Budweiser Shootout News and Notes

Shootout practice starts this afternoon on SPEED. Woo-Hoo!

I put a little on for Saturday's race

Kurt Busch +1500

Casey Mears +3500

Budweiser Shootout
By Micah Roberts

It seems like it's been forever since the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers took the track, but in reality it's been only a few weeks since they last raced. The reason it may appear to feel so lomg is because under the new economic rules, pre-season testing is no longer allowed. In seasons past early January saw two weeks of testing at Daytona to allow teams to tinker with their restrictor plate programs. Then in late January the teams all headed to Las Vegas just before Super Bowl weekend to play around with mile and half set-ups.

What does all this mean now and how does it affect the way we should wagering on the races early on? There are a couple of avenues you can go with on this. The first thought is that the dominant teams will have the advantage. Teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs racing who spend more than any other on their restrictor plate programs don't have much tinkering to do. They are set and have shown in the past during early testing that they are a notch above everyone else.

However, without having that test session Daytona, their normal process of data crunching for the betterment of everone of their cars to sift through and share with their teams could also hurt them the most. In this scenario, you could make a case for the next tier of teams coming in and doing better on the fly. Teams like Richard Childress racing, Penske Motorsports, and Fenway-Roush racing would be the teams to benefit under the no testing under these circumstances.

Even though Childress and Penske won the last two Daytona 500's, They didn't have the top testing testing cars during pre-season testing. This weeks race is the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona which consists of only two-thirds of the drivers that would participate in a normal race. It is a non-points exhibition race that has been formatted different from previous years. In the past, all the previous Bud Shootout winners along with all the previous years Bud Pole winners got invitations to race. This season, it is more geared for the manufacturers excellence. The top 6 cars in owners points get invited, and in a late twist, past champions get a free pass as well which in this years caes allowed Tony Stewart to race.

As always, any time these drivers race, odds will be posted for everyone's betting pleasure. The favorite to win this week is Kyle Busch at 5 to 1. He falls into the category we mentioned earlier with Joe Gibbs and being dominant out of the gate. Last season he had the best restrictor plate car all season and possibly could have won all 4 races when combing Talladega into the mix.

Because this is a shorter race than normal, the best car does usually win which makes a great case for Busch. If not wanting to settle for the short favorite odds, great candidates to win also come with Busch's teammate Denny Hamlin and all of the Hendrick drivers beginning with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

TOP 5 Finish Prediction:

1) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr (6/1)
2) #11 Denny Hamlin (10/1)
3) #18 Kyle Busch (5/1)
4) #48 Jimmie Johnson (10/1)
5) #2 Kurt Busch (15/1)

VegasInsider.com

Pole-sitter Menard wrecks in Shootout practice
February 6, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -Paul Menard started the first wreck of the 2009 NASCAR season.

Menard, the pole-sitter for Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout, got sideways during practice Friday at Daytona International Speedway and crashed with rookie Scott Speed.

As Menard slowed down while trying to straighten out his No. 98 Ford in a turn on the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway, Speed drove his No. 82 Toyota into his left-front fender. Both cars spun across the track and came to a stop near the infield.

``The guy in front of me started spinning out and slowing down, and I had nowhere to go, so I started doing the same,'' said Speed, a former Formula One driver. ``I couldn't really see much, honestly. ... It's good we got my first wreck under my belt here at Daytona.''

Speed's car sustained little damage, but Menard's had to be towed to the garage area. Menard was treated and released from the infield car facility. He said he thought he had a tire going flat before the spin.

Team officials said Menard's team was going to repair the damage instead of going to a backup car. If they can't fix it, Menard would have to switch cars and start from the back of the 28-car field. If that happens, Reed Sorenson would become the pole-sitter for NASCAR's non-points, All-Star event that officially kicks off Speedweeks.

The two practice sessions had a few other hairy moments, too.

Kyle Busch got hit from behind shortly after Menard's wreck. Jeff Burton blew an engine and will have to start from the back of the pack in Saturday's race. Kasey Kahne brushed the wall through one turn. And Carl Edwards narrowly avoided a crash when he had to make a quick move at high speed to avoid a piece of debris that flew off another car.

Busch and three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson had the fastest laps in the first practice. Johnson was atop the speed chart in the second session. Johnson's top speed was 192.620 mph.

Busch and Johnson fast at Daytona
February 6, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson put on what could be a preview of both Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout and the Feb. 15 Daytona 500, topping the opening NASCAR Sprint Cup practice of the season at Daytona International Speedway.

Busch, whose great performance in 2008 was blunted by a poor run in the season-ending Chase for the Championship, was fast with a lap of 191.453 mph Friday as only the 28 cars entered in the Shootout got to run on the 2.5-mile oval. Three-time reigning Cup champion Johnson was close behind at 191.156.

Carl Edwards, last year's Cup runner-up, was seventh on the speed chart and narrowly avoided a crash when he had to make a quick move at high speed to avoid a piece of debris that flew off another car.

I like Kyle Busch