Busch passed Stewart right before the final lap to take the lead Saturday night in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coke Zero 400, but Stewart chased him down and calculated his next move. He closed in on Busch’s bumper, and slight contact sent Busch drifting up the track.
Busch slid back down to maintain his lead, then tried to slide in front of Stewart to block Stewart’s next move. The cars were too close together and Stewart hooked Busch’s right corner to send Busch sailing into the wall.
It triggered a multiple-car crash behind them, but Stewart sailed through for his second points win of the season.
“That’s not the way I wanted to do it,” sighed Stewart, who won the summer Daytona race for the third time in five years.
It was a violent wreck for Busch, who climbed from his car apparently unscathed but had to be forced by four NASCAR officials into a waiting safety vehicle. He finished 14th and refused to comment after the race.
