Penske wins Daytona

Toyota narrowly missed out on a historic victory in the Daytona 500 after Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch were beaten to the line by the Dodge Chargers of Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch.

Newman’s victory ended an 81-race winless streak and delivered team owner Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 success on the 50th anniversary of the race. Newman was quick to thank team-mate Busch for his help in drafting past Stewart on the run to the flag.

Reigning NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson finished down in 27th after top-placed rookie Sam Hornish tapped him early on in the race, causing his car to spin. Dario Franchitti and Juan Pablo Montoya were also out of luck – the Scot finished a lap behind in 33rd position, one place behind Montoya.