Daytona 500: Earnhardt Jr wins

Tony Stewart led the most laps in the 500-mile marathon, but Earnhardt Jr made his decisive move with 19 laps to go, blasting past Stewart on the backstretch and making the pass stick in Turn 3.

"I can't believe I passed him by myself," said Earnhardt Jr, who didn't need a drafting partner to pass the leader. "I got a good run on him and made it happen somehow. I had an awesome car. Good God, I can't believe it. It's a hard race to win."

When reminded of his father's similar achievement six years ago, Dale Jr said: "I'm sure he was in the passenger seat right with me."

Stewart finished second, admitting: "We had a good handling car, we just needed more speed. When he [Earnhardt] wanted to pull the pin, he pulled the pin. His car was the class of the field. I'll get my win next year."

Scott Wimmer put a troubled month behind him to finish third, benefiting from an inspired decision to only fit two new tyres at the final pitstop. Kevin Harvick finished a distant fourth, ahead of Jimmie Johnson, Joe Nemechek, front row starter Elliott Sadler, Jeff Gordon and reigning champion Matt Kenseth.

The race was marred by a 12-car accident on the backstretch, caused when Brian Vickers and Johnny Sauter collided and collected Michael Waltrip. He cannoned into Robby Gordon before being launched into a series of somersaults after his car dug in to the wet grass. Waltrip was trapped in the car, but was uninjured when finally extricated.