Tony Stewart conserved his last tank of fuel to win Monday's rain-delayed Chase opening NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway. With today's victory, his first of the season, the two-time champion snapped a 32-race winless streak and moved from ninth to second in the battle for the 2011 championship.

"This is a good way to start it off," Stewart said of capturing the first of the 10 Chase races.

Kevin Harvick made a late-race charge and settled for second after trailing Stewart by 0.941 seconds at the finish line. The RCR driver started the race tied with Kyle Busch for the point lead and leaves Chicagoland atop the Chase standings, seven markers ahead of Stewart.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. moved to fifth in the Chase race with his third-place Chicagoland finish.

"It was a good weekend for us," said Dale, Jr.

Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson completed the top-10.

Round two of the Chase is set for next Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

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