NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: NASCAR Changes Shootout Eligibility Rules
Pole and Shootout winners will be eligible for 2013 season-opener…
Mike Hembree  |  Posted February 19, 2012   Daytona Beach, FL
2012 NASCAR Bud Shootout drivers are introduced at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
On the morning after a spectacular Budweiser Shootout, NASCAR announced Sunday that eligibility rules for the first race of the NASCAR season will change in 2013.

The 2013 Shootout field will consist of pole winners from the 2012 season and past Shootout winners who attempt to qualify for at least one race this season.

Eligibility for Saturday night’s race was much more liberal – the top 25 from the 2011 point standings and former Daytona winners. There were 25 drivers in Saturday night’s field.

The changes return the race to its roots. It began in 1979 as an event for pole winners from the previous season. The length of the race and its eligibility requirements have changed over the years.

Although the event apparently will continue to be known as the Budweiser Shootout, it presents somewhat of a marketing problem for NASCAR because Coors Light presents the awards for race pole winners.

Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEED.com and has been covering motorsports for 30 years. He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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