DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Tony Stewart's slump is over, his shoulder is fine and his fence-climbing is as good as ever.

His moves in a mosh pit leave something to be desired.

Stewart was back to his on-track dominance and off-track hijinks, winning at Daytona International Speedway by charging to the lead with two laps to go Saturday night. He then celebrated with his trademark climbing of the fence, but made the mistake of jumping into the crowd -- where he found himself overwhelmed by rowdy fans.

He had to be rescued by his crew and several NASCAR officials, who cleared a path through the mob for the beloved NASCAR champion.

"I made the mistake of going down the ladder," he said. "I thought there was a gate there. I didn't find the gate and was in the mosh pit for a while."

But Stewart, who started climbing fences with this race last year, wasn't going to disappoint the expectant crowd.

"There was no way I was going to let those race fans down," he said. "It started here ... I was either going to get all the way up or I was going to fall off and fall on my butt. But I wasn't going to stop."   More