2006 Budweiser Shootout

The 2006 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was postponed to Sunday, February 12, 2006 from the originally scheduled date of February 11 due to rain.^[1] The race was held in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway, before a crowd of 60,000. The race was extended from 70 laps to 72 due to a green–white–checker finish. At race's end, rookie Denny Hamlin, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing would pass teammate Tony Stewart on the final restart and hold off the field to pull off a stunning victory in the shootout, the first Budweiser Shootout win of his career.^[2] To fill out the podium, Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

Background[]

Format and eligibility[]

The race was broken up into two segments: a 20-lap segment, followed by a ten-minute intermission, concluding with a 50-lap second segment. While a pit stop was no longer required by rule, a reduction in fuel cell size (from 22 gallons to 13.5 gallons) made a fuel stop necessary. (In 2007, fuel cells were expanded to 18.5 gallons.) Many drivers also changed two tires during their fuel stop, as the time required to fuel the car allowed for a two-tire change without additional delay.

Pole winners of the previous season were automatically eligible for the race. Then, previous winners who had not already qualified would receive automatic births.

Entry list[]

*Withdrew, according to crew chief Philippe Lopez.^[3]

Starting lineup[]

The starting lineup was determined by a blind draw. Ken Schrader of Wood Brothers/JTG Racing would draw the pole.^[4]

*Withdrew.

Race results[]

References[]