Tony Stewart won the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona for the third time Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway, nudging Kyle Busch out of the way to take the lead then out-racing David Gilliland to take the victory.
Stewart got $215,000 for winning the annual non-points event that serves as NASCAR’s season-opener event, with Gilliland and Kurt Busch finishing 2-3. The race features Budweiser Pole winners from the previous season plus past Shootout winners.
Stewart also won the Shootout in 2001 and 2002. This time he started 14th in the 21-car field and immediately started moving toward the front.
The Shootout is divided into segments of 20 and 50 laps with a 10-minute pit stop period in between. At the break, Stewart, driving the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, had climbed to second place behind Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet.
In the second segment, Kyle Busch took the lead on Lap 28 and kept it until Lap 63, when Stewart closed dramatically on the tail of Busch’s No. 5 CARQUEST Chevrolet in Turn 2. The cars appeared to touch ever so slightly and Busch’s car bobbled, allowing Stewart to sail by.
“[Kyle Busch] is who I wanted to run with, †Stewart said. “We were a good combination [in the draft]. I finally got a chance to push him real hard into Turn 1 once and it got him loose. Then he went up the track a little bit. When he tucked it down, I caught him right there and didn’t touch him but just caught him enough [to get him loose again].
“I did my job and did what I could do to win this race. This race is to see who can win. It’s not about just sitting there and riding in line. With less than 10 laps 10 go you got to make you move. â€
Stewart’s third Shootout win also was the fourth Shootout triumph for Joe Gibbs Racing – and the second straight for JGR; last year, eventual Raybestos Rookie of the Year Denny Hamlin pulled an upset victory.
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