The Big Bud Shootout Shindig

It is just about upon us - The Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. This event is the signal that a new NASCAR Sprint Cup season is right around the corner. The Budweiser Shootout is a small taste of what is to come for ten months of action-packed racing. This is the moment we have been waiting for since the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16, 2008.

After months of rumors, speculation, driver changes, team mergers and even a change in U.S. Presidents - the time is finally upon us!

I want to welcome you to The Big Bud Shootout Shindig. This post will be all about the Bud Shootout, everything from its history to the present day format to my prediction of who will take the final checkered flag. So in the words of Larry McReynolds, tighten those belts one more time!

Catch The Budweiser Shootout at Daytona Feb. 7th on Fox @ 8:00 PM (EST) 

The Budweiser Shootout at Daytona

The Budweiser Shootout at Daytona (Bud Shootout) is an annual exhibition race held the weekend before the Daytona 500 and is a part of the Daytona Speedweek. The Bud Shootout is a non-points race that consists of all pole winners from the previous year and former winners of the event.

If you would like to view the entry list of the 28 cars in this year’s Budweiser Shootout, see this post.

The participants of this event do not qualify like a typical race. The drivers are entered into a drawing for the starting position. The Budweiser Shootout Draw Party will be Thursday, February 5th. SPEED Channel will air the Bud Shootout Selection Show at 8:00 PM (EST) the same evening.

History

This event was started in 1979 and was called the Busch Clash. The race consisted of a 20 lap (50 miles) all-out sprint to the finish with no pit stops required. The Busch Clash remained with that format until 1990.

In 1991, The Busch Clash was broken into two ten-lap segments. The finishing order from the first ten-lap segment was inverted for the second ten-lap segment. That format remained until 1997.

The Busch Clash was renamed the Bud Shootout in 1998. It consisted of two 25-lap segments, the first being the Bud Shootout Qualifier, the second being the Bud Shootout itself. The winner of the Qualifier segment advanced to the Bud Shootout. A two-tire pit stop was required after each segment. This format was in place until 2000.

In 2001, the event was renamed the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona and was lengthened to 70 laps (175 miles). Caution laps counted, just as in a regular season race, but the race had to end under green flag conditions. Teams were required to make a minimum of one two-tire, green flag pit stop. This format only lasted one more season.

From 2003 to 2008, The Budweiser Shootout at Daytona was split into a 20-lap segment, a ten minute intermission, then a 50-lap dash to the finish. A pit stop was not required, but the smaller fuel cell sizes made stopping for fuel necessary.

The first segment of the race has been lengthened to 25 laps for the 2009 event.

Previous Winners

Busch Clash

Date	Driver	Car Make	Winnings	Team
2/11/1979	Buddy Baker	Oldsmobile	$50,000	Harry Ranier
2/10/1980	Dale Earnhardt	Oldsmobile	$50,000	Rod Osterlund
2/8/1981	Darrell Waltrip	Buick	$61,500	Junior Johnson
2/7/1982	Bobby Allison	Buick	$50,000	DiGard Motorsports
2/14/1983	Neil Bonnett	Chevrolet	$50,500	RahMoc Enterprises
2/12/1984	Neil Bonnett	Chevrolet	$50,000	Junior Johnson
2/10/1985	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet	$65,000	Billy Hagan
2/8/1986	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	$75,000	Richard Childress Racing
2/8/1987	Bill Elliott	Ford	$75,000	Melling Racing
2/7/1988	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	$75,000	Richard Childress Racing
2/12/1989	Ken Schrader	Chevrolet	$75,000	Hendrick Motorsports
2/11/1990	Ken Schrader	Chevrolet	$95,000	Hendrick Motorsports
2/10/1991	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	$60,000	Richard Childress Racing
2/8/1992	Geoff Bodine	Ford	$39,000	Bud Moore Engineering
2/7/1993	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	$60,000	Richard Childress Racing
2/13/1994	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	$54,000	Hendrick Motorsports
2/12/1995	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet	$57,000	Richard Childress Racing
2/11/1996	Dale Jarrett	Ford	$62,000	Robert Yates Racing
2/9/1997	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	$54,000	Hendrick Motorsports

