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Tony Stewart scored his third victory in seven years in the exhibition Budweiser Shootout in Daytona Beach, Fla., setting himself up as a top contender to win NASCAR's season-opening Daytona 500 next weekend.
Stewart nudged Kyle Busch out of the lead with eight laps to go, then calmly drove to his third victory in the all-star event when runner-up David Gilliland never challenged.
``We've definitely figured out how to win Saturday night races here at Daytona,'' Stewart said. ``We've just got to figure out how to win a Sunday race.''
The Shootout win was his 10th victory at Daytona in various series, but none has come in the ``Super Bowl of Racing.'' His best finish was second in 2004, when he pushed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the win.