The door did it … Kyle Busch would say

If I walk into a door, can I blame the door for jumping out and hitting me?

That seems to be the logic Kyle Busch is using to claim Tony Stewart "dumped" him last Saturday near the finish line of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Busch says he tried to block Stewart once and then on the second attempt Stewart, who went on to win, forced him to wreck. Neither I nor anyone I've talked with saw it that way.

On Busch's second attempt to keep Stewart from passing, Stewart's nose was in front of the right, rear quarter-panel of Busch's car. When Busch went to block for the second time, HE hit Stewart.

Busch has become a millionaire from racing, but it's surprising he doesn't have a video recorder. He could've at least borrowed one so he could watch replays of the race's final moments.

Here are excerpts from a press conference Thursday at Chicagoland Speedway where the Sprint Cup series will race Saturday night:

QUESTION: What happened on the last lap at Daytona?

ANSWER: "I got bumped from behind off of turn four, which kind of sent me low a little bit. I gathered my stuff up and tried to block high and it was too late, Tony (Stewart) was already alongside."

Q: How would you approach Daytona if you could have that last lap back?

A: "Same way I did. I don't have it back, it's over with, it's done with. It's over. I did everything I could to try to win the race and I didn't."

Q: What does it mean to you that Tony Stewart reached out to you after last week's incident? Are you on the same page?

A: "I don't know. I really don't have feelings. It didn't mean a whole lot. I thank him for, I guess, checking on me to make sure I was alive. It is like what he said. It is a racing wreck that seems to happen more often than not at Daytona and Talladega on the last lap and it is what it is."

Q: What could you have done differently at Daytona?

A: "If I'm ever second, I normally finish second. If I'm ever leading, I guess I'm getting wrecked. It seems to me like I don't know how to win restrictor plate races."

Q: Can anything be done to prevent accidents like the one you had at Daytona?

A: "I think NASCAR can take a step in looking at it and if the second-place driver dumps — quote, unquote — the leader, than black-flag him. He doesn't get the win. If he's on him from behind and moves him out of the way and there's no wreck, then fine he can win the race. But if you're up alongside a guy and you dump him, then I say black-flag him and give the win to the third-place guy."

Q: Is what happened last week in Daytona considered a dump?

A: "It would be considered a dump."

NASCAR-Mayfield battle a distraction

The Jeremy Mayfield drug-testing saga took strange twists this week.

First, NASCAR appealed to overturn a judge's decision to lift Mayfield's indefinite May 9 suspension following an alleged positive drug test. In the appeal, Mayfield was referred to as "a proven methamphetamine user" who could lead to fatal consequences for other competitors and fans.

And he was ordered to take another drug test on Monday that turned into an episode of the "Keystone Kops." It turned into two tests.

Mayfield claims his delay in retrieving the message and inaccurate directions to the testing site caused him to miss the deadline so he went to an independent lab of his lawyer's choice.

Later that day, NASCAR sent two testers from its lab and a NASCAR security officer to Mayfield's home in Catawba County, N.C., at 7:20 p.m. (EDT). They claim they could not gain access for 10 minutes and then weren't able to persuade Mayfield to give a sample until 8:20 p.m.

"There is no denying that Jeremy Mayfield stretched this out for seven hours," said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston of the all-day affair. "The litany of excuses and delay tactics he used to keep away from our testers was ridiculous."

A few points to ponder:

1. NASCAR refuses to overturn the results of any race but has no problem appealing the rulings of others.

2. NASCAR's decision to demand new tests — including the decision to send a team to Mayfield's home — is a big gamble unless it had good reason to believe Mayfield had been using an unapproved substance.

3. If Mayfield passes this week's tests, how much will that be worth when he wins a lawsuit against NASCAR?

Regardless of the outcome, however, Mayfield's career in racing likely is over because no one will sponsor or hire him.

NASCAR can only win if this week's tests reinforce the original findings taken in May.

If Mayfield's tests are clean, then NASCAR will be the biggest loser.