 

Bud Shootout

2/8/1998	Rusty Wallace	Ford	$100,882	Penske Racing
2/7/1999	Mark Martin	Ford	$108,000	Roush Racing
2/13/2000	Dale Jarrett	Ford	$115,000	Robert Yates Racing

Six time Bud Shootout winner Dale Earnhardt

Budweiser Shootout at Daytona

2/11/2001	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	$202,722	Joe Gibbs Racing
2/10/2002	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	$200,955	Joe Gibbs Racing
2/8/2003	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	$205,000	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2/7/2004	Dale Jarrett	Ford	$213,000	Robert Yates Racing
2/7/2005	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	$219,945	Hendrick Motorsports
2/11/2006	Denny Hamlin	Chevrolet	$213,380	Joe Gibbs Racing
2/10/2007	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	$215,000	Joe Gibbs Racing
2/9/2008	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	$215,000	Hendrick Motorsports

Tidbits

• Five times the winner of the Budweiser Shootout has gone on to win the Daytona 500 the following weekend: Bobby Allison (1982), Bill Elliott (1987), Dale Jarrett (1996, 2000) and Jeff Gordon (1997).
• No driver has ever won the Budweiser Shootout, the Gatorade Duel, and the Daytona 500 during the same Daytona Speedweeks.
• From 1979 until 2008, the drivers themselves qualified as eligible for the Budweiser Shootout, not the teams. If an eligible driver for the upcoming Shootout switches teams in the off-season, the driver, not the team is eligible for the race. That driver competes in the race with his new team.
• Drivers who win the pole award at a race must have had an Anheuser-Busch decal (the Busch brand from 1979-2000 and the Budweiser brand since 2001), or the corporate logo affixed to their car (for drivers under 21 years of age) at the time in order to earn the berth for the Budweiser Shootout. If the car does not carry the sticker, the Budweiser Pole Award goes to the next car eligible, but the driver which wins the Budweiser Pole Award does not earn a Shootout spot.
• Drivers must carry a special decal without the Budweiser brand if they are under 21 years of age, but can race in the Budweiser Shootout. By Anheuser-Busch rule, drivers must be 21 or older to wear Budweiser decals, and those under 21 must wear an Anheuser-Busch corporate logo Pole Award sticker, without any brand indication. Special stickers are made to cover up Budweiser stickers for such drivers, which has happened four times recently.
• Dale Jarrett (2000) and Tony Stewart (2002, 2006, 2007) are the only drivers to win the Budweiser Shootout without having won a pole position the previous year. Jarrett advanced to the Shootout' by winning the Bud Shootout Qualifier, and Stewart was eligible for the Shootout via the 2001 rule change adding a lifetime exemption for former winners.
• 2006 Shootout winner Denny Hamlin was the first rookie to win the event. He had won the pole at Phoenix in a seven-race tryout for Joe Gibbs Racing to find a driver for the FedEx #11 car late in the 2005 NASCAR Season. A driver can make up to seven starts per season without giving up their eligibility to be a rookie in NASCAR.
• The 1987 race, won by Bill Elliott was completed at an average speed of 197.802 mph. It stands as the fastest sanctioned race in the history of NASCAR (though it was not an official points-paying event).
• Dale Earnhardt,Sr. has the most Shootout wins at six (1980, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995).

My Winning Prediction

My pick to win the 2009 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona is *drum roll*  ……. Kyle Busch. That’s right, the driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries/M&Ms Toyota Camry will pick up the victory Saturday night.

Kyle was on fire last year, from the start to about a month before the Chase. Expect “Wild Thing” to do it again this year.

You just might see Kyle Busch doing this again after the Bud Shootout

 

I hope everyone enjoys reading this post. I had a blast doing it. Remember to catch my Rookie of the Year Prediction coming on Friday, February 6th!