At this point, Tony Stewart is racing only for pride and wins. On Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he stole the spotlight from the title contenders with a win that clearly made him proud.

Stewart, who failed to qualify for the 10-race Chase for championship after winning his second Nextel Cup title last season, held off Chase driver Jimmie Johnson for his fourth victory of the season and second in the first seven races of the 2006 playoffs.

Afterward, he literally grabbed the checkered flag after a somewhat perilous climb up the flagstand in celebration.

“It’s better than last year,” said Stewart after jumping out of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet. “We were in it last year and couldn’t win any of these, so it’s a lot of fun.

The runner-up finish was just fine with Johnson, though, as he moved within 26 points of series leader Matt Kenseth with three races remaining.

Johnson got off to a slow start in the Chase and was eighth, 156 points behind then-leader Jeff Burton just four weeks ago. But a second-place finish at Charlotte followed by the wins in Martinsville and second place here have put him right back into the mix for a shot at winning the one honor that has escaped him in his first four seasons in NASCAR’s top stock car series.

“We got off to a rough start (in the Chase), but we had the speed in the car and now we’re getting the results,” Johnson said. “It was a fun race. You really had to challenge yourself and scare yourself on every lap.

Chase contenders Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kenseth fought it out for third place, with Earnhardt winning the battle by inches.

RESULTS:

Pos St # Driver Sponsor Car Pts Status Laps

1 11 20 Tony Stewart The Home Depot Chevrolet 190 Running 325

2 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 175 Running 325

3 6 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevrolet 170 Running 325

4 1 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 160 Running 325

5 13 16 Greg Biffle National Guard Ford 155 Running 325

6 9 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 155 Running 325

7 12 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 151 Running 325

8 4 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Chevrolet 142 Running 325

9 31 01 Joe Nemechek U.S. Army Chevrolet 143 Running 325

10 29 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Chevrolet 134 Running 325

11 23 88 Dale Jarrett UPS Ford 130 Running 325

12 20 43 Bobby Labonte Cascadain Farms Dodge 127 Running 324

13 5 31 Jeff Burton Cingular Wireless Chevrolet 124 Running 323

14 16 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 121 Running 323

15 25 38 David Gilliland M&M’s Ford 118 Running 323

16 30 18 J.J. Yeley VESICare Chevrolet 115 Running 323

17 37 45 Kyle Petty Marathon MtrOil Dodge 112 Running 323

18 26 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Dodge 109 Running 323

19 15 25 Brian Vickers GMAC Chevrolet 106 Running 323

20 35 14 Sterling Marlin Ginn Clubs & Resorts Chevrolet 103 Running 322

21 34 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 100 Running 322

22 19 10 Scott Riggs Stanley Tools/Valvoline Dodge 97 Running 322

23 28 66 Jeff Green Best Buy Chevrolet 94 Running 322

24 32 21 Ken Schrader Little Debbie Ford 91 Running 322

25 18 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 88 Running 322

26 41 49 Mike Bliss whatsonline.com Dodge 85 Running 321

27 10 5 Kyle Busch Kellogg’s Chevrolet 82 Running 321

28 14 42 Casey Mears Texaco/Havoline Dodge 79 Running 321

29 24 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 76 Running 321

30 17 12 Ryan Newman Mobil 1 Dodge 73 Running 321

31 2 29 Kevin Harvick Reese’s Chevrolet 75 Running 321

32 38 32 Travis Kvapil Tide/Downy Chevrolet 67 Running 320

33 39 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Dodge 64 Running 319

34 27 96 Tony Raines DLP HDTV Chevrolet 61 Running 319

35 43 78 Kenny Wallace Furniture Row Chevrolet 58 Running 319

36 7 6 Mark Martin AAA Ford 55 Accident 309

37 21 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet 52 Accident 305

38 8 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge 49 Accident 255

39 33 40 David Stremme Coors Light Dodge 46 Accident 246

40 22 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 43 Running 244

41 36 37 Bill Elliott Melling Dodge 40 Engine 146

42 40 4 Todd Bodine Lucas Oil Chevrolet 37 Engine 144

43 42 61 Kevin Lepage Oak Gloves Chevrolet 34 Engine 29

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