DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Tony Stewart again drove his way into Victory Lane at Daytona.
It just wasn't the race that really counts.
Stewart won the exhibition Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night, setting himself up as a top contender to win the season-opening Daytona 500. That's the last of the NASCAR crown jewels that Stewart wants, and he reported to Speedweeks intent on adding it to his resume this year.
``We've definitely figured out how to win Saturday night races here at Daytona,'' Stewart said. ``We've just got to figure out how to win a Sunday race.''
The Shootout win was his 10th victory at Daytona in various series, but none have come in the ``Super Bowl of Racing.'' His best finish was second in 2004, when he pushed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the win.
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``I'm still just happy every time I get a chance to come to Victory Lane here at Daytona,'' he said. ``Obviously, I'd trade all three of these Shootouts and both Pepsi 400s to win one Daytona, the 500 on Sunday.''
He's off to a very good start.
Stewart nudged Kyle Busch out of the lead with eight laps to go, then calmly drove to his third victory in the all-star event when runner-up David Gilliland never challenged.
``I don't think we touched him. It looked really close, obviously, but I don't think we touched him,'' Stewart said. ``If we could have touched him, it would have sent him up the race track and he would have crashed.''
Busch, who needed a huge save to keep his car off the wall, finished seventh and seemed certain that Stewart made at least slight contact.
``He wasn't on me hard, it was just that little bit enough to where I just kept getting loose, kept getting loose and kept chasing it,'' he said. ``And by the time you get so far you're pretty much gone and I was able to keep it. So thankfully for that.''
As Stewart closed in on the finish line, Earnhardt ran into the back of Elliott Sadler to start a four-car pileup far from the leaders that collected defending race winner Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle.
Toyota, making its Nextel Cup debut, had two cars in the field as the Japanese automaker made its long-awaited debut. But neither Brian Vickers or Dale Jarrett ever contended for the win.
Jarrett started on the pole in his new Camry, but quickly fell to the back of the field and finished 18th out of 21 cars. Vickers briefly drove his new Team Red Bull Toyota to the front and paced the field for two laps, but faded and wound up eighth.
NASCAR driver Tony Stewart stands by the the first place trophy after winning the Budweiser Shootout auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Saturday Feb.10, 2007.
AP - Feb 10, 11:00 pm EST
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``We need to be a little bit better,'' Vickers said. ``The car wasn't bad, but it was our first race and we have a top 10. We wish we could have done a little better there at the end.''
Stewart didn't have that problem, and asked if he can carry anything over from this Shootout to the 500, he didn't flinch.
``Absolutely,'' he said, promising his Chevrolet for the big event would be stout.
Stewart, the two-time Nextel Cup champion, has been on a tremendous roll since missing out on NASCAR's title hunt last September. Despite being shut out of the Chase, he won three of the final 10 races in an outstanding close to an otherwise mediocre season.
Then he took a brief December break before jumping into a sprint car -- his first love -- and dominating at the grassroots level. He won two January events, including the prestigious Chili Bowl, a sprint race that Stewart treasures as much as he does his NASCAR titles.
It has given Stewart momentum at the start of the season, and he'll try to carry it for one more week and into the 500.
``I think Tony's worked extremely hard to get ready for this year, and we always think we have a chance in any race that Tony's in,'' car owner Joe Gibbs said. ``It's so tough to win the 500. Winning this race is a big deal for us, but winning the 500 is a very hard thing to do.''
Busch led six times for a race-high 42 laps and had the race in command when a caution for debris came out with 16 laps to go to set up a quick round of pit stops. Busch went onto the service road as the leader and held the position after taking four tires.
But Kasey Kahne picked up five spots with a two-tire stop that put him in second, followed by Kurt Busch and Stewart.
Earnhardt, who overshot his stall as he entered the pits, came out in 11th place.
Racing resumed with 13 laps to go, and Stewart wasted little time motoring into second place. Then he worked his way onto Kyle Busch's bumper and, with a subtle push at 185 mph, knocked Busch out of the way as he slid into the lead.
Kurt Busch finished third and was followed by Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick
