Surprises And Disappointments From The Auto Club 500

There were quite a bit of surprises and disappointments during the 2009 Auto Club 500. Here is a list of what I thought were the biggest surprises and disappointments from last Sunday’s race.

Surprise

Matt Kenseth winning the first two races of the year was a big surprise to me. I know Roush Fenway has been dominate at this event the last several years, but for Kenseth to pull off that win surprised and impressed me. If you would have told me that Kenseth was going to win the race with 30 laps to go, I would have fell out laughing.

Disappointment

As Matt Kenseth was starting a new streak of his own, Kevin Harvick ended one. Harvick’s DNF Sunday night was his first in 81 races. A streak that was only three races shy of the all-time races without a DNF streak.

Surprise

Jimmie Johnson fading off towards the end was definitely a surprise. Usually, the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team is at its best when it comes to the waning laps of a race – not this week. Johnson was running in dominating form during the early and middles stages of the race. When it got down to the last 30 to 40 laps, he began struggling and finished an uncharacteristic ninth.

Disappointment

The only real racing was on pit road. It is a shame that out of 250 laps on the track, the most excitement was the race off pit road. No wonder the Auto Club Speedway has a hard time selling tickets.

Surprise

Tony Stewart finished eight in both races thus far, and is fourth in points – tied with Kurt Busch with 294 points. We all know Stewart is a great race car driver, but to be doing so well with his new team was a surprise to me. I figured some new team struggles would hamper Stewart in the beginning of the season.

Disappointment

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. being 35th in points is a huge disappointment. I am not a Junior fan, but I expected him to be doing much better than this out of the gate. His bad driving hurt him in Daytona, and now his bad luck at Fontana has put him in a big hole to climb out of. It might be a long season for Junior Nation if his fortunes do not reverse soon…. real soon.

Surprise

Seeing Michael Waltrip and Juan Pablo Montoya in the top-10 in points. Waltrip and Montoya have started the 2009 season with strong finishes the first two races. Waltrip has finishes of seventh at Daytona and 15th at Fontana. Montoya has finishes of 14th at Daytona and 11th at Fontana. If these two can keep this up, they could be be contenders for a Chase spot. I doubt it really, but you never know in this sport. As for Waltrip, nothing motivates quite like the threat of firing yourself, huh?

Disappointment

I have been disappointed in how Joey Logano has run so far in 2009. I know the 18-year old is a rookie and has never ran at these tracks, but he has struggled badly. Maybe I am expecting too much from him too early. Logano is currently 38th in owner points. So if he doesn’t get a move on by Martinsville, he will have to qualify to get in the race. That could become a nightmare for the No. 20 Home Depot team.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what kind of surprises and disappointments we find at Las Vegas this Sunday.

Gordon, Busch Win Duels – Daytona 500 Field Set

Gatorade Duel No. 1

Jeff Gordon returned to victory lane for the first time in more than a year, winning Thursday’s first Gatorade Duel qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway.

 Jeff Gordon Celebrates In Victory Lane After His Gatorade Duel Victory

Driving the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Gordon held off Tony Stewart and rookie Joey Logano in the closing laps. Because of Thursday’s victory, Gordon will start Sunday’s Daytona 500 on the inside of the second row as he tries to break his 41-race losing streak.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to visit victory lane quite a few times, but not many times as a father,” said Gordon, who was greeted by his daughter Ella after the race, which does not count in the Sprint Cup standings. “There’s nothing more special than that.

“This team has been unbelievable. We all know what we went through last year by not winning. There’s a lot of expectations on this team, but they never wavered. The guys just kept working hard, building great race cars. I hope there’s a lot of this in store for us in 2009.”

Stewart finished second in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet and earned the first transfer spot into the 500. The second spot went to Scott Riggs’ new Tommy Baldwin Racing team, as Riggs moved from 11th to eighth in the final five laps.
Since Stewart raced his way into the Daytona 500, Regan Smith moved up the qualifying order and is guaranteed a starting spot Sunday. Smith is entered in Thursday’s second Gatorade Duel.
Logano surged into the top five late in the race and ended up third in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Hendrick’s Jimmie Johnson was fourth, with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s Aric Almirola fifth.

Sixth through 10th were Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch, Richard Petty Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne, Riggs, Yates Racing’s Paul Menard and Roush Fenway Racing’s Jamie McMurray.
Bill Elliott ran well early in the race, but under the second caution, the transmission on Elliott’s Wood Brothers Racing Ford locked up, sending Elliott into the wall.
Elliott still transfers into Sunday’s Daytona 500 via his qualifying speed, as he was the fastest of the drivers not locked into the race.

Daytona 500 polesitter Martin Truex Jr. brought out the third caution when he spun on lap 49. Truex’s No. 1 Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet slid up the track in Turn 2 and then was clipped by David Ragan’s Ford.

Kyle Roland,  a crewman for Mayfield Motorsports, was struck on pit road while he helped service Kirk Shelmerdine’s No. 27 Toyota. Roland was serving as jackman for Shelmerdine when he was hit by Shelmerdine’s car on a pit stop. Roland was taken to a local hospital for possible treatment, a NASCAR spokesman said.

Gatorade Duel No. 1 Results

Finish	Start	Car #	Driver	Car Make
1	5	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet
2	6	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet
3	3	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet
4	10	20	Joey Logano	Toyota
5	4	8	Aric Almirola	Chevrolet
6	22	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge
7	19	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge
8	15	36	Scott Riggs	Toyota
9	7	98	Paul Menard	Ford
10	12	26	Jamie McMurray	Ford
11	9	187	Joe Nemechek	Toyota
12	18	09	Brad Keselowski	Chevrolet
13	14	47	Marcos Ambrose	Toyota
14	21	07	Casey Mears	Chevrolet
15	16	55	Michael Waltrip	Toyota
16	23	77	Sam Hornish Jr	Dodge
17	28	146	Carl Long	Dodge
18	25	37	Tony Raines	Dodge
19	26	66	Terry Labonte	Toyota
20	24	127	Kirk Shelmerdine	Toyota
21	1	1	Martin Truex Jr	Chevrolet
22	20	7	Robby Gordon	Toyota
23	13	6	David Ragan	Ford
24	8	16	Greg Biffle	Ford
25	17	34	John Andretti	Chevrolet
26	11	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford
27	2	21	Bill Elliott	Ford
28	27	123	Mike Skinner	Chevrolet

 

Gatorade Duel No. 2

Kyle Busch seemed to shake off his 2008 Chase For The Sprint Cup blues by holding off Mark Martin and Brian Vickers to win the second Gatorade Duel qualifying race Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.

Kyle Busch Celebrates After Winning The Second Gatorade Duel

Mayfield Motorsports’ Jeremy Mayfield and Richard Petty Motorsports’ AJ Allmendinger finished ninth and 10th, respectively, to earn starting spots in Sunday’s Daytona 500.
“An emotional day,” Mayfield said. “It’s probably better than any win I’ve ever had. I’ve had so much support from everybody. It’s just unbelievable.”

While Mayfield used a late two-tire pit stop to gain track position, Allmendinger raced his No. 44 Dodge into the final transfer spot with help from teammates Elliott Sadler and Reed Sorenson.
“Everybody’s known over the last two months what’s happened,” Allmendinger said. “I’ve got to thank the 44 guys. They worked way long hours to get these cars ready. And I’ve especially got to thank my teammates, Elliott and Reed. They kind of had to ruin their races to come back and save me.”

The final three drivers to make the 500 reached it through qualifying speed: Bill Elliott (Wood Brothers Racing), Travis Kvapil (Yates Racing) and Regan Smith (Furniture Row Racing).
Busch won eight of the first 26 races last year but struggled in the 10-race Chase, finishing 10th in the final Cup standings.
Busch surged to the front late in the race, getting drafting help from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin to get around Hendrick Motorsports' Martin for the lead with three laps to go.
“I knew the first opportunity that we had to make the move that we ought to just take it and go for it and try to hold them off from there,” Busch said. “It turned out to be all right; it was the winning move.”

