    108.2    Running    4    20
15    12    2    Brad Keselowski    Alliance Truck Parts Ford    110    26        79.7    Running        
16    9    27    Paul Menard    Richmond/Menards Chevrolet    110    26    1    76.6    Running    1    3
17    21    1    Jamie McMurray    Cessna Chevrolet    110    24        67.0    Running        
18    32    16    Greg Biffle    Performance Plus Motor Oil Ford    110    23        74.0    Running        
19    11    10    Danica Patrick    Nature?s Bakery Chevrolet    110    23    1    69.8    Running    1    3
20    23    20    Matt Kenseth    Dollar General Toyota    110    21        69.0    Running        
21    16    24    Chase Elliott #    3M Chevrolet    110    20        67.7    Running        
22    24    3    Austin Dillon    Dow/Utility Trailers Chevrolet    110    19        60.8    Running        
23    26    21    * Ryan Blaney #    Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford    110    18        63.2    Running        
24    14    13    Casey Mears    GEICO Chevrolet    110    17        61.5    Running        
25    28    6    Trevor Bayne    AdvoCare Ford    110    16        52.8    Running        
26    27    17    Ricky Stenhouse Jr    Fastenal Ford    110    15        50.3    Running        
27    29    43    Aric Almirola    Smithfield Ford    110    14        55.0    Running        
28    31    7    Regan Smith    Nikko RC/Road Rippers Monster Shark Chevrolet    110    13        48.5    Running        
29    37    38    Landon Cassill    MDS Transport Ford    110    12        43.5    Running        
30    36    34    Chris Buescher    Love?s Travel Stops Ford    110    11        43.3    Running        
31    33    83    Matt DiBenedetto    Dustless Blasting Toyota    110    10        39.0    Running        
32    30    23    David Ragan    Dr Pepper Toyota    110    9        37.2    Running        
33    22    44    Brian Scott #    Safeway/Blue Emu Ford    110    8        41.8    Running        
34    35    98    * Cole Whitt    RTIC Toyota    110    7        40.5    Running        
35    38    93    * Dylan Lupton(i)    Bell Bros Plumbing, Heat & Air/Elk Grove Toyota Toyota    110    0        32.0    Running        
36    40    46    Michael Annett    Pilot Flying J Chevrolet    109    5        27.2    Running        
37    34    32    Patrick Carpentier    Can-Am Ford    108    4        30.5    Running        
38    39    30    * Josh Wise    Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet    97    3        24.8    Engine        
39    20    95    Michael McDowell    KLOVE Radio Chevrolet    91    2        48.2    Rear Gear        
40    18    15    Clint Bowyer    5-hour Energy Chevrolet    5    1        25.3    Electrical        
 Race Comments:    Tony Stewart won the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, his 49th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, no cars dropped to the rear of the field. 
 Failed to Qualify:    (1) 55 Cody Ware(i).
 Time of Race:    02 Hrs, 42 Mins, 13 Secs.    Average Speed:    80.966 MPH    Margin of Victory:    0.625 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    4 for 10 laps: Laps: 8-8 (#15 accident turn 8 [None]); 47-49 (Debris [93]); 88-90 (Debris [23]); 94-96 (#95 stopped on track [None]).
 Lead Changes:    12 among 8 drivers: C. Edwards 1-8; A. Allmendinger 9-24; P. Menard 25-27; K. Harvick 28-30; C. Edwards 31-46; A. Allmendinger 47; Kyle Busch 48-49; D. Hamlin 50-70; A. Allmendinger 71-72; D. Patrick 73-75; D. Hamlin 76-87; A. Allmendinger 88; T. Stewart 89-110.
Chase Grid Outlook:     1.Kyle Busch 452 (3 wins);2.C. Edwards 510 (2);3.B. Keselowski 506 (2);4.J. Johnson 469 (2);5.K. Harvick 562 (1);6.Kurt Busch 527 (1);7.J. Logano 493 (1);8.M. Truex Jr 469 (1);9.M. Kenseth 430 (1);10.D. Hamlin 421 (1);11.C. Elliott # 473 (0);12.D. Earnhardt Jr 413 (0);13.R. Newman 402 (0);14.A. Dillon 400 (0);15.J. Mcmurray 398 (0);16.K. Kahne 385 (0).
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award    : Kyle Busch, #18     Coors Light Pole Award    : Carl Edwards, #19 95.777 mph
Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race"    : Carl Edwards, #19     Ingersoll Rand Power Move    : AJ Allmendinger, #47 7 positions
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Toyota Racing Development (TRD), #11     Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Tony Stewart, #14 
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race    : Kasey Kahne, #5 K Rodden, 0.351 secs    Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap    : Carl Edwards, #19 
Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Chase Elliott, #24 
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Jul. 2, 2016 - Daytona International Speedway