February 19 2011 Last updated at 05:30 PM ET
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The venerable Daytona International Speedway may as well be classified a completely new venue for the Nationwide Series this season.
The victory lane celebration, however, remains much the same.
Tony Stewart pushed by Clint Bowyer in the final feet of Saturday's DRIVE4COPD 300 to win his sixth checkered flag of the season-opener in his last seven tries. The winning margin of .007 seconds was the third closest in series history.
"We just got a great run," Stewart said. "We had a good push from Landon Cassill there at the line."
Cassill, a young driver without a full-time ride this season, finished third to take the Nationwide Series' points lead.
The path to success again for Stewart had plenty of reasons to derail this time around.
Changes at Daytona include an entirely new surface repaved for the first time since 1978, a new race car that the Nationwide Series will use exclusively this season and a completely changed style of racing that is necessary to get to the front.
Instead of utilizing large packs of cars and weaving through them, the fast way around Daytona this year has proven to be two cars running nose-to-tail, with the trailing car pushing the leading machine.
The product during Saturday's race was one that benefited drivers with experience in the two-car packs and the confidence that they could manage how the two-car pairings affected the race cars' cooling systems. As a result, the field often spread out Saturday around Daytona's high banks, but almost always in pairs of cars.
Five caution flags, including one for Brad Keselowski's divot-taking ride through the infield, waved for 23 total laps. The race also produced a record-tying 35 leaders. Among them was Danica Patrick -- the IndyCar driver making her second start at Daytona -- when she led lap 30 under green flag conditions.
Patrick finished 14th.
Cassill, the third-place finisher, escaped serious damage when he was collected in a lap 17 crash that also nabbed Brian Scott, Sam Hornish Jr. and Justin Allgaier.
Laps later, more drivers were eliminated -- partially due to the new style of racing here. As Todd Bodine pushed Michael Annett into turn one on lap 25, Annett's Toyota broke loose near the front of the field.
Elliott Sadler broadsided Annett's sideways car, effectively blocking the track enough to collect four more cars.
"I looked up and the No. 62 was sideways," Sadler said. "I was hoping he would go up the track but he didn't."
The race's third caution finished Hornish Jr. for good when his No. 12 Dodge spun off turn four and struck the inside wall. After Hornish's incident, the race saw its longest green flag run of the day -- 42 laps -- before debris on the track bunched up the field again late in the going.
A green flag on lap 105 quickly was drawn back a lap later when contact sent 2010 series champion Brad Keselowski spinning across the tri-oval grass. Keselowski's No. 22 Dodge slid back up the track at the start-finish line, where he took a big shot from Patrick Sheltra.
"Landon pulled down in front of me while someone was pushing and I just ran into him," Keselowski said.
Cassill acknowledged he made a mistake to cause the wreck after the race.
When the smoke cleared, five cars were involved in the incident, which brought out the red flag to allow NASCAR to clear the track. Stewart was also forced to pit road during the caution -- giving up a spot near the front of the pack -- with a flat left rear tire.
The green fell for the final time with six laps to go with Bowyer being shown as the leader, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse.
Stewart was scored in 11th at that point, but wasted little time moving to the front after he hooked up in a tandem with Cassill to push towards the front and eventually win the closest Nationwide Series event ever at Daytona.
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