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| Stewart leads the field to green and the win. |
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Rusty Jarrett /Getty Images for NASCAR |
Tony Stewart started from the pole and won the Nationwide Series Camping World 300 for Toyota. Kyle Busch led the most laps but finished second in a Toyota while Dale Earnhardt Jr finished in third. Toyota flexed its muscle and claimed three of the top four spots as Brian Vickers finished fourth and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 5 in a Ford.
Polesitter Tony Stewart repelled a strong challenge from teammate Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Camping World 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.
Stewart surged to the lead on Lap 117 of 120 and stayed there as the rest of the field diced for position behind him. On the final lap, Busch blocked Earnhardt's last-ditch attempt to improve his position and all but assured the victory for Stewart, who crossed the finish line .259 seconds ahead of Busch, with Earnhardt .412 seconds back.
Brian Vickers ran fourth, followed by Matt Kenseth, rookie Bryan Clauson, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, David Ragan and defending series champion Carl Edwards.
The Joe Gibbs Racing teammates dominated the action, with Busch leading 47 laps at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, and Stewart 46.
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| Will Stewart and Toyota return to Victory Lane in the 500? |
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Photo / Toyota |
"We were battling the balance of the car, but this thing was so fast down the straightaway," Stewart said of his No. 20 Toyota. "Once we got up front, it actually helped my car turn."
Busch had the lead on Lap 111 when a multicar crash in Turn 4 behind the lead pack brought out the fourth caution of the race. Steve Wallace spun after contact with the No. 88 Chevy of Brad Keselowski triggered a wreck that damaged seven cars. The race restarted with six laps remaining with Busch in the lead.
Vickers, Martin Truex Jr. and Busch battled for the top spot until Stewart went to the point.
"It's a shame that we came in second with such a great racecar," said Busch, who also came in second in Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. "But the 20 was fast, too, and Tony Stewart's the man."
Earnhardt agreed.
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| Toyota is perfect in poles and wins for 2008. |
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Padraic Major / NASCAR |
"The situation was that you've got two great racecars with two great drivers in front of me," said Earnhardt, whose crew had to replace the rear decklid and spoiler after the No. 5 Chevy failed pre-qualifying inspection. "Tony says I'm one of the best restrictor-plate drivers, but he's right there with me."
The race was caution-free until Lap 55, when David Gilliland's Ford broke loose in Turn 2 after contact from Greg Biffle, slammed the wall, slid down the track and collected the Chevrolet of Mark Green. Biffle's No. 16 Ford also sustained minor front-end damage during the accident.
The caution bunched the field, depriving the trio of Truex, Vickers and Busch of a lead of more than eight seconds they had opened over Clint Bowyer and Stewart. It also trapped the Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick one lap down, as Harvick had made an unscheduled pit stop after his crew failed to fill his fuel cell fully on an earlier green-flag stop.
After a restart on Lap 59, Busch and Truex battled for the lead until Busch took control seven laps into the run. Busch stayed out front, with Stewart locked to his rear bumper, until Marcos Ambrose shredded his right rear tire on the backstretch, bringing out the second caution of the race on Lap 78.
Stewart won the race off pit road for a restart on Lap 82 and kept his car out front until sheet metal falling from Ambrose's car in Turn 2 caused the third caution on Lap 97. With quick work on pit road, Busch led the field to a restart on Lap 101, followed by Earnhardt, Stewart, Vickers and David Reutimann.
