Tony Stewart finishes 42nd as Daytona 500 woes continue

Tony Stewart’s struggles at the Daytona 500 continued Sunday.

Stewart had been considered one of the favorites, starting seventh, but was involved in an early five-car accident that ruined his chances. He finished 42nd, 131 laps down, another disappointing day for him at “The Great American Race.”

Stewart, a three-time Cup champion, is now 0 for 17 in his attempts to win NASCAR’s biggest race. He also never won the Indianapolis 500 during his open-wheel racing days.

“It’s not what we had planned,” Stewart said. “We stuck with the plan from the start of the race and that was to stay up front as much as we could. We knew the first two runs of the race we were probably going to have to adjust on the car; I just didn’t make it far enough into the second run there to get a chance to adjust on it.”

Stewart complained of steering issues after the wreck, and hoped his crew could fix the problem on pit road. They couldn’t, though, and he ultimately headed for the garage.

Stewart’s best Daytona 500 finish came in 2004, when was the runner-up to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Busch revisited

No timetable has been set for Kyle Busch to return to racing.

Busch suffered a compound fracture of his lower right leg, as well as a broken left foot, in a wreck during Saturday’s Xfinity race at Daytona International Speedway, an injury that kept him out of the Daytona 500.

Two-time reigning Truck Series champion Matt Crafton made his Cup debut, replacing Busch in the sport’s biggest race, and finished a respectable 18th.

It’s unclear if Crafton will continue serving in an interim role for Joe Gibbs Racing, as Busch works his way back from the injury. Team owner Joe Gibbs wasn’t ready to speculate on that until Busch was examined by North Carolina doctor Robert Anderson.

“I know our emphasis is getting him back as quick as we can,” Gibbs said. “I know that’s what Kyle will be wanting to do, and we’ll have everybody working with him and for him in rehab and everything else to get him back as quick as we can in the car.”

Sunday marked the first Cup race Busch has missed since 2011, when NASCAR parked him for the fall race at Texas Motor Speedway for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. during the truck race.

SAFER debate

Busch wrecked his car on an interior concrete wall at DIS, sparking a debate about why the speedway doesn’t have energy-absorbing SAFER barriers around the entire track.

DIS president Joie Chitwood said the track would install them immediately following this race weekend and, for Sunday’s race, put up tire packs for additional padding along the 850-linear-foot section of the concrete wall Busch hit.

Several drivers encouraged tracks to be proactive, rather than reactive, so these types of accidents don’t happen again.

“You have Kyle Busch, one of our sport’s biggest stars, who is out and not being able to race because of the lack of attention that it takes to the safety on these superspeedways,” reigning Cup champion Kevin Harvick said.

Texas Motor Speedway, an intermediate track, has SAFER barriers around most of the track except the inside backstretch.

Briefly

▪ Jimmie Johnson on his fifth-place run: “With about 10 to go, I thought we were in position to win the Daytona 500. I wish we were in Victory Lane right now, but with [restrictor] plate racing you honestly have no clue what’s going to happen.”

▪ Regan Smith was a last-minute substitute for suspended Kurt Busch, and finished 16th. Said Smith: “Started off really tight with the race car and never got it turning. I don’t know, kind of frustrating. I actually anticipated a much better day.”

▪ Danica Patrick finished 21st in her fourth Daytona 500. Her best finish was eighth in 2013 when she was the pole-sitter.

This story was originally published February 22, 2015 at 6:40 PM with the headline "Tony Stewart finishes 42nd as Daytona 500 woes continue."