On the last lap, Martin and Vickers (Red Bull Racing) slipped under Hamlin and moved in on Busch. Vickers gave Martin a hard bump-draft into Turn 3, sending Martin to the outside of Busch.
Busch moved up the track to block Martin, and then Vickers darted under Martin as the two raced for second to the checkered flag.

Martin slipped around Vickers for second, with Vickers holding on for third. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth, with Hamlin finishing fifth

.
Sixth through 10th were Hall of Fame Racing’s Bobby Labonte, Hendrick’s Dale Earnhardt Jr., Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards, Mayfield and Allmendinger.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Newman didn’t have as good a race as his teammate/owner Tony Stewart did in the first Duel. Newman was forced to pit with a flat tire on lap 13, but a caution came out soon after, and Newman was able to stay on the lead lap.

Newman moved back in the top five late in the race but was hit from behind by Michael Waltrip Racing's David Reutimann on the backstretch and slammed the wall. After crawling out of his No. 39 Chevrolet, Newman walked on the track and lifted his arms in frustration at Reutimann.

Gatorade Duel No. 2 Results

Finish	Start	Car #	Driver	Make
1	8	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota
2	1	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet
3	18	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota
4	3	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet
5	13	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota
6	5	96	Bobby Labonte	Ford
7	6	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Chevrolet
8	14	99	Carl Edwards	Ford
9	21	41	Jeremy Mayfield	Toyota
10	19	44	A.J. Allmendinger	Dodge
11	12	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet
12	20	12	David Stremme	Dodge
13	22	171	Mike Wallace	Chevrolet
14	17	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet
15	10	00	David Reutimann	Toyota
16	7	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet
17	16	19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge
18	24	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet
19	4	28	Travis Kvapil	Ford
20	26	51	Kelly Bires	Dodge
21	15	43	Reed Sorenson	Dodge
22	25	175	Derrike Cope	Dodge
23	28	157	Norm Benning	Chevrolet
24	2	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet
25	9	82	Scott Speed	Toyota
26	23	73	Mike Garvey	Dodge
27	27	64	Geoffrey Bodine	Toyota
28	11	08	Boris Said	Ford

2009 Daytona 500 Starting Lineup

Starting lineup for Sunday's Daytona 500 race for NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series at Daytona International Speedway after Thursday's qualifying races, with car number in parentheses, driver, car and qualifying speed in mph:

1. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 188.001.

2. (5) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 187.817.

3. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 187.402.

4. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 186.896.

5. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 187.336.

6. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 185.858.

7. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 187.727.

8. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 187.743.

9. (20) Joey Logano, Toyota, 186.753.

10. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 186.451.

11. (8) Aric Almirola, Chevrolet, 187.649.

12. (96) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 187.211.

13. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 185.38.

14. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 187.079.

15. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 185.517.

16. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, 186.389.

17. (36) Scott Riggs, Toyota, 185.893.

18. (41) Jeremy Mayfield, Toyota, 185.082.

19. (98) Paul Menard, Ford, 187.044.

20. (44) A.J. Allmendinger, Dodge, 185.77.

21. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 186.509.

22. (33) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 186.726.

23. (47) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 186.012.

24. (12) David Stremme, Dodge, 185.391.

25. (07) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 185.426.

26. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 185.958.

27. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 185.805.

28. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 186.827.

29. (77) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 185.079.

30. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 186.066.

31. (7) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 185.51.

32. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 183.602.

33. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 186.374.

34. (43) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 186.07.

35. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 186.889.

36. (39) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 187.778.

37. (34) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 185.59.

38. (82) Scott Speed, Toyota, 186.842.

39. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 186.614.

40. (21) Bill Elliott, Ford, 187.739.

41. (28) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 187.574.

42. (78) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 186.924.

43. (66) Terry Labonte, Toyota, Past Champion.

Failed to qualify

44. (87) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 186.807.

45. (08) Boris Said, Ford, 186.78.

46. (09) Brad Keselowski, Chevrolet, 185.571.

47. (127) Kirk Shelmerdine, Toyota, 184.854.

48. (171) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 184.847.

49. (37) Tony Raines, Dodge, 184.106.

50. (73) Mike Garvey, Dodge, 184.004.

51. (75) Derrike Cope, Dodge, 182.02.

52. (23) Mike Skinner, Chevrolet, 181.928.

53. (51) Kelly Bires, Dodge, 181.701.

54. (46) Carl Long, Dodge, 181.032.

55. (64) Geoff Bodine, Toyota, 180.81.

56. (57) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 177.396.

Garage Insider

Welcome to another edition of Garage Insider for Wednesday, February 11,2009. Once again I will touch on this week’s hottest news.

 

Waltrip To Retire After 2009 If Not Competitive

Michael Waltrip once worked at Wendy's, but quit the fast-food chain after cutting his finger in a tomato slicer.

He later had a job helping his father deliver Pepsi-Cola, but as a loyal Coca-Cola customer, he walked away because he felt as if he were deceiving the customers.

Now Waltrip is at another career crossroad, unsure if its time to climb out of his race car.

 

The two-time Daytona 500 winner said Thursday he will end his driving career at the end of 2009 if his results don't improve this season.

"I want to race for many more years," he said at media day for the Daytona 500. "I want to race the NAPA car in '10 and beyond, because I'm the best guy for it. But if I notice (teammate) David Reutimann out in front of me and I'm not able to catch him, and if I don't see the results that I think can get the 55 car the results it deserves, then as an owner, I want to get somebody in there that can post those results."

 

Will There Be A Gordon/Evernham Reunion?

Jeff Gordon was asked about former crew chief Ray Evernham, who no longer is a part owner of what is now called Richard Petty Motorsports and if they would ever work together. Here's what Gordon said:

"We've always stayed great friends and I admire him and he's a sharp guy and he's done a lot, obviously, in this sport,'' Gordon said. "We're always looking to find ways to make ourselves better. If (an Evernham reunion) was ever the case, it wouldn't be in a crew chief role. If it's an engineer, if it's a team manager, whatever options are out there for anybody we always take them serious. With my experience with Ray being so positive in the past, I certainly wouldn't throw it out. It's not something that is happening, but it's not something that I would ever say never would.''

Don't be surprised that if Gordon struggles early in the season that Evernham might come on board in some fashion. That said, if Gordon starts out the season well, there might not be as big of a push for such a reunion.

 

All Drivers Pass First Drug Screen

All drivers in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Nationwide Truck Series passed the first round of drug testing under NASCAR's new policy, officials said on Thursday, but that wasn't the case for crew members.

Kevin Harvick said two pit crew members for his Truck Series team were released after failed tests and he expects there are others throughout all three series.

"There's definitely more out there,'' Harvick said during media day at Daytona International Speedway. "There's a lot of people that are looking for jobs right now that are straight-up people. It couldn't have come at a better time.''

NASCAR implemented a policy that calls for mandatory preseason testing for all drivers and crew members and random testing throughout the season by an independent laboratory after former Truck Series driver Aaron Fike admitted last season he competed under the influence of heroin.

 

Goodyear Could Debut New Tire By 2010

Goodyear is developing a wider, taller tire that could improve racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, but the tire won't be ready for competition until sometime next year at the earliest, a company official says.

Goodyear officials hope to test the tire at a track in the second half of the season, says Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of race tire sales. The tire could make its debut at the short track events in 2010 if things go well. That would follow how NASCAR phased in the car of tomorrow.

The main advantage of the new tire is giving drivers more grip. That would help the car's handling and could give teams improved tire wear.

"We're operating right on the edge of the envelope for our current package,'' Stucker said. "The new car definitely seems to stress tires differently with the additional right-side weight, it's harder on those right sides."

Goodyear's current Cup tire is 28.5 inches tall and 11-12 inches wide, depending on the track configuration. Stucker said that Goodyear officials are looking at making the tire 1.5 to 2 inches taller and the same amount wider.

That creates issues, though. A taller, wider tire will force teams to alter their cars and that could cause headaches.

 

NASCAR's Trouble At The Track

It was NASCAR's "Heidi Bowl" moment, and no one cared. On Nov. 9, with 34 laps to go in a late-season race at Phoenix International Raceway, ABC pre-empted its live national coverage of the event for the umpteenth airing of its cheesy reality show America's Funniest Home Videos.

Forty years earlier, NBC tried the same stunt when it cut to a made-for-TV version of Heidi from an incredible last-minute comeback by the Oakland Raiders over the New York Jets. Irate East Coast viewers fried the network's switchboard in protest. But when NASCAR was snubbed by ABC, only a few bloggers and columnists seemed to care.

The collective shrug is just the latest sign that NASCAR has hit a wall. Though still America's second-most-watched sport after football--this season's 51st running of the Daytona 500 is expected to pull in 17 million viewers--NASCAR is no longer the unstoppable marketing phenomenon it used to be.

The sport is suffering declines in sponsorship, attendance and financial stability, and the roots of the problem go a lot deeper than the lousy economy. Ratings are falling more rapidly than those of other sports. Racing fans, many of whom can barely afford the steep ticket prices at the track, are bored by the lack of drama when they get there. Several of the biggest drivers are look-alike, clean-shaven white guys in tracksuits, and their cars, which now hew to the same technical specifications, are equally cookie-cutter.

Races last season witnessed only two lead changes per caution (the boring slow laps led by the pace car), compared with three in the 1990s and four in the dirt-track 1970s. Last year one out of four races was won by the driver starting the race in the pole position, up from one out of 10 earlier this decade.

 

Junior Speaks Bluntly About Track Promotions

As NASCAR's biggest star, Dale Earnhardt Jr. can say what he wants.
During Thursday afternoon's session at NASCAR media day, he did.
Junior once again took track promoters to task for demanding more of the drivers' time to promote races.
And this time, he didn't hold back.

"Somebody said that the track owners were complaining that the drivers are negative toward them," Earnhardt said at Daytona International Speedway. "That's not true. ... We're constantly going, constantly doing things every week for this guy and that guy to help racetracks.

"[Expletive], we were in Daytona for the fan-fest thing. I read off 20 [expletive] scripts about selling tickets. ... They gotta take a little responsibility for themselves."
When told of Earnhardt's comments, NASCAR CEO Brian France acknowledged that drivers and promoters have to do more — and said that it's necessary.

"My opinion is, everybody's gotta do more," France said. "... A number of drivers have said, 'I'm going to try to do more with my fan base, try to get my Web site more interactive.' Little things and big things.
"I just hear a general sensitivity that our sport does have to the economy."
Earnhardt's annoyance with track promoters started long before media day.

Early in the offseason, the promoters at Memphis Motorsports Park offered Earnhardt free ribs for life from the track-sponsored barbecue restaurant if he raced in its Nationwide race.
Earnhardt wasn't pleased that the track didn't ask him if it could use his name.

He also was annoyed it gave its track-sponsored barbecue restaurant a plug when his real favorite Memphis barbecue is a different restaurant called Rendezvous.
Other tracks like Texas and Las Vegas have pulled similar stunts without consulting Earnhardt.

Then track promoters from Speedway Motorsports Inc. held a roundtable meeting recently, during which they said they'd like to see drivers do more to help sell tickets.

Race Recap:2009 Bud Shootout at Daytona

Harvick Takes Win With Last-Lap Pass

Harvick Celebrates In Victory Lane At Daytona

Kevin Harvick used a thrilling last-lap pass to steal a Daytona 500 victory.

He's apparently got the move mastered.

Harvick powered past Jamie McMurray on the outside of the last lap Saturday night to complete a come-from-nowhere victory in the exhibition Budweiser Shootout.

"That was some wild racing," he said from Victory Lane. "What a race. That was wild as heck there at the end."

Wild indeed.

 

 

It was Harvick's first victory in 71 races, dating to the All-Star race in May 2007. The only other event he won that year was the season-opening 500, when he nipped Mark Martin in a photo finish. Harvick was winless in 2008.

Now he's got the momentum heading into next weekend's Daytona 500.

He started 23rd in the Shootout, spent most of the race in the back dodging wrecks, then slowly worked his way up toward the front. McMurray seemed headed for the win until a late wreck between Greg Biffle and David Stremme set up a two-lap overtime sprint to the finish.

