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[/media-credit]You know the annual Speedweeks at Daytona has arrived when you see Budweiser being sprayed all over victory lane. The 34th annual Budweiser Shootout, the traditional start of Speedweeks, will see the green flag this Saturday night, February 18th. In the past this 75 lap shootout has created some very exciting finishes and, based on speed charts from the January test sessions at Daytona, it appears that the 2012 edition of the Shootout will be more of the same.
THE STORY BREAKDOWN
For many of the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams, the Budweiser Shootout will be an opportunity to add to their Daytona racing notebooks. There are two pre race practice sessions scheduled for Friday plus the 75 lap race on Saturday. The teams entered in the Shootout can possibly pick up some important information that can be applied to the February 26th running of the Daytona 500.
It’s also highly likely that the race teams, and the fans, will gets an up close look at the 2012 version of two car tandems or, as Dale Earnhardt Jr called it, “love bug racing.” With recently instituted changes by NASCAR, regarding the car’s cooling systems, Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout will clearly point out how the new version of tandem racing will work under bonafide racing conditions.
The Budweiser Shootout will also mark the debut of new driver and team combinations that will be on the track for the first time under racing conditions. That new ride list includes: Kasey Kahne-#5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Kurt Busch-#51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet, Clint Bowyer-#15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota, A J Allmendinger #22 Penske Racing Dodge and David Ragan #34 Front Row Motorsports Ford.
THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN.
To get an accurate idea regarding who might be spraying Budweiser in Daytona’s victory lane Saturday night, we turn to the professionals from “Las Vegas Insider.Com”, (LVI), who have prepared some rather interesting numbers for us.
Topping the LVI list, at 8 to 1 odds, is Kevin Harvick and his Budweiser Chevrolet from Richard Childress Racing. Harvick is a previous two time winner of the Shootout and a rock solid bet to score a third win on Saturday.
The LVI’s 10 to 1 listing features an impressive trio of potential race winners including two time Shootout winners Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr along with Kyle Busch who is always considered to be a pre-race favorite.
Also very impressive is the 12 to 1 group featuring Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart who has won three Budweiser Shootouts in his last ten starts.
All by himself, at 15 to 1, is Brad Keselowski who is an excellent long shot bet to win the Budweiser Shootout. The Penske Dodge teams were very strong during the January test sessions at Daytona.
At 18 to 1 odds you will find the trio of Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray. Right behind them, at 20 to 1, is the duo of Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton. Both of these drivers could turn out to be interesting long shot wagers.
At 25 to 1 is a large group of drivers that features Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr, Michael Waltrip, Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya and A J Allmendinger. From this group there are two standouts worthy of your long shot consideration. The first is Kurt Busch who will making his debut with Phoenix Racing. This team topped the speed charts, during the January test sessions, in both the drafting and solo runs. Busch is also regarded as being very strong in any restrictor plate race he enters. The other long shot is A J Allmendinger who’s making his debut with Roger Penske Racing. “The Dinger” was also very strong during testing and he’s coming off of the momentum of being part of the team that won the recent Grand American Rolex Series 24 Hours of Daytona.
Concluding the LVI rankings is Paul Menard at 30 to 1 odds. If you don’t see your favorite driver on the list it means they are automatically ranked at 30 to 1.
Now for the disclaimer: NASCAR wants us to remind you that these numbers are posted for the purposes of information and entertainment. They neither encourage nor condone the placing of wagers on their races.
That disclaimer actually makes a lot of sense. You really do need the information, from the LVI, to make an intelligent wager and collecting your winnings from a Las Vegas bookie is indeed a major source of entertainment.
THE RACE BREAKDOWN
The 34th annual Budweiser Shootout is 75 laps/187.5 miles around the Daytona International Raceway. The race will be ran in two segments, 25 and 50 laps, with yellow caution flag laps counting. There will be a ten minute break between the two segments to allow the cars to come down on pit road for tires, fuel and adjustments.
The race has 25 entries vying for a one million dollar plus purse that pays approximately $200,000 plus to the winner. The race is open to all drivers who finished within the top 25 of the 2011 points, past Budweiser Shootout champions and past Daytona Raceway race winners both in February and July. The criteria also requires for an entrant to have been active during the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup racing season.
The defending race champion is Kurt Busch who, last year, finished a mere .058 seconds over runner up Jamie McMurray. Last year’s event set a record for the closest finish in Budweiser Shootout history. Last year’s race also set a new record for lead changes at 28.
When it comes to individual stats for this race, the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr owns the Budweiser Shootout. The Intimidator has the record for the most wins-6, most laps led-98 and the best average finish ratio-2.75. Keeping things all in the family, Dale Earnhardt Jr holds the Shootout record for most laps led-47 when he won the event in 2008.
In the manufacturer’s standings, Chevrolet has the most Budweiser Shootout wins at 19 followed by Ford’s seven trips to victory lane. Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac have two wins each while Dodge has a single win.
The SPEED channel will cover all Friday activities pertaining to the Budweiser Shootout including coverage of the first practice session at 5 pm eastern time and the final happy hour practice session at 630 pm et. SPEED will also cover the qualifying draw party, one of the more entertaining events of Speedweeks, beginning 830 pm et. On Saturday race day the Budweiser Shootout will be carried live by Fox Sports beginning at 8 pm et. SPEED will present the re broadcast on Sunday at 5 pm et.
