After he returned to the track, it became apparent the car would require more extensive work. And after going down several laps early, he went to the garage where the team replaced the whole fuel cell.


So after waiting out a six-hour mid-race rain delay, having to start the 500 from the rear of the grid for changing his engine before qualifying, and then enduring a sickly car, Stewart finished his first race back in 35th  place — 26 laps behind winner Dale Earnhardt Jr.


After the race, Stewart sat for a few moments inside his car collecting himself while fans in the garage screamed encouragement: "You’ll get ’em next week, Tony."


Then he climbed out, spoke briefly to crew members and when asked how he felt on the night, simply responded, "I feel like I got kicked in the (midsection)."


Stewart-Haas Racing Vice President of Competition Greg Zipadelli spoke with Stewart at more length. It was a difficult night for the entire four-car SHR operation. Danica Patrick was collected in a crash and Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch had several close calls as well, ultimately finishing 13th and 21st, respectively.


"Really any race today is so important, but you put so much emphasis on the Daytona 500 and you work all winter and try to build a little momentum heading to these other race tracks," Zipadelli said. "Today was a rough day for us, but we’re strong people and we’ll keep digging and hopefully we can rally back."

Zipadelli confirmed that Stewart passed his first racing test with no physical issues.


"Not at all, (his leg) was never (a concern)," Zipadelli said. "I’m proud of him for how hard he worked to put himself back in there. I feel really bad. I feel like we let him down."


Racing legend A.J. Foyt, Stewart’s good friend, made the trip from his Texas home to Daytona Beach to be trackside and show his support of the fellow former open-wheel champion. The two — who share the famed No. 14 — spent time together catching up Saturday in Stewart’s motorcoach.


"I just told him, try to be there at the end of the day if you want to win this race," Foyt said. "And Tony said he agreed with me. I’m pulling for him."


Foyt continued with a smile: "I said, you know Tony, when I was hurt so bad I came back and sat on the front row at Indy (500). He told me he qualified 10th (for Sunday’s Daytona 500) so I told him, that shows you I was a lot better at my comeback. Now you’ve got to win."


Foyt also said he completely understands why Stewart continues to race outside his day job as an owner/driver in NASCAR’s premier series. Stewart was injured Aug. 5 in a sprint car race in Iowa and required three surgeries to repair his right leg.  


"Life is very short and if you can’t do what you want to do in life, what’s the use of living," Foyt said. "He loves sprint cars like I did. I did about the same things he’s doing. I never got hurt doing it and he did. It’s just one of the unfortunate things.

"He’ll be back and he’ll win."

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Heavy rains forced NASCAR to park the cars on pit road with a red flag on Lap 38. The No. 42 team thought the break may actually benefit the group, allowing them to regroup and brainstorm any further repairs for his Chevrolet.

The FOX television analysts suggested the two problems were related and speculated that a suspension piece was cutting the tires.

The 21-year-old Californian qualified 16th for his first Daytona 500 and was even considered a dark horse to win by many despite his inexperience in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and on the famous Daytona high banks.

But his Chevrolet tagged the outside wall early, forcing him to pit for tires and putting him a lap down. He pitted again on Lap 22 to replace another tire after a flat tire bounced his car into the infield grass briefly.

"Made a slight mistake on Lap 1, so we have some work to do to get back on the lead lap," Larson said during the red-flag rain delay. "But, I’m confident in the team and I know they have a plan to get the car fixed when we get back out there."

Larson got one of his two lost laps back and his No. 42 was 42nd in the race when the red flag came out.

He had worked his back through the field following a red-flag period of six hours, 20 minutes and 41 seconds. Past the three-quarters mark in the race, though, Larson and fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Austin Dillon swapped paint, with Larson taking the brunt and having to take his car to the garage.

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“Winning this race is the greatest feeling you can feel in the sport, aside from … accepting the trophy for the championship,” Earnhardt Jr. said in the winner’s circle.
 