Harvick was in fourth on the restart, and didn't seem to have anything for McMurray.

But as they closed in on the finish line, he used a huge push from Denny Hamlin to slide past McMurray on the outside.

"It will be a long night," McMurray said. "I'll think about what maybe I should have done different."

Harvick coasted to the win as Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch all crashed behind him.

McMurray finished second and Tony Stewart was third.

Here is the final standings for the 2009 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona (start position in parentheses):

1. (27) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 78 laps, 70.9 rating, $200,000.

2. (15) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 78, 102.9, $100,000.

3. (6) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 78, 92.3, $60,000.

4. (28) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 78, 95.4, $51,000.

5. (18) A.J. Allmendinger, Dodge, 78, 79.3, $50,000.

6. (14) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 78, 102.6, $49,000.

7. (11) Carl Edwards, Ford, 78, 114.8, $47,000.

8. (25) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 78, 75.9, $45,000.

9. (12) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 78, 74.8, $43,000.

10. (10) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 78, 95.6, $41,500.

11. (7) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 78, 86.6, $41,000.

12. (1) Paul Menard, Ford, 78, 50.9, $40,500.

13. (5) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 78, 92.1, $40,000.

14. (21) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, accident, 77, 96.9, $38,500.

15. (24) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, accident, 77, 55.3, $38,000.

16. (20) David Stremme, Dodge, accident, 73, 57.7, $37,000.

17. (26) Greg Biffle, Ford, accident, 72, 51.7, $35,000.

18. (9) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, accident, 64, 110.6, $33,000.

19. (8) Bobby Labonte, Ford, accident, 63, 51.5, $30,000.

20. (22) David Reutimann, Toyota, accident, 56, 48.5, $28,000.

21. (2) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, accident, 54, 56.5, $26,000.

22. (17) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, accident, 43, 46.1, $25,000.

23. (3) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, engine, 36, 51.8, $23,500.

24. (23) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, accident, 32, 33, $21,000.

25. (4) Scott Speed, Toyota, accident, 4, 35.6, $20,000.

26. (16) David Ragan, Ford, accident, 3, 40.1, $19,000.

27. (13) Robby Gordon, Dodge, accident, 3, 36.4, $18,000.

28. (19) Joey Logano, Toyota, accident, 3, 32.9, $17,154.

***

Race Statistics

Average Speed of race winner: 127.243 mph.

Time of race: 1 hour, 31 minutes, 57 seconds.

Margin of victory: Under caution.

Caution flags: Eight for 23 laps.

Lead changes: 23 among 14 drivers.

Lap leaders: P.Menard 1-2; D.Hamlin 3; D.Earnhardt Jr. 4-10; E.Sadler 11-12; T.Stewart 13-16; C.Edwards 17-25; J.McMurray 26; K.Kahne 27-28; J.McMurray 29; J.Gordon 30; J.McMurray 31-32; D.Hamlin 33-35; Ky.Busch 36-40; D.Earnhardt Jr. 41-49; M.Kenseth 50; D.Earnhardt Jr. 51-56; C.Edwards 57-58; Ky.Busch 59; D.Earnhardt Jr. 60; J.Gordon 61; J.Johnson 62-63; B.Vickers 64-65; J.McMurray 66-77; K.Harvick 78.

Leaders summary (Driver, Times led, Laps led): D.Earnhardt Jr., 4 times for 23 laps; J.McMurray, 4 times for 16 laps; C.Edwards, 2 times for 11 laps; Ky.Busch, 2 times for 6 laps; T.Stewart, 1 time for 4 laps; D.Hamlin, 2 times for 4 laps; J.Gordon, 2 times for 2 laps; K.Kahne, 1 time for 2 laps; B.Vickers, 1 time for 2 laps; P.Menard, 1 time for 2 laps; J.Johnson, 1 time for 2 laps; E.Sadler, 1 time for 2 laps; K.Harvick, 1 time for 1 lap; M.Kenseth, 1 time for 1 lap.

This was one of the most exciting Bud Shootout’s I can remember. I can’t wait to see what happens during the Daytona 500!