The final lap at Daytona is always a nailbiting experience, but the finish of Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 will go down as an all-timer. Tony Stewart had led most of the race, but on a late restart, Kyle Busch took the lead. And then Tony decided he wanted it back. Things didn't work out so well after that, as you can see starting at about 1:50 of the clip below:
Who's at fault here? Did Stewart turn into Busch? Did Busch make a mistake in trying to reclaim the line? Was it just good hard racing? Where you fall on this one probably depends on whether you love or loathe Kyle Busch.
Still, let's not be too hard on the guy. Busch took an entire year's worth of punishment in the space of about 100 yards, getting spun hard into the fence by Stewart, jacked up in the back by Kasey Kahne, and finally t-boned in the driver's side by Joey Logano. The fact that Busch is still even breathing after that sequence is a testament to the strength of the Car of Tomorrow.
Busch was later shown on camera trying to refuse NASCAR officials' demands that he go to the infield care center for treatment, but to no avail. He declined to speak publicly about the wreck, which is probably for the best for his sake, if not ours. Stewart, for his part, seemed downbeat in his postrace interviews, not willing to celebrate at Busch's expense and, apparently, not entirely certain he wasn't to blame.
Bottom line, this was one hell of a wreck that capped a fine race, and the fact that Stewart took out Busch just yards from the finish line will no doubt give a large chunk of the NASCAR fanbase an extra reason to celebrate the Fourth of July. And say what you will about Kyle Busch, both fans and detractors have to agree that it's a very good thing that he's still around.
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