NASCAR Sprint Cup at Homestead: 7 Reasons Tony Stewart Has the Advantage

Logically, Tony Stewart does not have the advantage rolling into Homestead-Miami. He is down three points to Carl Edwards with the prospect of racing at one of "Cousin" Carl's best tracks.

Actually, Carl Edwards has the best finishing average (5.7th place) at Homestead of any Sprint Cup driver currently active.

Yet, Tony Stewart still looms large and is, at the least, an incredibly strong under-dog to wrench the title away from Edwards.

Here are few reasons he can do it.

Overall Experience

Both drivers have collected two wins apiece at Miami-Homestead.

Tony Stewart has four more races of experience on the track. This is a slight advantage, but in a race this tight, it could propel him ahead of Edwards.

Edwards has proven the better finisher here in his shorter time in the Sprint Cup, but Stewart has the advantage of collecting four extra years of notes at this track.

He is a Former Champ

He has been to the mountain top twice. His counterpart in this Chase has yet to reach the summit.

While both claim that they are having a lot of "fun" during the 2011 Chase, it is a much more believable case for Stewart rather than Edwards. Stewart can have fun with little to lose.

Undoubtedly he wants to win a third title, but the pressure he feels to do so must be far less than Edwards trying to win his very first.

Momentum

Carl Edwards has yet to perform a burnout, flip off his car or run into the crowd to celebrate a victory in the Chase.

Along with four of these opportunities, Stewart has been finishing very strong as of late.

If not for Tony Stewart's poor finish (25th) at Dover, the final race at Homestead would be decidedly his to lose.

Confidence

Tony Stewart has never led Carl Edwards during the 2011 Chase. Despite this, he has exuded a level of confidence that Edwards has been unable, or unwilling, to express publicly.

Four wins in nine races can have that effect on any driver.

Before Phoenix, Edwards had climbed out of his car at Talladega, Martinsville and Texas with a fairly transparent look of relief on his face.

Tony Stewart has enjoyed the advantage of traveling to Victory Lane twice in the last three races.

He has the gleam in his eye of a person who knows he is on the cusp of a great achievement.

He Is an Owner

Tony Stewart truly answers to no man. Carl Edwards is still accountable to Jack Roush and Roush Fenway Racing for his efforts.

This should not be considered a huge advantage, but it is an advantage nonetheless.

Both are still accountable to their sponsors. In that, there exists no advantage.Tony Stewart, then, is only one tier ahead of Carl Edwards in the NASCAR hierarchy of accountability.

It is simply one less opinion/critique that Stewart must worry about come race day.

Darian Grubb Is on Fire

Even though Tony Stewart gets the vast majority of the credit in public for his four Chase wins in 2011, his crew chief Darian Grubb should be held equally responsible—that is what Stewart pays him to do.

It is not to say that Bob Osborne, Carl Edwards' crew chief, is not doing a fabulous job. The question is: who would you rather have as your crew chief on the last day of the season?

Darian Grubb: Architect of four Chase wins.

Bob Osborne: Able to salvage some bad starts into a slew of top-five finishes.

Both are great, but the crew chief with four wins is more likely to win the day, in the end.

Stewart Is Getting Used to Winning

Is it possible to say that Stewart has become close to spoiled with winning during this Chase?

Probably not, but Stewart has expressed a confidence unseen during the regular season. This is for good reason: he has won almost half the Chase races in 2011.

On the other hand, Carl Edwards has become accustomed to fending off competitors in a defensive manner.

In spite of Edwards scant lead, Stewart's performance, so far, still gives the feeling that Edwards is the hunted while Stewart has taken on the role of the hunter.