2011 Bud Shootout: Kurt Busch Wins At Daytona International Speedway

Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout marked the first time two-car drafts have been widely used at Daytona International Speedway – or anywhere, for that matter.

Drivers quickly discovered in preseason testing that with a combination of the new nose, new pavement and other factors, two cars could hook up and go faster than the pack.

When Denny Hamlin darted below the yellow line on the last lap of Saturday night’s Bud Shootout and made a pass on Ryan Newman, half of him thought NASCAR would declare him the winner.

The other half – the one that turned out to be correct – knew NASCAR might penalize him for the illegal pass. And officials did so without much hesitation, awarding the win to Kurt Busch and relegating Hamlin to 12th place.

After a race marred by wrecks, the 2011 Bud Shootout came down to the final few laps — and a dramatic run by Kurt Busch gave him the victory.

Busch took his Penske Racing No. 22 car to Victory Lane after Denny Hamlin passed Busch at the last second on the low side, only to have his pass deemed illegal because he passed below the yellow line.

It’s time for the 2011 Bud Shootout – finally!

And of course, that means it’s time for our first live race chat of the year. For the newbies out there, here’s how it works:

Editor’s note: After Dale Earnhardt Jr. drew the pole for tonight’s Bud Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, he gave a few reporters quite the education on the two-car bump-draft and how he believes the Daytona races will be won.

Here’s a transcript of what Earnhardt Jr.‘s comments:

The 2011 Budweiser Shootout lineup has just been set at the Budweiser Draw Party outside Daytona International Speedway’s Turn 4 – and it’s safe to say the fans in attendance were pretty happy with the results.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. correctly guessed the bottle that had the “POLE” flag inside it, giving him the top spot for Saturday night’s race. Fans cheered loudly as Earnhardt Jr. held up the flag and received a half-hug from an excited host Kenny Wallace.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. kicked off the first NASCAR practice session of the year the way he and his passionate fan base hoped: On top of the speed charts.

Earnhardt Jr. posted the fastest time in a brief 45-minute practice for Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout, recording a fast lap of 199.862 mph.

NASCAR’s brief offseason officially ends today with the first practice of 2011, kicking off Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.

Over the next 10 days leading up to the Daytona 500, NASCAR will have 17 practice sessions and six sanctioned races across its three national touring series.