Budweiser Shootout 2007 By The Numbers
Zero: David Gilliland is the only driver in this year’s starting line-up with no previous starts in the Budweiser Shootout.
01
Zero One : Mark Martin has started every Shootout since 1989 in a #6 Ford, but will make his debut Saturday night, Feb. 10 in the #01 Army Chevrolet. His first start in the event was 1982, in the #2 Apache Stove Buick. He finished eighth. Mark won the Shootout in 1999.
1
Average finish : Denny Hamlin’s average finish is a perfect “1" after his only start ended in Victory Lane in 2006. While he is the fifth driver to win in his first Budweiser Shootout start, he is the first true Rookie-of-the-Year contender to win.
2
Toyotas: Toyota will officially debut in NASCAR Nextel Cup race action in the Budweiser Shootout. Dale Jarrett and Brian Vickers will be the duo driving Toyota Camrys in the starting field.
2
Two-by-two: Each restart in the Shootout is side-by-side. (Lapped cars start at the back.) Yellow flag laps count toward the final distance.
3
Wins: Dale Jarrett is the only three-time Shootout winner in the field. Ken Schrader, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart each have won two Shootouts.
3.3
Average finish: Other than Hamlin’s perfect one-for-one record, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the best average finish among the drivers in this year’s field. In six starts, he has never finished worse than seventh and has finished first or second place five times in the last six years.
6
Champions: There are six current or former Nextel Cup Champions in the starting field: Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Bill Elliott.
6
Victories: Dale Earnhardt has the record for victories in Shootout history with six (double the wins of the closest challenger, Dale Jarrett). Earnhardt achieved the victory total in only 12 starts.
6
Drought: Jeff Burton has the longest drought between starts in this year’s field. He last made the Shootout six years ago (2001).
6
Bud pole awards: Kasey Kahne won six Bud Poles in 2006, giving him the season-long Bud Pole Award.
7
Oh brother: Kurt and Kyle Busch will become the seventh set of brothers to start together in a Budweiser Shootout. They follow Rusty and Kenny Wallace (who finished first and second in 1998), Bobby and Donnie Allison (who finished last and next-to-last in 1981), Bobby and Terry Labonte, and Jeff and Ward Burton. Geoffrey Bodine started three races with his brother Brett and four Shootouts with his brother Todd, but the three Bodine boys never made the field as a trio.
There have been two father/son duos in the field: Bobby and Davey Allison in 1988 and Dale and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2001.
9
Past victors: There are nine drivers in this year’s starting line-up with at least one Shootout win, representing 14 victories. They are: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt Jr,, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Ken Schrader and Bill Elliott.
10
Beer break: There is a 10-minute break between the two segments of the Budweiser Shootout, a perfect time to grab a cold Budweiser. During this break, the teams can make any adjustments to their cars that are allowed during a normal pit stop.
11
Car 11: Denny Hamlin was the second to win the Shootout in car #11. Darrell Waltrip defeated a field of only seven cars in the 1981 event in the #11 Mountain Dew Buick.
15.8
Worst average start: Dale Earnhardt Jr. proves there is no sponsor favoritism in the random draw for each year’s starting lineup. He has the worst average starting position in this year’s field at 15.8.
18
18 years: A driver has not won from the pole position in a Shootout since 1989. It has only been done three times: Darrell Waltrip (’81), Bill Elliott (’87) and Ken Schrader (’89).
19
Consecutive: Mark Martin will extend his event-record for consecutive starts in 2007. When the green flag falls, he will be making his 19th consecutive start.
19
Worst to first: Dale Earnhardt Jr. started 19th when he won the Budweiser Shootout in 2003. That is the deepest starting position for any winner of the event.
21
Starters: There are 21 drivers in this year’s lineup. The record field is 22 starters in 2002.
22
The most: He’s awesome. And Bill Elliot will make his record 22nd start in the 29th running of the event.
29
29th: This will be the 29th running of the season-opening event sponsored by Anheuser-Busch. It began as the Busch Clash before morphing into the Bud Shootout and now the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.
70
Laps: The total scheduled laps for the Shootout. The race is run in two segments: 20 laps, followed by a 10-minute break, and then conclude with a 50 lap dash for the cash.
72
Laps: Last year’s race was the longest Shootout ever, officially counted as 72 laps. It featured the first Green-White-Checkered Flag finish in event history.
120
Starts: The 21 drivers in this year’s field have made a combined total of 120 starts in the Shootout.
175
Miles: The scheduled distance of the race.
727
Laps: Bill Elliott has completed a record 727 laps in his 21 previous starts – an achievement even more remarkable because he has completed every lap in each Shootout he has run. Remember, he’s awesome.
1982
Young: Mark Martin and Bill Elliott both made their first start in a Shootout on February 7, 1982, before current competitors Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers were born.
213,380
Big bucks: Denny Hamlin won a record winner’s purse of $213,380 in last year’s race.
215,000
Bigger bucks: The minimum winner’s purse this year will be $215,000 – more than $3,000 per lap.
660,981
Even bigger bucks: Dale Jarrett is the all-time money winner in the Shootout with $660,981. However, four other drivers (Tony Stewart. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Ken Schrader) have also won more than $600,000 in Shootout winnings, followed closely by Mark Martin with more than $589,000 in winnings.
1,153,518
Biggest bucks: This year’s total record purse is $1,153,518.
2102007
The date: Set the Tivo: Saturday night under the lights, Feb. 10, 2007. The 29th annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.