Stewart gets loose and wrecks, takes blame

In his swan song on Daytona International Speedway, Tony Stewart finished 26th in his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) entry after looking like he might win his second consecutive race of the season. Stewart avoided early trouble then battled in the top-five as the race wound down, but with 10 to go the #14 slammed into the wall, ending his chances for victory. Stewart took the blame for the incident.

"I just overcorrected for it and drove it into the fence," said Stewart, who is a four-time Sprint Cup winner at Daytona, having scored victories in the annual Fourth of July weekend race in 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2012 – the most among active drivers.

"So definitely my fault. I don't know why I got loose, but I got loose going into (turn) one." Despite his misfortune, Stewart moved into the top-30 in the driver standings by a three-point margin over 31st-place Brian Scott. If Stewart can remain in the top-30 through the 26th race of the season, he will secure his spot in the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff by virtue of his victory last week at Sonoma. SHR