DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A night of bumper cars, a rare Jeff Gordon mistake and an official recount ended with a familiar sight.

Kyle Busch in Victory Lane.

Busch held off the pack in NASCAR's version of overtime -- only after NASCAR spent more than a couple of minutes consulting its timing and scoring -- to win Saturday night's Coke Zero 400.

It's Busch's series-high sixth win of the year.

Confusion abounded when Busch and second-place Carl Edwards ran side-by-side as a multi-car wreck in turn 1 behind them ended the race.

"I hate to lose it like that,'' said Edwards, who finished second.

Scoring monitors erroneously showed he'd won only because he beat Busch back across the finish line as both drivers waited to find out who won.

Results were unofficial after the race as NASCAR tried to determine the finishing order. One thing was certain was that J.J. Yeley finished for an ailing Tony Stewart, who got out of the car before the halfway point.

Busch took the lead on lap 156 when Gordon went high to block the pack and Busch went low to go by.

"I screwed up,'' Gordon radioed his team. "I should have stayed on the dang bottom.''

Gordon was tapped by Edwards on the final restart and did not finish in the top 20.

Jeff Burton, who entered the night second in the points, was involved in two incidents. The first time he spun and suffered no damage. The second time, Casey Mears' out-of-control car knocked Burton into the wall.

"Didn't get lucky that time,'' Burton radioed his crew.

Burton's woes dropped him to third in the points standings behind Earnhardt heading into next weekend's race at Chicagoland Speedway.

The race began with questions of how long an ill Stewart would last. He started the race with Yeley, one of two drivers who failed to qualify for the event, standing in Stewart's pits wearing one of his former teammate's driving uniforms to relieve Stewart if needed.

Asked how he was doing before the start of the race, Stewart radioed his team: "We're hanging in here.''

After describing the car's handling, crew chief Greg Zipadelli jokingly suggested massive changes. Stewart replied: "If you're trying to make me sick that will do it.''

During a caution on lap 20, Zipadelli asked Stewart if he thought he was going to make it. Stewart said no.

Stewart hung in the car until a crash between Greg Biffle and Juan Pablo Montoya brought out the caution shortly before the halfway mark in the 160-lap race.

"You got somebody to help me out in the seat?'' Stewart radioed Zipadelli. "I'll have him suit up. It's wearing me ... out.''

Stewart pitted on lap 72 and exited the car. He placed his black helmet on the pit box, tossed his gloves there. He got a cold wet towel to wipe his face and sat down on a pit wagon used to transport fuel cans.

After an ice pack was placed on his neck, he moved to the top of the pit box and watched the race for a few laps. He was carted away to the infield care center on lap 89 for treatment of what was called flu-like symptoms.

"Hats off for him doing what he did,'' Zipadelli said.

Stewart last needed a relief driver in June 2006 at Dover when he was recovering from a shoulder injury. Ricky Rudd drove for Stewart that day.

Biffle seethed about his incident with Montoya. Biffle said his car wasn't handling well and hoped for a break as they ran together.

"He was up beside me and I just pushed up there,'' Biffle said. "There was nothing I could do. I figured he'd give me a little break there, but we're racing for last position back there and he wants to go like heck every lap.''

Said Montoya: "When you're beside someone, they're supposed to give you room. He didn't give me any room."

Also having a bad night was Elliott Sadler. Just a few days after he became engaged, the right front tire went down and shot him up the track and he slammed the wall on lap 109.

Unlike last weekend at New Hampshire where fuel strategy helped give Kurt Busch the victory, that element was not a factor. David Gilliland ran into Ryan Newman and knocked Newman into the wall. Burton was hit from behind and spun bringing out the caution on lap 125.

That allowed everyone to pit and have enough fuel for the end. David Ragan exited the pits second after a two-tire stop but NASCAR penalized him because the catch can was released before the gas man was done fueling the car. Ragan came back to pit and put left-side tires on and restarted 32nd.

Shortly after that, defending race winner Jamie McMurray was tapped from behind and slid down into the turn 1 grass area and back up toward the track but continued.

Denny Hamlin's hopes for a win ended on lap 136 when he was hit from behind and cut down the track, hitting Newman, who was in his third incident of the night.