Originally published Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Auto Racing | Tony Stewart captures Nationwide Series opener at Daytona

The payback was fitting. Tony Stewart turned the tables on Hendrick Motorsports to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series opener. Stewart and teammate Kyle...

By MIKE HARRIS

The Associated Press

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The payback was fitting. Tony Stewart turned the tables on Hendrick Motorsports to win the NASCAR Nationwide Series opener.

Stewart and teammate Kyle Busch finished 1-2 in Saturday's Camping World 300 presented by Chevrolet, combining to hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished third.

The Joe Gibbs Racing teammates showed they have learned some important lessons about cooperation from the drivers at Hendrick, the team that fired Busch to make room for Earnhardt.

"We worked with each other the whole race. That's something that, you know, we've learned that from [those] guys," Stewart said. "And it just shows if you get two of these guys to work with each other, Kyle and I can. I think Kyle and I could have stayed up front all day, no matter how many guys challenged."

That will be tested today in the Daytona 500 in an expected showdown between Hendrick and Gibbs.

It will be Stewart, Busch and Denny Hamlin, who won his Daytona qualifying race Thursday, against Hendrick's all-star cast of Earnhardt, two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears.

Earnhardt, Daytona pole-winner Johnson and Gordon are all former 500 winners. Gibbs' drivers are looking for that first win in NASCAR's prime event.

But Earnhardt sounded convinced Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing are for real.

"The Toyota has been fast," said Junior, who had his string of Speedweeks victories ended at two. "Those guys, you know, got knowledge to get cars around the track, know how to get to victory lane. They're going to be tough, I think, all year."

Joe Gibbs Racing switched from Chevrolets to Toyotas over the winter, giving the Japanese automaker a marquee team for its second season on the Sprint Cup (formerly Nextel Cup) and Nationwide (formerly Busch Series) circuits.

Stewart and Busch put on a good show Saturday, leading 93 of the 120 laps.

"This car was just fast," said Stewart, who was second in the Budweiser Shootout and his 150-mile qualifying race.

Greg Biffle of Vancouver, Wash., finished seventh. Kasey Kahne of Enumclaw was 35th of 43.

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