Tony Stewart has yet to win a Daytona 500. Credit: Autostock

Boisterous Stewart turns wild day into top-five

After penalties and altercations, Cup champ's day ends strong

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Tony Stewart predicted somebody would get killed during last Sunday's Budweiser Shootout if NASCAR didn't crack down on bump drafting.

NASCAR responded by saying it would penalize drivers for "aggressive driving.''

Guess who was penalized first?

Yes, Stewart.

Credit: Autostock

Daytona 500 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. J. Johnson Chevrolet 2. C. Mears Dodge 3. R. Newman Dodge 4. E. Sadler Ford 5. T. Stewart Chevrolet Complete results, click here Victory LaneJimmie Johnson celebrates a Daytona 500 victory Top finishersNewman, Kenseth, Stewart, and Junior talk about their day Rough racingStewart slides into Kenseth and is sent to the back of the field Multi-car wreckJeff Green spins in Turn 3 and collects several others Gordon and Stewart brush wallGordon and Stewart make contact and brush the wall Early cautionRacing is clean until Truex Jr. finds the wall Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

The reigning Nextel Cup champion was sent to the back of the lead lap on Lap 111 of Sunday's Daytona 500 for sending Matt Kenseth through the infield grass while battling for a top-four spot.

He later was sent to the back of the lead lap again, this time for running over his jack on pit road, to turn his hopes of adding the Daytona 500 to his impressive resume into a fifth-place finish.

Stewart got so frustrated during the race that he hit his in-car camera so it couldn't be focused on him. After the race, he brushed off an autograph seeker and put his hand up to fend off a cameraman before entering his hauler.

"It was like a battle box with 30 4,000-pound cars,'' Stewart said. "It was a wild day, but the conditions didn't favor good racing. It was hard because there were times when the track was wet and we were still racing and we're trying to get at least halfway for everybody.

"We ended up going back about five different times and came back to the front. I'm pretty happy to get a top-five.''

Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, found nothing unusual that Stewart was the first driver penalized for aggressive driving.

"We just call out the [car] numbers,'' Pemberton said. "We don't take into consideration who it is.''

Stewart's troubles began on Lap 47 when Jeff Gordon failed to clear him coming up the track on a three-wide pass. Both cars nicked the wall, with Stewart's receiving damage to the right side.

"That stupid [expletive] came up the middle and ran me into the fence,'' Stewart yelled over his car radio.

Stewart restarted 38th, but quickly moved through the field to 10th by lap 69 as a steady mist settled over the track.

"It's raining too much to be doing what we're [expletive] doing,'' Stewart complained over his radio. "We're all sliding around.''

Crew chief Greg Zipadelli tried to calm his driver down, saying, "Be nice and patient. We've got a long way to go.''

Stewart was fifth on a Lap 96 restart after caution was called for debris. He pushed Mark Martin to the lead on Lap 104, following Martin high on a three-wide pass to take over second.

Two laps later, Stewart slid down the track and drove Kenseth into the grass. Kenseth retaliated as the two were coming off pit road on Lap 110, pulling up beside Stewart to draw a drive-through penalty from NASCAR.

Kenseth said he simply was pulling up to ask "Why'd you do that?''

Stewart said Kenseth started the duel when he got him sideways in Turn 2 earlier.

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"I got penalized but they didn't penalize him for getting me sideways,'' he said. "He should have been smart enough to know not to be tuckin' down our doors in the first 20 laps of a 200-lap race at Daytona. He has no room to complain.

"He started the whole thing and I finished it.''

Zipadelli quickly got on the radio and told Stewart to take a deep breath and calm down.

"Let's win this thing,'' he said.

Responded Stewart, "I'm fine. They just need to call aggressive driving when they're [expletive] banging on your doors, too.''

Stewart's troubles continued under caution on Lap 125, when he pulled too close to the wall on the pit stop and ran over his jack as he exited. NASCAR again sent him to the rear of the lead lap for running over equipment.

Stewart had moved to 11th when he got into a bumping match with Kyle Busch, who was given a drive-through penalty for over aggressive driving.

"Kyle Busch, he's the one guy that's probably going to hurt somebody out there,'' said Stewart, who had a run-in with Busch during practice earlier in Speedweeks. "He's what we like to call a bird with no feathers.

"He just doesn't know where he's going. He has a fast car. He just needs to learn how to drive the thing.''

Stewart was as far back as 14th on Lap 190 of a 200-lap race that was extended by three laps for a green-white-checkered finish, but rallied for fifth.

"It was a rough day,'' Stewart said. "I had all kinds of people running me all over the track. I don't think anybody was doing anything intentional. It's just the way it was out there.''