Smoke Wins Daytona Race, Busch Wrecks On Last Lap

((HT: Orlando Sentinel/Tania Ganguli))

Kyle Busch got out of his demolished car and went straight toward Victory Lane as he pulled off his gloves ((pictured, thanks Orlando Sentinel/Jacob Langston)).

He didn't win the race Saturday night, but he had a score to settle with the guy who did. Four officials got in his way, grabbed him and forced him toward the infield care center where he was examined and released.

Minutes before that, Busch tried to make a blocking move to win the Coke Zero 400. As he turned his nose in front of Tony Stewart, Stewart stayed straight. Busch went across Stewart's hood, up the track and crashed into the outside wall.

"You don't want a race to be won like that," Stewart said. "I don't feel as much gratification from winning this race as I probably should just because I don't like the way the outcome happened. It's a product of the racing like [crew chief] Darian Grubb said. I guess tomorrow I might be happier about it."

Four weeks after Stewart's first race win as a team owner, he won again after starting from the pole. It was Stewart's third win in Daytona's July race.

"The guys are racing," said Jimmie Johnson, who finished second. "Tony didn't mean to dump him. Same thing with Talladega. It's just restrictor-plate racing."

The race-ending wreck played out similarly to the race-ending wreck at Talladega Superspeedway in April. The driver in the lead (Carl Edwards) attempted a block in that race, too. The driver behind him (rookie Brad Keselowski) didn't budge to allow the block. Unlike that April crash, Busch's car didn't fly up into the air and hit the catchfence or lead to any fan injuries.

Four drivers had a shot at the win on the race's final restart with four laps to go: Stewart, Busch, Denny Hamlin and Johnson.

Try as they did, though, none of the latter three could get by Stewart's No. 14 Chevrolet. Then suddenly there was a chance.

Hamlin had a decision to make. He could push his former teammate, Stewart, or he could push his current Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Busch. He picked Busch.

"The best chance for one of our cars to win was for me to push the 18," Hamlin said.

The battle that ensued led to disaster for Busch. After Stewart sent the No. 18 up the track, Busch's car was hit twice more — once from behind by Kasey Kahne and once from the side by teammate Joey Logano.

((HT: NASCAR/TNT/TSN))
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