Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup. Date:
Saturday, February 6. Race: Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. Site: Daytona
International Speedway. Track:2.5-mile tri-oval. Start time: 8:10 p.m. (et).
Laps: 75. Miles: 187.5. Defending winner: Kevin Harvick. Television: FOX.
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS Satellite Radio.
For the second year in a row, eligibility for the Budweiser Shootout at
Daytona has changed significantly.
NASCAR announced in December the starting field for the Budweiser Shootout
will include the 12 drivers who competed in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup
championship. Past Cup champions as well as previous winners of the Shootout,
the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona also are eligible. Joey
Logano earned a spot in the show since he was last season's top rookie in Cup.
Last year, the top-six teams from each car manufacturer -- Chevrolet, Dodge,
Ford and Toyota -- became eligible for the pre-season, non-points race at
Daytona. NASCAR made a change to the eligibility list shortly before the race,
allowing each manufacturer to enter a seventh "wild card" entry. The field
increased from 24 cars to 28. Tony Stewart was among those who benefited from
the additional entry. Stewart, a three-time Budweiser Shootout winner,
originally was not qualified since he formed a new team and switched from
Toyota to Chevrolet, but he made the field as a wild card.
Once again, the Budweiser Shootout is divided into two segments, with the
first at 25 laps and the second a 50-lap sprint to the finish. A 10-minute
intermission is scheduled after the first segment, as teams can change tires,
add fuel and make normal chassis adjustments to the car.
Due to NASCAR's continued suspension of pre-season testing, this event will be
the first opportunity for many Cup teams to gather information under race
conditions in preparation for next week's Daytona 500.
Kevin Harvick is looking forward to the start of this season, as he defends
his title in the Budweiser Shootout.
"It's fun to kind of get everybody back in the swing of things, Harvick said.
"I know the fans are excited to get cars back on the racetrack."
Eligible drivers for the Budweiser Shootout also will get the first
opportunity to experience NASCAR's rule modifications for Daytona. NASCAR is
relaxing on its bump-drafting rules and increasing the size of the restrictor
plate for Daytona.
Drivers now will be able to bump draft each other throughout the high-banked
turns at Daytona. NASCAR eased up on this rule for drivers to make racing more
competitive and enjoyable for fans.
The size of the restrictor plate holes has widened to 63/64ths of an inch,
making it the largest plate since the 1989 Daytona 500.
"I'm pretty happy about the new plate," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It's going to
give the car a little more throttle response. I'm glad that NASCAR isn't going
to police the bump drafting so we can all police ourselves and show our
personalities. Hopefully our personalities will be a little more visible on
the racetrack."
The starting lineup for the Budweiser Shootout will be determined during a
"draw party" held Thursday evening at Daytona.
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