Busch tried valiantly to block Stewart and keep the lead as the field roared to the finish line. Stewart didn’t give an inch and the contact sent Busch spinning into the outside wall and triggered a multiple car accident at the finish of the race.

Cars using WIX Filters have now won nine of the 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season in addition to the Budweiser Shootout and Sprint All-Star Race.

“I don't know that we did anything wrong,” Stewart said. “I mean, I've seen replays of it, and he's protecting his position, which he's got to do. That's what he has to do as a driver. He can't just sit there and let us make a move like that and not try to defend it. But it puts him, it puts us, it put Kasey Kahne behind him in a bad position where it drove Kyle's car all the way up to Kasey's windshield.

“It's nobody's fault, it's just racing. I mean, it's a product of the environment. It doesn't mean the environment is bad, it just means that's the way it is. Like I said, he did what he had to do and he defended his spot. It wasn't even that we tried to hold our ground, we just got on his quarter panel, and that's just how you suck up.

“Even if it's 100 percent his fault, I still won't feel good about it. I think racers hold the integrity of the sport in mind, and it was a good race. It was a good race all night long as far as guys moving around. There was a pack of cars that were definitely the strongest cars all day, and we were one of those cars, and we deserved to have a shot at it at the end. The outcome may go your way, but it doesn't mean that you have to like how it happened.”

Stewart and crew chief Darian Grubb were proud of the pit crew which kept the No. 14 Chevrolet at the front of the pack all night.

“We came in with the lead -- came out with the lead every time, so I was really proud of our guys for that,” Stewart said. “That's something that I can promise you they're going to take a lot of pride in, and I'm taking a lot of pride in as how good a stops they had.”

Said Grubb: “The pit crew did an incredible job. Everything we asked them to do for adjustments, they did not miss a beat the entire night. Tony was able to keep the car up front all night like he said. It was a dominant car, and I hate to see that finish that way. That's typical speedway racing, but we were able to get the fastest car out there and win the race.”

Stewart scored his third victory in 22 races at Daytona, all coming in the Coke Zero 400. He won for the second time this season and claimed his 35th victory in 374 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. He became the first owner-driver since Ricky Rudd in 1997 to win multiple races in a season.

Stewart’s official margin of victory over second-place Jimmie Johnson was .110 second. The official time of the race was 2 hours, 48 minutes and 28 seconds. There were 23 lead changes among 10 drivers and the event was slowed by eight cautions for 30 laps. The average speed of the race was 142.461 mph.

Stewart led the most laps at Daytona (nine times for 86 of 160-laps) and is now tied with Busch for the overall lead in the WIX Filters Lap Leader standings. Stewart remains the leader in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings, 180 points ahead of second-place Jeff Gordon and 194 ahead of third-place Jimmie Johnson.

Since 1939, WIX® Filters, a member of the Affinia Group family of brands, has been an innovator in filtration products. WIX designs, manufactures and distributes products for automotive, diesel, agricultural, industrial and specialty filter markets. Its product line includes oil, air, cabin interior, fuel, coolant, transmission and hydraulic filters for automobiles, trucks and off-road equipment. WIX, a member of the Affinia family of brands, is the number one filter in NASCAR and an exclusive NASCAR Performance Product. Its NASCAR relationship also includes the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award, which recognizes the drivers leading the most laps in each race. For more information, visit www.wixfilters.com.

Raybestos® brand brake and chassis parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake and Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems and chassis parts in the transportation industry. The brake line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes and hydraulic parts, while the chassis line features tie rods, ball points, idler arms and sway bar links. Raybestos brand braking and chassis systems are also the only systems used by NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing in competition. For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit www.raybestosbrakes.com. For more information on Raybestos Chassis visit www.raybestoschassis.com .

Affinia Group Inc. is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket parts for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With more than $2 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and India. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.

*Affinia Group Inc.’s affiliated companies include Brake Parts Inc. WIX Filtration Corp LLC, Affinia Products Corp LLC and other high quality manufacturers of the Affinia family of brands.