Results
|
FIN |
ST |
CAR |
DRIVER |
MAKE |
SPONSOR |
PTS/BNS |
LAPS |
STATUS |
| 1 |
1 |
20 |
Tony Stewart |
Toyota |
Armor All |
190/5 |
120 |
Running |
| 2 |
5 |
18 |
Kyle Busch |
Toyota |
Interstate Batteries |
180/10 |
120 |
Running |
| 3 |
19 |
5 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
Chevrolet |
National Guard |
165/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 4 |
11 |
10 |
Brian Vickers |
Toyota |
ABF U-Pack Moving |
165/5 |
120 |
Running |
| 5 |
14 |
17 |
Matt Kenseth |
Ford |
Kraft / Ritz |
155/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 6 |
6 |
41 |
Bryan Clauson * |
Dodge |
Texaco / Havoline |
150/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 7 |
25 |
16 |
Greg Biffle |
Ford |
CitiFinancial |
146/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 8 |
8 |
32 |
Denny Hamlin |
Toyota |
Hass Avocados from Mexico |
147/5 |
120 |
Running |
| 9 |
28 |
6 |
David Ragan |
Ford |
Discount Tire |
143/5 |
120 |
Running |
| 10 |
26 |
60 |
Carl Edwards |
Ford |
Scotts Miracle-Gro |
134/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 11 |
10 |
8 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
Chevrolet |
Freightliner Trucks |
135/5 |
120 |
Running |
| 12 |
31 |
47 |
Kelly Bires |
Ford |
Clorox |
127/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 13 |
40 |
1 |
Johnny Sauter |
Chevrolet |
Miccosukee Resort & Gaming |
124/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 14 |
18 |
99 |
David Reutimann |
Toyota |
Aaron's Dream Machine |
121/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 15 |
7 |
21 |
Bobby Labonte |
Chevrolet |
Realtree |
118/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 16 |
13 |
88 |
Brad Keselowski |
Chevrolet |
U.S. Navy |
115/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 17 |
34 |
22 |
Mike Bliss |
Dodge |
Supercuts |
112/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 18 |
29 |
29 |
Scott Wimmer |
Chevrolet |
Holiday Inn |
109/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 19 |
3 |
38 |
Jason Leffler |
Toyota |
Great Clips |
106/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 20 |
4 |
40 |
Dario Franchitti * |
Dodge |
Fastenal |
103/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 21 |
9 |
33 |
Kevin Harvick |
Chevrolet |
Camping World |
100/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 22 |
38 |
25 |
Bobby Hamilton Jr. |
Ford |
Smithfield |
97/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 23 |
39 |
77 |
Cale Gale * |
Chevrolet |
Rheem |
94/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 24 |
22 |
7 |
Mike Wallace |
Toyota |
GEICO |
91/0 |
120 |
Running |
| 25 |
2 |
2 |
Clint Bowyer |
Chevrolet |
BB&T |
88/0 |
119 |
Running |
| 26 |
27 |
27 |
Brad Coleman |
Ford |
Cottonelle / Kroger |
85/0 |
119 |
Running |
| 27 |
21 |
00 |
Michael McDowell |
Toyota |
Rimco Custom Wheels & Tires |
82/0 |
119 |
Running |
| 28 |
35 |
37 |
Brad Baker |
Ford |
Envirox |
79/0 |
119 |
Running |
| 29 |
23 |
195 |
Willie Allen |
Dodge |
USALABS.com |
76/0 |
119 |
Running |
| 30 |
32 |
28 |
Kirk Shelmerdine |
Chevrolet |
Lilly Trucking of Virginia |
78/5 |
119 |
Running |
| 31 |
37 |
4 |
Robert Richardson, II |
Chevrolet |
JVC Everio |
70/0 |
118 |
Running |
| 32 |
24 |
01 |
Dwayne Leik |
Chevrolet |
Lake County CrimeStoppers |
67/0 |
118 |
Running |
| 33 |
16 |
81 |
D.J. Kennington |
Dodge |
STP Tools |
64/0 |
117 |
Running |
| 34 |
36 |
24 |
Eric McClure |
Chevrolet |
Hefty |
61/0 |
116 |
Running |
| 35 |
15 |
9 |
Kasey Kahne |
Dodge |
Ragu |
63/5 |
111 |
Off Track |
| 36 |
20 |
111 |
Jason Keller |
Chevrolet |
Conrad Yelvington Dist. |
55/0 |
110 |
Off Track |
| 37 |
30 |
66 |
Steve Wallace |
Chevrolet |
Atreus Homes & Communities |
52/0 |
110 |
Off Track |
| 38 |
17 |
30 |
Stanton Barrett |
Chevrolet |
NOS Energy Drink / INTERUSH |
49/0 |
108 |
Off Track |
| 39 |
33 |
59 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford |
Kingsford Hickory Charcoal |
46/0 |
103 |
Off Track |
| 40 |
42 |
14 |
David Gilliland |
Ford |
Music City Illinois |
43/0 |
53 |
Out of Race |
| 41 |
12 |
170 |
Mark Green |
Chevrolet |
Foretravel Motorcoach |
40/0 |
53 |
Out of Race |
| 42 |
41 |
64 |
David Stremme |
Chevrolet |
Atreus Homes & Communities |
37/0 |
17 |
Out of Race |
| 43 |
43 |
90 |
Steve Grissom |
Chevrolet |
MSRP Motorsports |
34/0 |
3 |
Out of Race |
