Feb 19, 2007 4 min read

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – With a wiggle and a tap, Tony Stewart’s best shot yet at a Daytona 500 victory ended in the wall. Crashes also claimed the cars of marquee drivers Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. And a wreck on the final lap put the race’s outcome briefly in doubt before NASCAR officials ruled Kevin Harvick had beaten Mark Martin.

Just another wild, wreck-filled day at Daytona.

“A bunch of demons came out when it got dark, I know that much,” Harvick said. “All hell broke loose after that.”

What was a relatively tame event for more than three-quarters of the 200-lap race at Daytona International Speedway began to turn into a crashfest when Stewart’s car wiggled slightly on lap 153.

Kurt Busch, running right behind Stewart, tapped Stewart’s bumper, and both cars lost control. Harvick said tension between the two drivers appeared to be building during the race.

“You could see that one coming from about lap 10,” Harvick said.

But Stewart didn’t blame Busch.

“Not completely sure what happened out there,” Stewart said. “All of a sudden, it took off on me. I haven’t seen it on film, so I am not sure what happened.”

Despite losing a shot at one of the few major victories still missing from his racing resume, Stewart remained calm after the accident.

Perhaps because Busch, also looking for his first Daytona 500 win, quickly took the blame.

“I bumped in the (number) 20 car, and we were both taken out of the Daytona 500 off my mistake,” he said. “We were poised for a good run at the end, and we got bottomed up. I made the first mistake, and I apologized to the 20 car. I know it doesn’t help any.”

Stewart’s boss, team owner Joe Gibbs, said the driver’s measured reaction to the crash was another indication of his growing maturity.

“I think Tony’s come a long way,” Gibbs said. “I think he’s a very good ambassador for this sport.”

Next to go was Johnson, the defending race winner.

Johnson was running well behind the leaders in a large pack of cars on lap 174 when his No. 48 Chevrolet appeared to slide, triggering a multicar crash that also involved Tony Raines, rookie David Reutimann, Jeff Green and Denny Hamlin.

“I got loose in the center (of the turn), thought I had it saved and, unfortunately, wound up in the fence,” Johnson said.

Johnson – who won here last year despite the suspension of crew chief Chad Knaus, who was ejected for cheating – never was a factor Sunday.

“It was certainly disappointing to lose control of the car like that and then getting caught up in that wreck and cause that big pileup,” Johnson said.

Then went Earnhardt, taken out in yet another multicar crash just four laps from the scheduled finish.

“I was coming off (turn) two and saw sparks on the wall,” Earnhardt said. “I was behind the 88 (Ricky Rudd) and couldn’t see anything. It just took us out.”

NASCAR officials briefly stopped the race to clean up, then tacked two laps on the end in an attempt to allow drivers to race to the checkered flag – NASCAR’s version of overtime.

That’s when the real chaos broke out. Just as Harvick made a last-ditch move to try to pass Martin for the win, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth collided and caused a chain-reaction pileup that sent Harvick’s teammate, Clint Bowyer, flipping upside down.

Instead of throwing a caution flag, NASCAR officials allowed Harvick and Martin to race to the finish line, and Harvick was declared the winner.

After flipping in the melee, Bowyer’s car caught on fire. He climbed out quickly and did not appear to be seriously injured.

“I can not tell you guys how wild and aggressive those last 40 laps were,” third-place finisher Jeff Burton said. “That was insane.”