Tony Stewart put forth a solid performance in the Budweiser Duel Thursday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, finishing fourth in his qualifying race for the 57th Daytona 500 on Sunday. The result earned Stewart the seventh-place starting spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ season-opening race.
Getting that top-five finish didn’t come without a close call, however. When the engine on Casey Mears’ car blew up on lap 17, Stewart’s No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet SS was right behind the stricken machine. Stewart skated up the track and just grazed the outside retaining wall with the right-front fender.
The damage was minor. On the ensuing pit stop for four tires and fuel, crew members were able to pull out the fender and send Stewart back onto the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Stewart was the only driver to take four tires. Crew chief Chad Johnston made the four-tire call to ensure the right-side tires weren’t rubbing the fenders. All the other teams that came to pit road during the caution took fuel only, which meant Stewart restarted 22nd.
Stewart bided his time until the final 10 laps, whereupon he got aggressive in the draft, rallying his way to fourth.
“I think we have a pretty good racecar,” Stewart said. “I cost the guys a little extra work on the right side there, but it’s real minimal stuff they can fix. I’m not too worried about it.”
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