![\"NASCAR](\"http:\/\/maineracer.com\/images\/Sprint-Cup-Logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
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Speedweeks Opener Features Deep And Talented Field<\/strong><\/p>\n DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 14, 2011) \u2013 In what could be the deepest and most talented field to date, NASCAR announced Wednesday the list of eligible competitors for the 2012 Shootout.<\/p>\n The 34th annual season-opening event launches Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 18 with a start time set for 8:10 p.m. FOX and MRN will broadcast live nationally. Criteria are based upon the following qualifications, with eligibility based on a driver having been active in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during the 2011 season: \u201cBy taking the top 25 competitors in last year\u2019s driver points and combining that with former race winners at Daytona, you have all the ingredients for an extremely deep and talented field of drivers for the 2012 Shootout,\u201d said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. \u201cWhen you take a look at the roster of drivers that this entails, I have to believe this is one of the most competitive fields that have ever been assembled for this event.\u201d Starting positions will again be determined by a blind-draw at the annual Shootout Draw Party on Friday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. on the SPEED stage in the Midway, outside Turn 4.<\/p>\n The Shootout \u2013 a \u201cnon-points\u201d event for NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors \u2013 was first held in 1979. Kurt Busch is the defending race champion.<\/p>\n Tickets for all 2012 Speedweeks events are now available online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.<\/p>\n Drivers eligible for the 2012 Shootout include:<\/p>\n 2011 Top 25 Driver Points Others (criteria in parentheses) Speedweeks Opener Features Deep And Talented Field DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 14, 2011) \u2013 In what could be the deepest and most talented field to date, NASCAR announced Wednesday the list of eligible competitors for the 2012 Shootout. The 34th annual season-opening event launches Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 18 with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nascar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8562\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u00b7 The highest ranked 25 competitors in 2011 NSCS driver points
\n\u00b7 Previous winners at Daytona, including the Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola, and Shootout events<\/p>\n
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\nThe race distance will again be 75 laps (187.5 miles), consisting of two segments \u2013 25 and 50 laps. Both green-flag laps and yellow-flag laps will count. Between segments there will be a 10-minute pit stop allowing teams to pit to change tires, add fuel and make normal chassis adjustments. Crews will be permitted to work on cars and will be allowed to perform functions they would do on a normal pit stop in a regular NASCAR Sprint Cup event. All work must be performed on pit road or in the garage. Changing of springs, shock absorbers or rear-ends will not be permitted.<\/p>\n
\nTony Stewart
\nCarl Edwards
\nKevin Harvick
\nMatt Kenseth
\nBrad Keselowski
\nJimmie Johnson
\nDale Earnhardt Jr.
\nJeff Gordon
\nDenny Hamlin
\nRyan Newman
\nKurt Busch
\nKyle Busch
\nClint Bowyer
\nKasey Kahne
\nAJ Allmendinger
\nGreg Biffle
\nPaul Menard
\nMartin Truex Jr.
\nMarcos Ambrose
\nJeff Burton
\nJuan Pablo Montoya
\nMark Martin
\nDavid Ragan
\nJoey Logano
\nBrian Vickers<\/p>\n
\nBill Elliott (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400, Shootout)
\nGeoff Bodine (Daytona 500, Shootout)
\nDerrike Cope (Daytona 500)
\nMichael Waltrip (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)
\nJamie McMurray (Daytona 500, Coke Zero 400)
\nTrevor Bayne (Daytona 500)
\nTerry Labonte (Shootout)
\nKen Schrader (Shootout)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"