NASCAR Cup Series

When the 34th annual Budweiser Shootout received the green flag, it was immediately apparent that the overall scope of restrictor plate racing had changed dramatically. Virtually gone were the two car tandems from the recent past.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet, earned a front row starting spot in Thursday’s Gatorade Duel at Daytona Qualifying Races by posting the third fastest qualifying time today at Daytona International Speedway.

7th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 37th, DENNY HAMLIN 11th, MARK MARTIN 40th, LANDON CASSILL 21st, JOEY LOGANO 42nd, BOBBY LABONTE 26th, DAVID STREMME 43rd, BILL ELLIOTT 27th, KYLE BUSCH 45th, DAVID REUTIMANN 30th, KENNY WALLACE 46th, ROBERT RICHARDSON JR. 35th, MICHAEL WALTRIP 48th, JJ YELEY 36th, JOE NEMECHEK 49th, CLINT BOWYER

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Qualified 19th HOW WAS QUALIFYING? "I just went out there and ran a lap. Either the car is fast or it’s not. Qualifying here at Daytona is pretty routine."

Kyle Busch wouldn’t say that he impressed himself in the way that he won Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout but he thought it was pretty cool.

Richard Childress Racing teammates finished 11th (Jeff Burton), 22nd (Kevin Harvick) and 23rd (Paul Menard) in the Budweiser Shootout. Harvick led a total of four laps.

Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion, is the defending champion of the Daytona 500. As he celebrated his 21st birthday today, Bayne spent some time in the media center answering questions from the press.

NASCAR today released the eligibility requirements for the 2013 Shootout at Daytona, an announcement that signals a return to the fan-favorite preseason event’s roots.

In a wild dash to the checkered flag for the win in Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion Tony Stewart led Team Chevy across the stripe in second position.

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 MOBILE 1/OFFICE DEPOT CHEVROLET, finished 2nd: TONY, TELL US ABOUT THE FINISH OF THAT RACE: “I knew he (Kyle Busch) was going to pull out but he at least got us up there where we needed to be."