Race Information

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Junior edges out Gordon for second in the Bud Shootout

Tony Stewart won the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona for the second straight year, beating Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon to the finish in the 70-lap all-star race. Stewart takes home more than $200,000 of the event-record $966,000 purse. Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 8 Budweiser team were able to launch from a 16th-place starting position into the top five in less than five laps, and stayed among the leaders for the rest of the afternoon. The Budweiser Shootout at Daytona is the season-opening race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup season.

Dale Jr. led the Shootout for 20 laps, and ran second to Stewart for the final 23 circuits, but was unable to pass for the victory in the final laps. Earnhardt was able to nudge defending Winston Cup champion Gordon at the finish line by several inches. Since finishing sixth in this race last season, Dale Jr. and the Bud team has finished no worse than second place at Daytona in four races (2001 125 qualifier/2nd place, 2001 Daytona 500/2nd place, 2001 Pepsi 400/1st place.)

The Key Moment: The 70-lap all-star race includes a required pit stop, which the Bud team took on lap 41 while leading the race. The 14.9 second pit stop for four tires and fuel allowed Dale Jr. to return in fourth position. He and the orange car of Stewart soon dueled into the first two positions, where they stayed for the remaining laps.

Dale Jr's Quotes:

"I was doing all I could. That was all I had - and all the car had. I did not have any chance to make a good run at Tony - he was always able to make a move to stop my momentum. I was trying to use my brakes to get the car behind me right on my bumper, and it also took the air off of Tony so he would lose momentum as well. That's how Gordon was able to move up - because I was slowing up, but we never could pass the leader. With about three laps to go, I was sitting there still trying to figure out what I was going to have to do to get past him and then I was just trying to hold off Jeff and Sterling (Marlin) for second place.

"It was a helluva race from second place on back but it was disappointing that the guy in front has such an easy ride. The new rules (new aerodynamic regulations from NASCAR) meant that the top cars, the best cars, could work together to get away from the rest of the field. With the old rules, anybody could run up front, so now it rewards the teams that worked the hardest and it puts more in the driver's hands. I welcome that change: it gives me more control over the outcome.

"Tony and I work well together. We've worked together on the superspeedways the last couple of years, and it seems like our cars draft great together. It seems like I can also work well with Bobby (Labonte, Stewart's teammate). He and I worked together today, but there comes a point at the end of the race when you have to quit working together and everybody's trying to win the race.

"I was happy with the performance today. Last year, we were the dominant team on the superspeedways like this, and I was worried that the changes in the rules would have a bad effect on us. But, I feel great that, in my third year in Winston Cup, I'm considered a favorite or a serious contender for the Daytona 500. Ya know, there are guys that have been out here for 20 years still struggling and trying to be competitive in the 500, so it makes me feel good that my team and I are one of the teams to beat.

Best Radio Conversations
Dale Jr. (joking with the team as he passed the Bud pit area while leading on lap 25) "Hey... what's up guys?!?"

-Budweiser


Bud Shootout Starting Lineup_2/6
Starting positions were drawn randomly
The full lineup, determined by draw, for Sunday's Budweiser Shootout, with starting position, car number, driver and car make:

1. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford.
2. (1) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet.
3. (20) Tony Stewart, Pontiac.
4. (36)Ken Schrader, Pontiac.
5. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge.
6. (28) Ricky Rudd, Ford.
7. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet.
8. (12) Ryan Newman, Ford.
9. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford.
10. (41) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge.
11. (19) Casey Atwood, Dodge.
12. (2) Rusty Wallace, Ford.
13. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge.
14. (18) Bobby Labonte, Pontiac.
15. (32) Ricky Craven, Ford.
16. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet.
17. (14) Stacy Compton, Pontiac.
18. (6) Mark Martin, Ford.
19. (30) Jeff Green, Chevrolet.
20. (09) Geoffrey Bodine, Ford.
21. (66) Todd Bpodine, Ford.
22. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet.


Budweiser Pre-race report_2/5
Quotes: 
"I can't wait. I know a lot of people are wondering about me going back to Daytona and the anniversary of my father's crash. But, I feel like I dealt with a lot of those emotions when I came back to Daytona last July. I'm here to race, so let's throw the green flag. I love this track and I love racing here. It has always meant a lot to me and it means even more since last February.

"I sometimes complain about how long the season is and how short our off-season seems, but I've had enough of an off-season. This race has always been fun to watch, and now it's cool that I'm in the field for the second time. The Bud guys tease me because once or twice I called it the Busch Clash, but that's only because I loved watching it for so many years when it was called that [1979 through 1987 to be exact].

"It's important for the team to be in this race for a lot of reasons. The main one is our sponsor - Budweiser! We've gotta be in that line-up and make sure we keep that red Bud car ahead of the field. Another factor is that it shows that our team was good enough last year to win a couple of Bud Poles.

"I think this race is great preparation for the Daytona 500, because the rules say you have to make a pit stop. It gives us a chance to make a stop in the heat of battle. You can practice all you want, but it's no match for jumping over that wall with a race on the line. Plus, I think it gives us a sense of how we stack up against the other top cars. The new aerodynamic rules make it a bit of an unknown how the cars will react in the draft, so this may give us some answers and teach us some things for the 125 (qualifying race) and the 500."


Dale Jr. and the No. 8 Bud Team at Daytona
Winston Cup Starts: 4  (points races)
Best Start:               4th   (Feb., 2001)
Best Finish:             1st (July, 2001)

The Budweiser team was a dominant factor last season at Daytona, leading laps in every race entered at the famed 2.5-mile Florida track. The sixth-place tally in the Budweiser Shootout was the team's only finish outside of the top two spots at Daytona. They claimed finishes of second in a photo finish in the 125-mile qualifier, second in the Daytona 500 and then an emotional victory in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July.

What:
Budweiser Shootout at Daytona
70 Laps, 175 miles
2.5-mile oval
Non-points all-star event

Where:
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, FL

When: 
Sunday, Feb. 10
2:00 pm

Watch: 
TNT
(All Times: Eastern)
You can also listen to the race live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) on a radio station near you.

Bud Pole Qualifying:
The starting lineup for this event is determined by a random drawing during NASCAR's media day festivities at noon, Thursday, Feb. 7.  There are 23 drivers eligible for the race. 

What to Watch
To gain an entry into the Budweiser Shootout, a driver had to win a Bud Pole Award during the 2001 Winston Cup season or be a past winner of the Budweiser Shootout (or Busch Clash as it was previously known). The No. 8 Bud team won two Bud Poles in 2001. (At Texas in April and at Atlanta in November.) The winner will receive $200,000 of the more than $966,000 total purse.

N a v i g a t e