Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Daytona Int'l Speedway, NASCAR
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Leading up to the start of the season, NASCAR officially announced last week who is eligible for the 2011 Budweiser Shootout. In case you didn’t see, the entry list will consist of the 12 Chase drivers, past champions, past Daytona (500 & 400) winners, and the ten most recent rookies of the year. The announcement has caused quite a bit of discussion, especially since some not so big name drivers can compete. It got me wondering, do you actually enjoy and look forward to races like the Bud Shootout and Sprint All Star race?
The Bud Shootout (and previously the Busch Clash) was originally intended for only pole winners from the past season and any past winners of the race. It was always a good event, and was something that rewarded those pole winners. But when Coors took over sponsorship of NASCAR’s pole award, the format of the race leading up to Speedweeks changed. Since then, we’ve had so many different sets of eligibility rules, I couldn’t possibly remember them all, let alone list them here. In essence though, what it has now become is a second All Star race.
Races like this can be fun, because with nothing on the line but a trophy and some money, often times drivers will take chances they wouldn’t normally take. It also gives the eligible teams the chance to knock off a little rust before the season starts. But they do create extra work, as cars must be built and prepared, and there is always a good chance that equipment will get torn up.
I do like the Shootout and the All Star race, for mostly the reasons I listed above. The Shooutout is always fun too, because it means the season has officially arrived. I just wish we could find an actual purpose for the race, similar to how it used to be. Let it be a reward for a specific set of drivers, and not just some mish mash that turns it into another All Star event. The confusion over the eligibility and the fact that it changes every year certainly takes something away from the race.
So, will you be watching? Do you enjoy these races? Do you like the current formats, or do you wish for the old days like me?
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Filed under: Daytona Int'l Speedway, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Filed under: Daytona Int'l Speedway, Sprint Cup
Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Michael Waltrip, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Sprint Cup, Danica Patrick
The 2010 racing season is officially upon us! The Rolex 24 at Daytona kicked it off Saturday, and haulers carrying stock cars will roll into DIS this week. Daytona 500 qualifying and the Budweiser Shootout headline a busy upcoming weekend. Along with the NASCAR events, the ARCA Series will open it’s season with the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 on Saturday afternoon. And with the names that are on the entry list for the ARCA race, SPEED may be in for record breaking ratings.
The most notable of those names on the entry list for the ARCA opener is of course, Danica Patrick. She will be making her much anticipated stock car debut under the watchful eye of Tony Eury Jr. and her new JR Motorsports team. A lot will be riding on her performance in the race, as a successful outing could lead to her being approved for the Nationwide Series race at Daytona in two weeks. NASCAR won’t be the only one watching her on Saturday though, as I’d imagine many race fans will tune in to see if the hype is really justified.
Besides Patrick, this may be one of the more interesting entry lists we’ve ever seen for a Daytona ARCA race. There are no less then six women drivers attempting the race including Patrick, Milka Duno, Alli Owens, Leilani Munter, Amber Cope, and Jennifer Jo Cobb. There is also a former Formula One driver attempting his first stock car race in the person of Nelson Piquet Jr.
The race will also feature the usual bevy of young, up and coming development drivers like Dakoda Armstrong and James Buescher, along with a mix of series veterans including Frank Kimmel and Bill Baird.
In the past, the ARCA race at Daytona has proven to be wildly unpredictable because of the inexperience of many of those competing. There are very few opportunities to run at tracks like Daytona, and many drivers log their first ever restrictor plate track time during this event.
Besides the problems with inexperience, drivers in this race sometimes have a tendency to drive over their heads in the hopes they can run well and impress the NASCAR team brass that will be in attendance. A solid performance here could lead to an opportunity to move up, or attract new sponsorship.
This combination of inexperience and over-driving has often led to dramatic wrecks, crazy finishes, and angry drivers. Something tells me this edition will be no different.
The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona gets underway on Saturday afternoon at 4:30PM EST on SPEED. My only question for you is, will you be watching?
On Wednesday last week, NASCAR announced a revised set of criteria for drivers who are eligible for the 2010 Budweiser Shootout. The exact criteria can be found here. In the article linked, near the bottom you will also find the list of drivers who are actually eligible. After looking the list and the criteria over, and remembering how this went last year, is anyone else having a problem keeping up with how these races work?
If you might remember, the 2009 Shootout featured some combination of drivers from each manufacturer, and the eligibility requirements were about as confusing as they are this year. And just when we start to maybe think we have things figured out, they change the rules again.
I don’t know about you, but I miss the days of the Shootout being the the pole winners from the previous year and the past winners of the race. It was so much easier to figure it out, plus it gave those pole winners a bit of a reward for their achievements from the previous season. It was always an elite field of drivers, plus a few guys who were able to get up on the wheel for a couple laps.
With this new set of criteria, what we have now is basically another All-Star race, but this one happens before the season, and is at Daytona instead of Charlotte.
I understand that since Coors took over the sponsorship of the pole award for NASCAR that Budweiser can’t be associated with an award sponsored by their competition. But maybe part of the pole award sponsorship should be that the company also sponsors the Shootout so the format can remain the same.
I’m not usually one to be nostalgic about things, and I hate to complain about this fun race that opens the season, but I simply don’t understand why Derrike Cope, Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, Terry Labonte, Geoff Bodine, and John Andretti should be allowed to enter this race. This should be a reward for those who are currently at the top of the sport, and these drivers haven’t been competitive for many years.
So please NASCAR, bring back the Bud Shootout of old.
DJ Richardson On Christmas Day, pit road lost one of it’s stars. DJ Richardson, a tire changer for Richard Childress Racing and Braun Racing died of complications due to the H1N1 virus. DJ was a veteran on pit road, and will be missed by many. Both myself and Journo want to extend our condolences to his friends and family.