Crash Mars NASCAR Budweiser Shootout Practice

By Anne Proffit

Anne Proffit

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Anne Proffit has worked in the automotive field since - well, not telling you that. She's been a car salesperson (before it was popular to hire... More

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1,825 views Feb 17, 2012

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It didn't take long for the NASCAR Sprint Cup set to get into one another this afternoon on the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway banked oval.

During practice for tomorrow night's Budweiser Shootout, Tony Stewart was using his No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet to push Kurt Busch's No. 51 Tag-Heuer Chevy, and Busch had to make a slight move, which turned both of them and set off a chain reaction.

"I was pushing the '51' car and he had to move a little bit, but I"m still the one pushing him so I'm responsible for it," Stewart said of the multi-car crash. His Stewart-Haas team was working to get the car ready for final practice in a couple of hours, "But I don't think we're going to get out in the second session."

Busch said he and Stewart were "just trying to learn the draft and a couple of slow cars were emerging in front of us and I slid up to go around them. I thought it was smooth but I got turned around. So now we'll just bring out the back-up car," he said.

Obviously there were others involved in the fracas, including both Penske Racing Dodge entries of Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) and the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge of AJ Allmendinger. The No. 18 Toyota Camry of Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon's No. 24 were also involved in the wreck.

Keselowski shrugged it off: "It's just the way it is. It's the first time we get back on the track and everybody is aggressive, learning what the limits are. Sometimes you get caught up in that. It's better to do it now than next Sunday - we'll learn something from it," he said.

Allmendinger's car was destroyed and "that's not what we want in the first practice," he said. He'll have to go to a backup car for the Shootout but Allmendinger was plenty dismayed by the activities. "When you're pushing somebody and you just get off-centered to the left side of the car, it's going to turn it. To me, that's what happened and after that, I was just behind it."

In the garage area, there's plenty of activity while cars get repaired and/or replaced for tomorrow night's race. In addition, NASCAR found irregularities with the Daytona 500 entered No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet's C-pillar at the rear of the car and asked that the problem be remedied. NASCAR also said that penalties, if any, against crew chief Chad Knaus will be announced after the Daytona 500 - if the car passes tech.

There were misty conditions in the Daytona Beach area which could mean canceling or postponing the final night practice for the Shootout tomorrow. At any rate, the public draw for starting positions begins at 8:30PM EST.