“I didn’t know if I’d ever get a chance to feel that again and it feels just as good if not better than the first because of how hard we tried year after year, running second all those years and wondering why and what we needed to do.
 
“We got a little help from Jeff (Gordon) to get away on that restart and tried to take care of if from there. This is amazing. I can’t believe this is happening. I’ll never take it for granted because this just doesn’t happen twice.”
 
It was a popular victory, both among the fans and fellow competitors.
 
“The world is right, right now,” said Gordon, a teammate at Hendrick Motorsports. “Dale Jr. just won the Daytona 500 to kick off 2014. That is a sign that the NASCAR season is going to be a good one.”
 
“He has been knocking on the door here at the 500 for a lot of years and got it done tonight,” Johnson said. “He did an awesome job.”
 
“I’m glad Dale got the win – he needed that,” said Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth, sixth in the final rundown. “He needed that. That was good for him and Denny — Denny was super fast all week and it looks like he almost pulled it off, too.”
 
Hamlin, eyeing a sweep of events at DIS  — he won last week’s Sprint Unlimited and one of Thursday’s two Budweiser Duel races — rallied from sixth to second in the closing laps.
 
Brad Keselowski, Gordon and Johnson completed the top five in the season’s season-opening event.
 
An early push on the final restart from Gordon shoved Earnhardt Jr. out front and away from the frantic two-by-two battles. Keselowski was second when the field took the white flag, signifying one lap remaining, while Hamlin rode in third.
 
“I’m so 50/50 on whether I’m pissed off or I’m happy,” Hamlin said after his career-best finish in the 500. “I just don’t know.
 
“Any other year I probably would have been like jumping up and down. We can hardly finish these races, much less have a shot at a victory.”
 
Hamlin said radio issues that surfaced after the long rain delay returned late in the race, and left him acting as his own spotter.
 
“I felt like our car wasn’t as strong as the week progressed. The competition definitely caught up for sure. Then … me not being able to drive to my ability because I was being conservative, trying to spot for myself, that’s not a way to race.”
 
Only 38 laps had been completed when the race was halted for rain. Officials red-flagged the race at 2:13 p.m. ET. Although the rain intensified – severe weather warnings were issued for the surrounding region and lightning streaked against the gray sky – after nearly six and one half hours, the cars were back on the race track.
 
Kyle Busch was on point when the race was stopped with Kasey Kahne, Hamlin, Brian Vickers and Paul Menard completing the top five.
 
Earnhardt Jr. didn’t take the lead for the first time until lap 131, but once there his No. 88 Chevrolet proved to be stout. Others were equally strong.
 
A power move coming out of the fourth turn with 21 laps remaining pushed Carl Edwards into the lead, with Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth, Johnson and Greg Biffle rounding out the top five.
 
Kenseth moved into second a lap later, with just 20 laps remaining.
 
With 18 to go, it was Earnhardt Jr. showing the power, pulling the outside line around Edwards and into the lead. Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Reed Sorenson and Keselowski were second through fifth as Edwards was shuffled back to seventh.
 
The fifth caution of the race flew on the ensuing lap, however, as 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne spun and careened off the wall to set up a 13-lap shootout.
 
With 10 laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. remained out front with Johnson, Gordon, Harvick and Keselowski trailing. Kurt Busch spun coming to the tri-oval and momentarily became stuck in the grass at the entrance to pit road. But no caution appeared, and the race remained under green.
 
The yellow did appear at lap 195 when a six-car melee unfolded in Turn 3. Ryan Newman, Justin Allgaier, Parker Kligerman and Cole Whitt were among those involved.
 
Earnhardt Jr.’s 2004 victory came while he was driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his late father, seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt.
 
“It’s hard to put into words what winning this race really means to you,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I felt lucky (in 2004) because I was with a lot of family back then. What makes this (race) special is the people that you have with you when it happens.
 
“It just seems like it’s too good to be true, really.”

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