NASCAR officials announced a revised criteria for making the Bud Shoot Out, a 75-lap, two-segment, non-points exhibition event which kicks off the Sprint Cup season.
In the past it was primarily for race winners or pole winners; now that’s irrelevant.
The first hurdle is that the driver must have raced in a Sprint Cup event in the last two years.
Then it’s the 12 Chase drivers from 2009, former Sprint Cup champions, past Shoot Out winners, past Daytona 500 and 400 winners, and the 2009 Rookie of the Year, Joey Logano.
“We’re always looking at ways to make this event bigger and better for our fans and we believe the new format for the Budweiser Shootout puts together an exceptionally strong lineup of our top drivers,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition.
“In our discussions with the track, we thought by placing an additional emphasis on the drivers who had performed well at Daytona over the years would create an even more compelling element for the fans to get excited about at the beginning of the season.”
Using the announced criteria there could be 28 drivers in the race, but a number of them have either announced retirement or do not have a full-time ride for next year.
Drivers eligible for the 2010 Budweiser Shootout
2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers
Jimmie Johnson
Mark Martin
Jeff Gordon
Kurt Busch
Denny Hamlin
Tony Stewart
Greg Biffle
Juan Pablo Montoya
Ryan Newman
Kasey Kahne
Carl Edwards
Brian Vickers
Others – criteria filled in parentheses
John Andretti (Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola)
Geoff Bodine (Daytona 500, Budweiser Shootout)
Jeff Burton (Coke Zero 400)
Kyle Busch (Coke Zero 400)
Derrike Cope (Daytona 500)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Budweiser Shootout)
Bill Elliott (Series champion, Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Budweiser Shootout)
Kevin Harvick (Daytona 500, Budweiser Shootout)
Matt Kenseth (Series champion, Daytona 500)
Bobby Labonte (Series champion)
Terry Labonte (Series champion, Budweiser Shootout)
Joey Logano (Reigning Raybestos Rookie of the Year)
Sterling Marlin (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)
Jamie McMurray (Coke Zero 400)
Ken Schrader (Budweiser Shootout)
Michael Waltrip (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)
In the past it was primarily for race winners or pole winners; now that’s irrelevant.
The first hurdle is that the driver must have raced in a Sprint Cup event in the last two years.
Then it’s the 12 Chase drivers from 2009, former Sprint Cup champions, past Shoot Out winners, past Daytona 500 and 400 winners, and the 2009 Rookie of the Year, Joey Logano.
“We’re always looking at ways to make this event bigger and better for our fans and we believe the new format for the Budweiser Shootout puts together an exceptionally strong lineup of our top drivers,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition.
“In our discussions with the track, we thought by placing an additional emphasis on the drivers who had performed well at Daytona over the years would create an even more compelling element for the fans to get excited about at the beginning of the season.”
Using the announced criteria there could be 28 drivers in the race, but a number of them have either announced retirement or do not have a full-time ride for next year.
Drivers eligible for the 2010 Budweiser Shootout
2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers
Jimmie Johnson
Mark Martin
Jeff Gordon
Kurt Busch
Denny Hamlin
Tony Stewart
Greg Biffle
Juan Pablo Montoya
Ryan Newman
Kasey Kahne
Carl Edwards
Brian Vickers
Others – criteria filled in parentheses
John Andretti (Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola)
Geoff Bodine (Daytona 500, Budweiser Shootout)
Jeff Burton (Coke Zero 400)
Kyle Busch (Coke Zero 400)
Derrike Cope (Daytona 500)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Budweiser Shootout)
Bill Elliott (Series champion, Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Budweiser Shootout)
Kevin Harvick (Daytona 500, Budweiser Shootout)
Matt Kenseth (Series champion, Daytona 500)
Bobby Labonte (Series champion)
Terry Labonte (Series champion, Budweiser Shootout)
Joey Logano (Reigning Raybestos Rookie of the Year)
Sterling Marlin (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)
Jamie McMurray (Coke Zero 400)
Ken Schrader (Budweiser Shootout)
Michael Waltrip (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)