Tony Stewart admits the nature of the Shootout -- a two-segment, 70-lap sprint -- encourages rough driving. Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Bump drafting draws ire of Stewart in Shootout

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt, who died on the final lap of the Daytona 500 five years ago, has been the subject of many tributes during the past few days.

Tony Stewart doesn't want to be the subject of the next one.

Inside the Numbers Bud Shootout results Pos. Driver Start 1. Denny Hamlin 15 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19 3. Tony Stewart 3 4. Scott Riggs 8 5. Jimmie Johnson 2 6. Matt Kenseth 16 7. Mark Martin 13 8. Jamie McMurray 17 9. Joe Nemechek 4 10. Dale Jarrett 9 • Complete results, click here Victory LaneDenny Hamlin takes the checkered flag in the Bud Shootout Final lapsHamlin, Stewart and Junior battle for the checkered flag Round 1Hendrick teammates power to the front and a six-car wreck Things get hairyKyle Bush, Stewart get together and a near-miss for Edwards Gordon K.O.'edJeff Gordon is knocked out of the Bud Shootout Top finishersJunior and Stewart talk about the rough racing at the Bud Shootout Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

The defending Nextel Cup champion is afraid of what might happen if NASCAR doesn't change the rule on bump drafting that almost turned Sunday's Budweiser Shootout into a demolition derby.

"Five years from now, we're probably going to have to do another tribute to another driver because we're probably going to kill somebody,'' said Stewart, who expressed his concerns to NASCAR president Mike Helton and other top officials after finishing third. "It could be me. It could be Dale [Earnhardt] Jr.

"It could be anybody out there.''

Bump drafting became such a hot topic after last year's Shootout that Jeff Gordon dubbed it "Slam Drafting.''

Stewart said he was hit so hard by Ryan Newman that his head bounced off the headrest.

"It should have knocked a filling loose,'' he said. "I've never hit the headrest so hard when I didn't back it into the wall."

Few, including winner Denny Hamlin, escaped without having the back bumper severely bent.

"I don't know what's left to the back of my car, but that thing is beat in,'' Hamlin said. "There was some major hitting going on out there.''

The bump draft is a technique where a driver nudges the back of the car ahead of him -- preferably on the straightaway -- to propel both cars to higher speeds. The nudges gradually have increased to full body blows.

Some are occurring in the turns, and that makes even the best drivers, such as Stewart, very nervous.

"There were times I thought I'd totally lost the car,'' he said. "It's absolutely insane.''

Stewart admitted the nature of the Shootout, a two-segment, 70-lap sprint in which drivers are using backup cars that won't be used in Sunday's Daytona 500, encourages such driving.

Earnhardt doesn't expect bump drafting to be a major issue in the 500.

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"When you have a 70-lap race, it's a sprint,'' he said. "Guys are going to race like that. I'm going to race like that. If you want a shot at victory, you can't afford to give up spots. You've got to race as hard as you can go.''

"It's a necessary evil is what it is. You can't restrictor plate race without doing it. You have to do it or we'd be racing single file and nobody will come to watch that.''

Perhaps, but Stewart still would like to see NASCAR step in. He suggested that the sanctioning body force teams to use a softer front bumper to discourage contact.

He said simply asking drivers to back off won't work.

"We're going to do what we've got to do to win the race,'' Stewart said. "It needs to come from NASCAR.''

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter admitted the sanctioning body is concerned about the dangers of bump drafting and took Stewart's emotional plea to heart.

"It's become a problem,'' he said. "Any solution that we've looked for to date, we have to make sure we don't make the cars less safe.''

Hunter said to simply penalize drivers would be too subjective, particularly at restrictor plate tracks such as Daytona and Talladega.

"We'll try to find a solution, a safe solution,'' Hunter said.

Hunter said that solution likely won't come before the 500. Stewart would like to see changes at least before Talladega.

"They've changed the rules in midstream before,'' Stewart said of NASCAR. "We're going to hurt somebody really, really bad next Sunday. We've got to find a way of calming this down.''