Associated Press

Crew members work on Tony Stewart's car during a pit stop in the Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

HAMPTON, Ga. -- It seemed only a matter of time before Tony Stewart won again.

Often a slow starter, Stewart excels in the warmer months when tracks get hot and slick.

Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Stewart won a Sprint Cup race for the first time in 11 months and scored his 10th top-10 in the last 12 races.

His victory ended a thrilling race that saw Stewart battle two others for the lead in the race's late stages and overcoming some problems on restarts.

His performance allowed Stewart to clinch a spot in the Chase. He was among seven drivers who clinched a spot Sunday.

Drivers clinching a spot in the Chase on Sunday were: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin along with Stewart. They join Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon who had already clinched spots.

The Chase field will be set after next weekend's race at Richmond. The final two spots for the Chase will be determined then.

Stewart's win prevented Edwards from ending his 60-race winless drought. Edwards, who last won at Homestead in the 2008 season finale, finished second.

Johnson placed third with Jeff Burton fourth and Kyle Busch fifth. Kurt Busch placed sixth with Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose completing the top 10.

There was plenty of excitement late.

Kasey Kahne, Johnson and Edwards thrilled the crowd, all battling for the lead with about 35 laps to go. Each ran nose to tail for a number of laps on the straightaways and then each took different lines in the corners with Kahne high against the wall, Johnson a lane below him and Edwards running through the corners on the bottom lane.

When a caution ended their battle, Johnson radioed crew chief Chad Knaus and told him: "That was fun.''

Kahne was third on lap 301 but made contact with Kurt Busch on the restart and got a flat tire, ending his bid to win this race a second consecutive year.

Stewart, who had struggled with his restarts most of the night, fired out of the No. 2 spot outside leader Edwards and shot into the lead.

Stewart had climbed up to second after gaining three spots on pit road when the leaders stopped on lap 297.

On previous pit stops, Stewart had lost spots, spinning his tires and taking off slower than most.

It led Stewart to apologize to his crew late in the race about his restarts, telling them: "I'm doing everything I can.''

Then he added: "I've got one more trick in my bag to try.''

He didn't have problems on restarts after that.

Edwards had one last chance on what would be the final restart 18 laps from the finish, but Stewart surged ahead on the backstretch after taking the green flag and rode off to his first victory since winning at Kansas last October.

It was a tough night for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kyle Busch lost the lead when he was called for speeding entering pit road on lap 70 and had to pass through the pits a second time. He had to pit again because of a loose wheel, putting him a lap behind the leaders.

He eventually got back on to the lead lap and climbed back into the top five.

His teammates didn't have as good of a result.

Hamlin was strong early, trading the lead with Stewart 10 times during a 76-lap segment early in the race. Hamlin, who started on the pole, was running with the leaders when his engine blew on lap 144. He finished last in the 43-car field.

It marks the third time in the last four races he's finished 30th or worse.

"Good news is that there's only one non-Chase race left because we're losing so many points every single week,'' Hamlin said after talking with crew chief Mike Ford and Gibbs for several minutes in the garage. "We would miss the cut if it was three weeks longer."