The 2009 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 31st annual running of the Budweiser Shootout, it was held on February 7, 2009, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, before a crowd of 80,000 people. Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick won the 78-lap race, after he started from the next-to-last 27th position. Roush Fenway Racing's Jamie McMurray finished in second, and Stewart–Haas Racing's Tony Stewart was third.
Pole position starter Paul Menard was passed by Elliott Sadler on the third lap. Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead for the first time on lap four, and led a total of 23 laps, more than any other driver. Carl Edwards assumed the lead on lap 17, holding it until a caution flag was issued on lap 25. During the caution all the teams made a scheduled ten-minute pit stop. On the 41st lap, Earnhardt retook the lead, which he maintained until the 50th lap, when Matt Kenseth passed him. McMurray became the leader on lap 66, and held it until Harvick overtook him on the final lap to win the event.
Harvick took his first Sprint Cup Series victory since the 2007 Nextel All-Star Challenge, and Richard Childress Racing's had its first Budweiser Shootout win since the 1995 edition. Eight cautions were issued during the race, which saw an event-record 23 lead changes among 14 drivers, and attracted 8.3 million television viewers.
Background
The 2009 Budweiser Shootout was the first of two exhibition stock car races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and the event's 31st annual edition. It was held on February 7, 2009, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, a superspeedway that holds NASCAR races. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.
The Budweiser Shootout was created by Busch Beer brand manager Monty Roberts as the Busch Clash in 1979. The race, designed to promote Busch Beer, invites the fastest NASCAR drivers from the previous season to compete. The race is considered a "warm-up" for the Daytona 500. It was renamed the Bud Shootout in 1998. The name changed to the Budweiser Shootout in 2001, the Sprint Unlimited in 2013 and the Advance Auto Parts Clash in 2017.
There were 28 cars eligible to enter the race, including the top six teams from each of the series' four manufacturers (Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, and Toyota) based on owners' points from the 2008 season. In addition to the initial 24 cars, each of the four manufacturers gained one "wild card" berth for a car or driver not already qualified, for previous Cup Series champions, and past Shootout winners based on the 2008 owners' points. The race was 75 laps long (up from 70 laps in the 2008 race), with two segments of 25 and 50 laps. A ten-minute pit stop was scheduled in between segments. Teams could change tires, add fuel, and make regular chassis tweaks in either the garage or on pit road during the pit stop, but could not change springs, shock absorbers or rear-ends. The race was then restarted one lap behind the pace car. The race counted both caution and green flag laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the race's defending champion.
Practice and qualifying Two practice sessions were held on the afternoon of February 6 before the race. The first session lasted 45 minutes, and the second 60 minutes. Kyle Busch led the first practice session, held in clear and cool weather, with a 47.009 seconds lap, more than 0.070 seconds faster than the second-placed Jimmie Johnson, who was recovering from a cut finger he sustained on his left hand while altering his racing uniform with a kitchen knife at the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race. Matt Kenseth was third fastest, ahead of Reed Sorenson, A. J. Allmendinger and Earnhardt Jr. Carl Edwards was seventh, still within one second of Kyle Busch's time. In the second practice session, Johnson was fastest at 46.724 seconds, followed by Allmendinger, Earnhardt, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Busch and Scott Speed.
Paul Menard was traveling through the first curve during the second practice session when his right-rear tire deflated, leading him to spin sideways. Speed was close behind him, and despite slowing, he collided with Menard's right-front quarter panel. Both cars spun across the track, and stopped in the infield grass. Speed's vehicle had minor damage, but Menard's car was taken to the garage area. Menard was transported and released from the infield care center for treatment. His car was repaired. Soon after, Sorenson collided with Kyle Busch's vehicle's right-rear corner with the front of his car, and his teammate Kahne suffered damage to his car's right-hand part after striking the outside barrier beside the track at the first turn. Jeff Burton's engine failed on the third lap of his second practice session, and his team changed engines. Edwards swerved to avoid hitting debris that detached from David Reutimann's car at high speed.
