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Fast facts for the Budweiser Shootout
by FOXSports.com
THE IRON MAN: Mark Martin will be making his 17th consecutive start (18th overall) in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, the longest consecutive streak of any driver in Shootout history. Perhaps equally as remarkable is that Martin has made all of his consecutive starts with the same team — the No. 6 Roush Racing team. Martin's only Shootout not in the No. 6 Ford was his first in 1982. At that time, he was driving a car funded out of his own pocket. Martin finally captured his first and only Shootout win in 1999.
THE GORDON FILES: Jeff Gordon will be making his 12th straight Shootout appearance, which, in terms of percentage, is by far the best considering he was a rookie in 1993 and wouldn't have been eligible for Shootout contention until the 1994 season. Gordon, having earned eligibility with a pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 1993, made the most of his inaugural Shootout appearance by holding off Brett Bodine and Dale Earnhardt to win a caution-free event.
FAREWELL TOURS GONE WILD: Not too often does a season-opening race signify an end, but such will be the case with this year's Budweiser Shootout. Two prominent NASCAR drivers — Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace — will kick off farewell tours at the Shootout, as the 2005 season will be their last competing for the Nextel Cup title. Martin and Wallace have a combined 35 Shootout starts but only one victory each.
BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN: Three drivers — Kurt Busch, Joe Nemechek and Ricky Rudd — are back in the Budweiser Shootout after missing out in 2004. Busch and Rudd last competed in the 2003 race. For Nemechek, this year's race will end a three-year Shootout drought.
SMOKE'N THE SHOOTOUT: Jeff Gordon isn't the only driver who has earned Budweiser Shootout admittance in every year of possible eligibility. Tony Stewart won two Bud Pole Awards his rookie season (1999 at Martinsville and Bristol) to land in the 2000 Shootout. He has remained a part of the exclusive field ever since. In fact, of the four Bud Shootouts Stewart has been a part of, he has won two of them. Others who won Bud Poles in their rookie seasons and have participated in Bud Shootouts ever since are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.
CUTTING IT CLOSE: Had Kurt Busch been two-thousandths of a second slower on his Bud Pole Qualifying run last November at Homestead-Miami Speedway — the final race of the season — the 27th running of the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona would have been without the series champion. But on a weekend in which he claimed the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup title, Busch also earned his first Bud Pole Award of 2004 by beating teammate Greg Biffle's qualifying time by the smallest of margins. This will be Busch's third time competing in the Budweiser Shootout. His first two attempts resulted in finishes of 14th (2002) and 11th (in 2003).
THATS WHAT I WANT: With no points to earn in the Budweiser Shootout, there is only one thing to race for — money. (Well, that and bragging rights for about eight days) With six Shootout victories, Dale Earnhardt earned $600,222 in 12 starts, the most of any driver. By starting the 2005 event, Dale Jarrett will surpass Earnhardt in total Shootout earnings.
Top career money-winners in the Budweiser Shootout:
- Dale Earnhardt, $600,222
- Dale Jarrett, $580,159
- Ken Schrader, $533,377
- Tony Stewart, $524,377
- Jeff Gordon, $516,677
- Rusty Wallace, $506,377
NO AVERAGE JOE: Sixteen of the 20 drivers eligible for the 27th running of the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona have past Shootout experience, but no one has an average finish quite like Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s. In four starts, his average finish is 2.75. Only Tony Stewart, who has two victories in five starts, comes close with an average of 5.6.
DAYTONA DOUBLE: Five times has the winner of the Budweiser Shootout gone on to win the Daytona 500 the following week: Dale Jarrett (2000 and 1996), Jeff Gordon (1997), Bill Elliott (1987), and Bobby Allison (1982). Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished second in the 2004 Budweiser Shootout, won the Daytona 500 the following week.
NON-SHOOTOUT 500 WINNERS: Since 1979, seven drivers have won the Daytona 500 who did not compete in the Budweiser Shootout the week before: Michael Waltrip (2001, 2003), Ward Burton (2002), Dale Earnhardt (1998), Sterling Marlin (1994), Dale Jarrett (1993), Derrike Cope (1990) and Richard Petty (1979). Drivers who did not compete in the Bud Shootout the week before won three of the last four Daytona 500s. (Michael Waltrip in 2001 and 2003 and Ward Burton in 2002).
HE'S AWESOME: Bill Elliott will make his 20th Budweiser Shootout start, the most of any driver. Elliott, who won the Shootout in 1987, is one of only three drivers to win the Shootout from the pole. "Awesome Bill" also holds Budweiser Shootout records in the following categories: most miles completed (1,182.5), most laps completed (515) and fastest average speed (197.802 mph in 1987).
RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC: There are two things Dale Earnhardt Jr. has grown accustomed to when it comes to the Budweiser Shootout: starting towards the back and finishing towards the front. In four Shootout starts, Earnhardt's average starting position is 16th, and he has never taken the green flag higher than 10th. All the while he has never finished worse than sixth, with two runner-up finishes (2002 and 2004) and a win in 2003. His victory was a lot like his runner-up finish last year to Dale Jarrett in that he started dead last (19th) both times.
YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST TIME: Making their Budweiser Shootout debuts in the 2005 race are:
PRECURSER TO CHAMPIONSHIP: Dale Earnhardt won the Budweiser Shootout a record six times, four of which paved the way to a championship season (1980, 1986, 1991, and 1993). The two other seasons — 1988 and 1995 — the Intimidator finished third and second in the final point standings, respectively. Other drivers who used a win in the Budweiser Shootout to propel a championship season were Tony Stewart (2002), Jeff Gordon (1997) and Darrell Waltrip (1981).
GETTING TO KNOW YOU: Four drivers in the Budweiser Shootout will be working with new crew chiefs for the first time, most notably Dale Earnhardt Jr. and new skipper Pete Rondeau. Rondeau was named crew chief for the No. 8 Budweiser team following the 2004 campaign, taking over for Tony Eury Sr., who moved up to a management position at Dale Earnhardt Inc. Other drivers competing with new crew chiefs include Bobby Labonte with crew chief Steve Addington, Jeremy Mayfield and Slugger Labbe, and Brian Vickers with Lance McGrew.
REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT: Only three drivers have won consecutive Budweiser Shootout at Daytona: Tony Stewart (2001-02); Ken Schrader (1989-90); and the late Neil Bonnett (1983-84).
THE BACK HALF: History shows that starting in the front half of the grid isn't necessarily an advantage. More than half - 14 of the 26 Budweiser Shootouts - were won by drivers starting in the bottom half of the field. Of course, the total number of participants was a lot smaller in the early years. Not until 2002 did the field reach 20 or more entries. In the last five years, the average starting position for the winner is 11.8. In Bud Shootout history, the average starting position is 8.3. Only three drivers have won the Budweiser Shootout from the pole: Darrell Waltrip (1981), Bill Elliott (1987) and Ken Schrader (1989).
RACING TO THE WIRE: Since electronic timing and scoring was introduced in 1993, the largest margin of victory in a Budweiser Shootout is 0.3 seconds. That came in 1994 when Jeff Gordon beat Brett Bodine to the checkered flag. Rumors that the previous timing and scoring system consisted of a sundial and slide-rule have been refuted.
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