Stewart rallies to win at Daytona Speedway
AJ Allmendinger leans against his car in the garage area during NASCAR Daytona 500 practice at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. NASCAR has temporarily suspended Allmendinger after he failed a drug test. Allmendinger won't be allowed to drive Saturday night, July 7, in the Sprint Cup race at Daytona. Instead, Sam Hornish Jr. will be behind the wheel of the No. 22 Dodge for Penske Racing. Allmendinger has 72 hours to request that his B sample be tested. (February 18, 2012) Credit: AP
There was no fire or rain. Still, another frantic finish at Daytona International Speedway.
Tony Stewart emerged the winner, charging past Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth on the last lap and holding on as the challengers stacked up behind him last night in one of Daytona's trademark wrecks. "I don't even remember what happened that last lap," Stewart said.
Stewart has 18 victories at Daytona, second only to the late Dale Earnhardt's 34 wins.
None of Stewart's wins are in the Daytona 500, though. Stewart is 0-for-14 in NASCAR's biggest race of the year and was a non-factor in February, when the race was delayed a day by rain and then stopped more than two hours for a massive jet dryer fire. "I wish I could trade a couple of these races in for just one Sunday race in February," he said of the Daytona 500.
But he's always strong in the summer race at Daytona, and this visit was no different.
Stewart qualified second but dropped back to 42nd at the start of the race because his time was thrown out by NASCAR after his Chevrolet failed inspection. He quietly rode around -- which is his style at restrictor-plate races -- and let Roush Fenway Racing teammates Kenseth and Greg Biffle control the front.
The Roush drivers thought they had the field covered -- Kenseth led a race-high 89 laps and Biffle led 35 -- and they probably still liked their chances on the final green-white-checkered restart. Kenseth was the leader with Biffle on his bumper, as second-place Stewart was lined up with Kasey Kahne.
Kenseth and Biffle pulled away for a lap, but Stewart came quick on the outside, moved to the front, then crossed down the track in front of Kenseth for the lead. Seconds later, Biffle seemed to wiggle in traffic and cars began wrecking all over the track in what was tallied to be a 15-car accident. Kenseth had started from the pole in his bid to become the first driver since 1982 to sweep the two Daytona races in the same season.
Allmendinger suspended. NASCAR temporarily suspended driver AJ Allmendinger for a failed drug test, and Penske Racing officials scrambled to get Sam Hornish Jr. to the track before last night's race. Allmendinger's suspension was announced about 90 minutes before the race by NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations Steve O'Donnell. Allmendinger's "A" sample taken last weekend at Kentucky Speedway came back positive, and the driver has 72 hours to request his "B" sample be tested.
