Kyle Busch Edges Tony Stewart To Win Bud Shootout

The mangled sheet metal and car parts were strewn throughout the Daytona International Speedway garage like the set of a disaster movie. And many of the men who drove the machines – even the ones who escaped unscathed – did not look particularly happy.

“Ain’t much racing anymore,” Clint Bowyer said, walking through the garage. “Just wait your turn to wreck.”

The type of person that watches NASCAR in hopes of big crashes certainly got their fix on Saturday night during the 2012 Bud Shootout, but so did those who watch for the good bits of driving. At the end of a race that featured all kinds of wrecks and just three cars finishing without crash damage, one of the drivers who did sustain damage to his car came away with the win. Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart raced to the line at the end of the first green-white-checkered finish in an extended race, with Busch edging Stewart for the win by 1/100 of a second.

Here’s the video:

There are two equally impressive things about Jeff Gordon’s scary crash near the end of the Bud Shootout. The first is that despite flipping multiple times and sliding on his roof, Gordon walked away from the wreck. The second is Kyle Busch.

The crash happened in the sprint to the finish, with Gordon getting into the back of Busch towards the front of the big pack. Once again, Busch got turned and went sliding into the apron. Gordon’s car was pushed high, creating a logjam, and moments later, a big wreck.

The 2012 Bud Shootout is quickly turning into a Saturday night demolition derby.

Marcos Ambrose hit Joey Logano in the left rear, triggering a nasty six-car wreck during NASCAR’s preseason exhibition race with 20 laps to go at Daytona International Speedway.

Four drivers in tonight’s Bud Shootout field had to pull out their backup cars following Friday’s practice crash at Daytona International Speedway, and NASCAR decided they’ll have to start in the back of the pack as a result.

That means Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski will lose their top-three starting spots, with Kurt Busch (formerly sixth) AJ Allmendinger (ninth) joining them in the rear of the field.

It’s NASCAR race night at Daytona International Speedway and we’ve got the actual race start time, the starting lineup and some other facts about tonight’s exhibition race for you below.

What time does the race start tonight? The Bud Shootout is listed as an 8 p.m. Eastern start time, but it’s important to note the green flag won’t actually fly until 8:29 p.m. So if you’re looking to tune in just as the race is about to start, perhaps flip on your TV at 8:17 – that’s when the command to start engines will be given by a few members of the military.

Rain remains in the forecast for today’s Daytona 500 qualifying practice, but it is less of a threat to interfere with tonight’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.

The front that sparked showers Friday and settled just south of Daytona Beach on Friday night will begin to slide back north during the morning and afternoon. This will cause scattered showers to form and could be a problem during Daytona 500 practice in the afternoon.

Martin Truex Jr. was the lucky lottery winner at Friday night’s Budweiser Shootout draw party, the event where drivers randomly select their starting spots for the season-opening exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway.

Truex was among the final 10 drivers to pick a spot, but came up big when he guessed which bottle held the No. 1 position flag. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver was visibly elated and celebrated his pole with a fist pump.

As it turns out, NASCAR’s changes to try and eliminate the two-car drafts have mostly brought back the big pack.

But with the return of the pack comes the return of the “big one” -- and Friday night’s first Budweiser Shootout practice at Daytona International Speedway was no exception.