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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
JENSEN: Time To Power Up
The NASCAR Sprint Cup teams will finally get to race for real Saturday night in the Bud Shootout, which this year will be run under an entirely new set of parameters...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted February 02, 2009   Harrisburg, NC
SPEED.com's Editor-in-Chief Tom Jensen. (Image: SPEED)

After a winter of no testing but plenty of drama, the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams will finally get to race for real Saturday night in the Budweiser Shootout, which this year will be run under an entirely new set of parameters that seemingly contradict the original purpose of the race, which was to reward pole winners from the previous season.

But, hey, at least we’re going racing.

In case you’re as confused as everyone else seems to be, here’s a quick refresher course in the new Shootout format: First off, there will be 28 cars total, seven from each of the four manufacturers. The race distance has been increased from 70 to 75 laps, with an opening 25-lap segment followed by a 50-lap segment. A 10-minute break will take place between segments, allowing teams to make the typical adjustments one makes on a pit stop.

TOM JENSEN BLOG: 2009 Predictions

As of Sunday evening, the official entry list had not been released, but the tentative list appears to be:

Chevrolet - Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Casey Mears and Tony Stewart.

Dodge - Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson, AJ Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, David Stremme and Robby Gordon, who will run a Dodge in the Shootout only and then run a Toyota the rest of the season.

Ford - Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte and Paul Menard.

Toyota - Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brian Vickers, David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip and one more car T/B/D, which could be the former Bill Davis Racing No. 22.

Thursday night at 6:30 p.m., starting position for the race will be set at the annual Budweiser Shootout Draw Party on the SPEED Stage located outside Turn 4 of Daytona International Speedway. SPEED will broadcast the Bud Shootout Selection Show Thursday from 8-9:30 p.m. ET.

While I generally don’t put much stock in all-star races, this one ought to be interesting. For one thing, it will be the first track appearance for Tony Stewart and the Stewart-Haas Racing team, clearly one of the most compelling storylines heading into the 2009 season. I’ll also be very interested in seeing how Labonte and Menard look coming out of the box with the Hall of Fame Racing/Yates Racing effort.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the defending winner of this race and he is one of those drivers looking to get off to a good start to help erase the memories of a disappointing end to his 2008 season. In fact, you could say the same of Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth, three drivers who qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and yet were winless on the season last year.

And, of course, everyone will have their eyes on Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch, who collectively won two-thirds of all the Cup points races last year, an astonishing figure in this era of parity.


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