Stewart charges win on final lap

Associated Press
Posted: July 08, 2012

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Tony Stewart charged past Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth on the final lap Saturday night, then held on to win the Coke Zero 400 as his challengers stacked up in a melee at Daytona International Speedway.

Kenseth and Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle likely would have made one final attempt to beat Stewart, but Biffle wiggled and cars began sliding all over the track.

Nobody could then catch Stewart, who sailed away to his third win of the season. The defending Sprint Cup Series champion is tied with Brad Keselowski for most wins this season.

"I don't even remember that last lap," Stewart said. ". . . Just a weird day."

It was a strange win for Stewart, who won the pole but was bumped back to the rear of the field after his car failed inspection.

Jeff Burton was second, followed by Kenseth.

The first big wreck involved seven drivers including Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, and finally shook things up in a race that had been more of a monotones drone. Up until then, the return of big-pack restrictor-plate racing for the second time this season wasn't exactly a tale of suspense.

Noteworthy. Before the race, NASCAR announced AJ Allmendinger had been suspended for failing a random drug test. Sam Hornish Jr. replaced him in the car.

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