Martin Truex Jr. to Start First In Budweiser Shootout at Daytona

by | Feb 17, 2012 | NASCAR, Sprint Cup

NASCAR Sprint Cup

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 17, 2012) —– Martin Truex Jr. will lead the 25-car field to the green flag in the 34th annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. Truex secured the top starting position through the random selection process that took place Friday night at the SPEED Stage.

The starting lineup was determined at the annual Budweiser Shootout Draw Party during which the participating drivers selected a Budweiser bottle featuring a number behind the Budweiser label. The number serves as the driver’s starting position.

Truex was the 18th driver to participate in the annual draw party and will make his second start in the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night.

“It’s just cool,” Truex said after picking the pole position. “I haven’t been in this race in a few years. I absolutely hated being down here (those years) and watching this race, so it’s cool just to be in it and to get the pole is icing on the cake.”

“My car was really good today in practice,” he continued. “I was happy with it. It drove really good. I heard a lot of guys were having some handling issues, but my car was great, so I’m pretty excited about it. (My car) had good speed and was able to stay up in the front of the pack in the draft. We’re looking forward to tomorrow night.”

The defending winner of the Budweiser Shootout, Kurt Busch, will start from the sixth position while Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet drew the 22nd starting spot.

The 34th annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona is scheduled for an 8:10 p.m. EST start this Saturday. FOX will provide live television coverage of the event beginning with their pre-race show that will start at 8 p.m. EST.

 

34th Annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona

Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 at 8:10 p.m. EST

Starting Lineup

 

  1. Martin Truex Jr.
  2. Kyle Busch
  3. Brad Keselowski
  4. Jamie McMurray
  5. David Ragan
  6. Kurt Busch
  7. Greg Biffle
  8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  9. A.J. Allmendinger
  10. Joey Logano
  11. Carl Edwards
  12. Jeff Burton
  13. Ryan Newman
  14. Jeff Gordon
  15. Tony Stewart
  16. Denny Hamlin
  17. Clint Bowyer
  18. Jimmie Johnson
  19. Kasey Kahne
  20. Michael Waltrip
  21. Marcos Ambrose
  22. Kevin Harvick
  23. Matt Kenseth
  24. Paul Menard
  25. Juan Pablo Montoya