Tony Stewart taking huge strides in an effort to make the Chase in final season
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}KANSAS CITY, KS - MAY 06: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet, drives during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway on May 6, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images)
Tony Stewart is doing what he likes to do best -- charging to the front.
Stewart, who missed the first eight races of the year after he suffered a burst fracture of the L1 vertebrae in an off-road accident Jan. 31, posted a solid 12th-place finish in Saturday's night's Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway.
That was the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion's best finish behind the wheel since a 10th-place run at Martinsville Speedway last fall.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ty Dillon took over for Stewart last week at Talladega Superspeedway and finished sixth in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Stewart started that race and so was credited with the finish, but at Kansas, Stewart earned the 12th-place result without relief help.
And it was a good points night, too.
When Stewart resumed driving at Richmond three weeks ago, he was 112 points out of 30th place in the driver standings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Now, just three races later, Stewart has trimmed that margin by more than half, so it's down to a mere 59 points.
To qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in this, his final season as a driver, Stewart will have to end NASCAR's 26-race regular season in the top 30 in points and will in all likelihood have to win a race.
After Kansas, Stewart has 15 races left to accomplish those goals.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Whether he can make the Chase, and if so make a serious title run, will be one of the most closely watched NASCAR stories of the summer.
It's still early, certainly, but so far Stewart seems headed in the right direction.