By Ryan - Posted on October 6, 2009

In a thriller at Kansas Speedway Sunday, Tony Stewart proved he wasn’t quite ready to give up the NASCAR News spotlight, as he edged out Jeff Gordon to capture the Price Chopper 400.

Prior to Sunday’s contest, Stewart, who led the Sprint Cup Series for the first 26 races, had become a bit of an afterthought as a legitimate title contender.  With five of six finishes out of the top 10, Stewart had slipped to fifth place in the Chase standings, a whopping 106 points behind current leader Mark Martin.  If he was going to challenge this year, he and his team were going to have to pull out all the stops—and that’s just what they did.

With 26 laps remaining, and racing in second behind Greg Biffle, Stewart roared into the final pit stop asking for “two,” and Crew Chief Darian Grubb did not hesitate to agree with him.

“He asked me what I thought, I kind of put my vote in, and he said it was exactly what he was thinking," Stewart said. "It made me feel good that we both agreed on the same thing that quick. It was like, to both of us, it wasn't even an option. We pretty much knew what we both needed."

The strategy paid off as Stewart would restart in the lead, and never relinquish it, holding off a late charge by Jeff Gordon to take the checkered flag.  The victory, Stewart’s fourth of the season, vaulted him into fourth place on the Chase leader board just 67 points shy of Martin.

Grubb, whom Stewart credited with the win, seemed to acknowledge the do-or-die importance of Sunday’s race.

"We knew going into the Chase it was a must-win situation," Grubb said. "You're going to have to win races against these competitors. You have to go in with the mindset you have to win races."

Biffle, overruling his Crew Chief Greg Erwin, opted for four tires instead of two in the final stop and the decision proved costly.  He would leave the pit in fourth and finish third.

“I know what I did wrong,” Biffle said, “I know I made a mistake.”

Juan Pablo Montoya remained third in the standings with a fourth place finish, his third top-four finish in as many Chase races, while Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top six.

Mark Martin and teammate Jimmie Johnson held on to the top two spots on the leader board, finishing seventh and ninth respectively, but backed up a little to the field.  At the start of Sunday’s race there were only three drivers within 100 points and now there are seven within 103, which should make for some exciting racing down the stretch.

The Chase for the Sprint Cup heads west next week for the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.