Budwhiser Shootout
Entry List:
Jimmie Johnson: Bud Shootout winner in 2005 plus won a pole at Chicago
Kyle Busch: Pole at California in Feb to qualify for first time
Dale Jarrett: Bud Shootout winner in 1996, 2000 and 2004 plus won a pole at Daytona in Feb
Ryan Newman: 8 poles
Dale Earnhardt Jr: Bud Shootout winner in 2003
Elliott Sadler: 4 poles
Tony Stewart: 2001 & 2002 Bud Shootout winner plus won 3 poles
Scott Riggs: Pole at Martinsville in April to qualify for first time
Mark Martin: 1999 Bud Shootout winner
Kevin Harvick: 2 poles
Kasey Kahne: 2 poles
Jeff Gordon: 1994 & 1997 winner plus 2 poles
Michael Waltrip: Pole at Pocono in June
Ken Schrader: 1989 & 1990 Bud Shootout winner
Brian Vickers: Pole at Loudon in July
Bill Elliott: 1987 Bud Shootout winner
Jamie McMurray: Pole at Pocono in July
Joe Nemechek: Pole at Michigan in Aug.
Carl Edwards: 2 poles to qualify for first time
Matt Kenseth: 2 poles
Denny Hamlin: Pole at Phoenix in Nov.
A record 23 drivers qualified in total but only the 21 above will compete because Rusty Wallace retired and Terry Labonte will not compete.
BEST STATS
Dale Jarret has won 3 Bud Shootouts with the most recent in 2004 and he is good generally on Restrictor Plate tracks including a win last year at Talladega. Jeff Gordon has won 2 Bud Shootout with the most recent in 1997 but won the Daytona 500 last year. Ken Schrader has also won 2 Bud Shootouts with the most recent in 1990 but hasn't been good at Plate racing as of late. Tony Stewart is another who has won 2 with the latest being in 2002 but he proved last year that he is won to beat on restrictor plates with a win in the Pepsi 400. Other previous winners include Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson. Bill hasn't done good lately but Mark, Jr and Jimmie have. Mark is a consistant driver when it comes to plates, Jimmie won the previous Bud Shoout plus is a threat on the plate tracks and Jr is a major threats with plates plus has the 2nd best average finish as far as the Bud Shootout is concerned.
TOP PICKS
For this section, I am going to list the top 10 picks and why. Jimmie Johnson is a good pick due to being the previous winner, being a front runner in plate races and has a average Bud Shootout finish of 5.67. Dale Jarret is a good pick because he won the fall Talladega race, is a 3-time winner and has a average finish of 7.2. Dale Earnhardt Jr is a good pick due to being a master at Plate racing, previous winner plus a 3.6 finishing average regarding the Bud Shootout. Tony Stewart is a the 4th good pick because he has won 2 with the latest being in 2002 and proved last year that he is one to beat on restrictor plates with a win in the Pepsi 400. The 5th good choice is Mark Martin because he has been consistant with plate racing + his average finish for the Bud Shootout is 7.6 out of 18 starts which is one of the higher numbers. The 6th pick is Jeff Gordon because he again has mastered the plates like Dale Jr and also won the Daytona 500 last year proving he is good at Daytona. Those would be the best choices but 2 so/so choices could be Kevin Harvick & Michael Waltrip.
Thank you for coming by and reading this colume.
The opinions/views expressed by the author are those of the author only and not all of the site. In the making of this colume, no driver was favoured due to how much the author likes them or dislikes them. This is a non-opinionated colume.
(C)Ashley M, Feb 6th 2005
(R)The NASCAR Palace, Feb 6th 2005
