How Was Kurt Busch Tony Stewart’s Daytona 500 Nightmare?

Tony Stewart has one of the greatest NASCAR careers of all time, but the one thing missing from his resume is a Daytona 500 victory. It is extraordinary that a racer as prolific as him has never won The Great American Race. He has come close on several occasions, but over the years, there has been a peculiar constant in his failure to win the legendary race. That constant is Kurt Busch.

There have been several instances where Kurt Busch’s actions have somehow cost Tony Stewart the chance of winning the Daytona 500. However, there wasn’t much animosity between the two as the three-time Cup Series champion employed Busch as one of Stewart-Haas Racing’s drivers for 5 years.

Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart’s Daytona 500 story had an ironic conclusion

One of the first instances of Kurt Busch being a factor in Tony Stewart not winning the Daytona 500 was in 2004. Stewart lost to Dale Earnhardt Jr, who won The Crown Jewel Race for the first time. Kurt Busch had been lapped by the pair at one point during the race. He could have given Stewart a little push just to nudge him ahead of Junior, but then the Roush Racing driver chose not to.

The following year, Kurt Busch muscled the lead away from Tony Stewart with just three laps left in the race. The caution was brought out shortly afterward due to a crash involving Kasey Kahne. On the restart, neither Stewart nor Busch could take the lead of the race as Jeff Gordon sealed the victory.

2007 was a prominent year for Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch’s relationship. That year in the Daytona 500, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart made the slightest of contacts, but it ended up being catastrophic for both drivers. The #2 and the #20 wrecked, and they were both out of contention for the win thereafter. It’s safe to say that neither driver was best pleased at the time, as they had an infamous pit road altercation.

Back in 2004, Tony Stewart perhaps would have been able to beat Dale Jr to the line had Kurt Busch pushed him, but he didn’t. Four years later, Busch did push someone to victory lane, but it was not Tony Stewart. At the time, the 2004 Cup Series champion was driving for Team Penske and he helped his teammate Ryan Newman past Stewart on the final lap. Newman and Busch finished P1 and P2 respectively while Stewart came home in P3.

Throughout these years, Kurt Busch himself did not win the Daytona 500. Ironically, that moment eventually came thanks to none other than Tony Stewart himself. Busch signed for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 and won The Great American Race in 2017. It is an incredible story given the two’s history at NASCAR’s biggest race of the season.

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Just a year before Kurt Busch joined Stewart-Haas Racing, he shared a tense moment with Tony Stewart and the tempers were flaring that day.

When sparks flew between Busch and Stewart in Richmond 10 years ago

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The year was 2013, and the race was the Toyota Owners 400 in Richmond. Stewart and Busch constantly tussled with each other on the track, taking out their frustrations on multiple occasions. At the end of the event, the two drivers were seen arguing in the garage area.

Although there was no physical altercation between the two, the tension was palpable. Neither man was happy with how the other behaved during the race. It is a wonder that Kurt Busch decided to join Stewart-Haas Racing after that entire incident. But the move did not turn out to be too bad for the 2004 Cup Series champion.

Today, there is a healthy respect between Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. Both drivers are NASCAR legends and will be remembered by fans as two of the greatest race car drivers of all time.

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