(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
It’s been a week since the last lap fiasco at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. If you missed it, here’s how it played out:
Kyle Busch sailed past Tony Stewart on the next to last lap. Tony stayed on Kyle’s bumper down the backstretch and through turns three and four, trying to take the air off his rear spoiler to get him loose.
This is an acceptable practice in NASCAR racing, and it almost worked for Stewart, as viewers saw Busch wiggle once or twice; but he stayed in the gas and kept his line.
Once out of turn four, Stewart, with momentum, feigned left but when Busch blocked, also an acceptable practice in NASCAR, Stewart moved right and got a bumper alongside Busch.
At this point, either on his own or at the urging of his spotter, Busch darted right, cutting across Stewart’s hood and all hell broke loose. Busch ended up in the wall and several other drivers were caught up in the ensuing melee.
After the race, Stewart was rather subdued about the win, stating that that was not the way he intended to win.
Busch declined to comment, which indicates he blamed Stewart for the incident.
Other drivers gave the cliché response that that is just restrictor plate racing.
For the uninitiated, NASCAR mandates a restrictor plate be placed on the carburetors at super speedways like Daytona and Talladega to limit the amount of fuel and thereby slowing the top speed. As a result, drivers never have to lift their foot off the accelerator, and if they do, they lose precious momentum, which takes a half-lap or more to regain.
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