Monticello — Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch really set off the fireworks, Saturday night

at Daytona as Stewart took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero 400 after

Kyle Busch slammed into the outside wall, just a few hundred feet from the

finish line.

"I don't know what else I could have done," said Stewart. "I went where

I had to go and he went where he had to go. I don't like winning them like

that, but winning is what racing's all about.

"I made my second move on the outside and got up by his right tire. He

went to block me, and I was already there. That's not the way you want to

win these things, and I'm sorry for what happened."

Stewart had dominated the first 158 laps of the 160 lap race, and was

leading going into lap 159. With drafting help from Denny Hamlin, Busch was

able to overtake Stewart on the outside as the pair came off turn four.

After taking the white flag, Busch led until the two came off the final

turn, and headed towards the finish line.

Busch hugged the yellow line and blocked Stewart's first attempt at a

pass with the checkered flag just yards away. Stewart then moved high, and

as Busch slid back up to block, contact with Stewart's car turned Busch into

the wall and ignited a dramatic multi-car wreck near the finish line.

Busch experienced two more hard hits, first by Kasey Kahne, and then by

his teammate Joey Logano. He was unhurt and finished 14th, but left the

track after refusing comments.

"We went for it right there at the end," said Busch's crew chief Steve

Addington. "This is a product of restrictor-plate racing with these

racecars. What are you going to say? I'm not pointing any fingers at Tony.

He was trying to win the race, Kyle was trying to block him for the win and

we got turned around."

Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Marcos Ambrose,

Brian Vickers, Matt Kenseth, Juan Montoya, and Elliott Sadler were the

remaining top-10 finishing drivers.

Jeff Gordon was a victim of a wreck on lap 77 but was able to continue.

Though his car was damaged too severely to contend for the win, he stayed on

the lead lap and finished 28th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was also involved in the same wreck as Gordon and

finished 39th.

Top-20 Chase contenders after 18 of 26: 1. Stewart- 2719, 2. J.

Gordon-2539, 3. Johnson-2525, 4. Kurt Busch-2414, 5. Edwards-2317, 6.

Hamlin-2302, 7. Newman-2235, 8. Kyle Busch-2234, 9. Biffle-2215, 10.

Kenseth-2201, 11. Montoya-2187, 12. Kahne-2166, 13. Martin-2101, 14.

Reutimann-2092, 15. Burton-2061, 16. Bowyer-2031, 17. Vickers-1998, 18.

Ambrose-1948, 19. McMurray-1863, 20. Logano-1847