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Stewart comes from behind for Daytona win
2009-02-14
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - It took Tony Stewart just five hours to go from brooding over his battered Daytona 500 car to celebrating a victory in the season-opening NASCAR Nationwide Series race. The two-time Cup champion held off a last-lap challenge from Kyle Busch to win the Nationwide race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway. "After this morning, it's great," said Stewart, who lost his Daytona 500 car and that of teammate Ryan Newman to wrecks during morning practice. "This is a good way to rebound." Stewart passed 23 cars in 11 laps to get back into contention after pitting with 30 laps to go in the 120-lap Camping World 300, then hung onto the lead as Busch, Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer fought for position. It was Stewart's fourth Daytona victory. He also won the second-tier series' season opener last year in another late-race battle with Busch. Stewart gave up the third spot to pit during a caution on lap 91, falling far off the pace for the restart on lap 94. Driving a Chevrolet for longtime friend Rick Hendrick, he charged to the front, several times passing cars while sandwiched in the middle of three-wide battles. Brad Keselowski led several times and appeared to be one of the cars to beat, but he banged off the wall on lap 108. Two laps later, his right rear tire blew, bringing out the last of six caution flags and setting up the dash to the finish. Edwards led at that point, but Stewart, with help from Chevy driver Bowyer, pushed past into the lead after the restart on lap 114. As the laps wound down, Stewart seemed to be a sitting duck, especially after Busch, who won 10 Nationwide races last year, moved into second place three laps from the end. On the final trip around the 2.5-mile oval, Busch moved up to Stewart's rear bumper and gave him a nudge. Stewart's car wobbled and drifted high as Busch's Toyota moved nearly alongside. But, somehow, Stewart stayed just ahead of Busch. Then Edwards and defending series champion Bowyer went to the outside to pass Busch. "Kyle got me really loose," Stewart said. "If I'd spun or crashed I would have to have it out with him on that one. "The thing with these cars is you can't get too far ahead ... He got to the bumper on the backstretch, pushed us all the way through (turn) three. ... I don't know how we came off the corner ahead of him." Busch tried the same maneuver in the Camping World Truck Series opener Friday night, bumping Todd Bodine heading toward the third turn on the last lap. Like Stewart, though, Bodine was able to fend off the challenge and race on to the win as Busch finished second. Saturday, Busch wound up fourth. He scrambled out of his car and ran to his team's hauler without talking to the media. Edwards, who won the Nationwide title two years ago, was surprised to find himself in the runner-up spot at the finish. "Coming off (turn) four ... Clint was right on my bumper and pushed me right by Kyle," Edwards said. "He gave me like the half inch I needed there. I thought he was going to come out, and I was just going to blow through his right rear bumper. "I had a little of a run on Tony. He came up and I thought, 'Man, this is going to be smoke and walls and all that.' But it ended up he gave me enough room, and I still ended up second. It was an exciting at least half a lap, at least for me." Greg Biffle finished fifth, followed by Brian Vickers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and David Ragan, giving Sprint Cup drivers the top eight positions. Nationwide regular Jason Keller was ninth. Jason Leffler, another Nationwide regular, ignited a four-car crash just past the halfway mark in the race, banging into the rear of Steven Wallace and knocking Wallace sideways. Rookies Scott Lagasse Jr. and Justin Allgaier also were involved. Leffler said he was just trying to let Wallace back in line, but NASCAR held him in the pits for five laps for aggressive driving.
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