For qualifying, the 28 drivers drew their starting positions by a lot, a feature that is unique to the event. Menard chose the pole position, ahead of Elliott Sadler, Sorenson, Speed and Denny Hamlin in second through fifth. Stewart drew sixth place, Brian Vickers seventh, Labonte eighth, Earnhardt ninth, and Kyle Busch tenth. The next five places were drawn by Edwards, Kurt Busch, Robby Gordon, Kahne, and McMurray. David Ragan, who drew 16th, was followed by Michael Waltrip, Allmendinger, Joey Logano, and David Stremme in the first 20 positions. Johnson, Reutimann, Burton, Casey Mears, Kenseth, Biffle, Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Gordon chose the final eight starting positions. Once the lot was completed, Menard commented, "That's pretty cool, By the time I drew there were about four numbers at the front and three back near 17th and 18th so I felt like I had a pretty good shot at getting a good starting position."
Qualifying results Driver Team Manufacturer 1 98Yates RacingFord 2 19Richard Petty MotorsportsDodge 3 43Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 4 82Red Bull Racing TeamToyota 5 11Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 6 14Stewart–Haas RacingChevrolet 7 83 Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 8 96Hall of Fame Racing Ford 9 88Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 11 99Roush Fenway Racing Ford 12 2Penske Championship Racing Dodge 13 7Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 14 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 15 26Roush Fenway Racing Ford 16 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 55Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 18 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 19 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 12 Penske Championship Racing Dodge 21 48Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 23 31Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 24 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 25 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Race The 75-lap race began on February 7 at 8:10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05:00), and was televised live in the United States on Fox. Commentary was provided by lap-by-lap analyst Mike Joy, with analysis from three-time Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip, and former crew chief Larry McReynolds. Around the start of the race, weather conditions were clear but cool. L. Ronald Durham, pastor of Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, began pre-race ceremonies with an invocation. Vocalist Catina Mack from Orlando performed the national anthem, and country music singer Dierks Bentley commanded the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, Burton fell to the rear of the field because he changed his car's engine, and Logano did the same for missing the mandatory pre-race drivers' meeting due to him participating in the track's ARCA Re/Max Series race, which ended later than scheduled.
On lap one, Menard led entering the back stretch. On lap two, the leading seven cars were in a single file until the lap ended, when side-by-side racing commenced. Sadler assisted Hamlin in passing Menard for the lead on the third lap. Earnhardt turned left to overtake Hamlin for the lead on lap four. That same lap, Ragan appeared to slow behind Johnson; Robby Gordon hit Ragan's rear, sending him into the right-hand barrier. Speed, Logano and Mears were collected, causing the first caution. Biffle's car sustained minor cosmetic damage as the involved cars slid down the track, and Jeff Gordon avoided the multi-car accident. Logano and Speed retired from the race due to significant car damage. The race restarted on lap nine, with Earnhardt leading and Sadler in second. Two laps later, Sadler passed Earnhardt for the lead. He and Kurt Busch were first and second as the field began lap 13, but Stewart and Kahne moved into the top two places exiting the first turn. As the 14th lap approached, Kahne slid up the track and just avoided colliding with Hamlin, while Vickers and Harvick collided; no caution was required in either case.
On lap 17, Hamlin temporarily took the lead from Stewart, but Edwards led the race at the end of the lap. Stremme separated the field into two with his advance through it. Harvick slowed after being driven into the right-hand wall, removing his front left fender, and fell five seconds behind the pack. At the end of the 22nd lap, Hamlin slid and regained control of his car into the turn-four tri-oval. On lap 23, Hamlin turned left on the back straight exiting turn two, but he collided with Reutimann, who then clipped the front-right quarter of Stremme's vehicle, spinning both drivers into the grass and causing the second caution. Both drivers continued. During the caution, all of the teams completed their ten-minute pit stops before returning to the track for the restart. McMurray passed his teammate Edwards on lap 26. On the 27th lap, Kahne took the lead. He held it until Kyle Busch passed him later that lap. Kyle Busch received no assistance from Johnson, and Kahne regained the lead. McMurray took the lead on lap 29, but was passed by Jeff Gordon on the inside on the following lap. On lap 31, McMurray retook the lead from Gordon.
That lap, Jeff Gordon dropped behind in the middle lane, and Vickers hit the back of his car. Gordon clipped Biffle's rear and left sides, sending him into Johnson's path and collecting Mears, Burton, and Allmendinger; a third caution was issued, during which most of the leaders, including McMurray, made pit stops for fuel and tires. Kyle Busch led at the lap-36 restart. One lap later, Sorenson's engine failed, ending his race, and bringing out a fourth caution due to oil on the track. Earnhardt's teammate Jeff Gordon helped him to pass Kyle Busch for the lead for the second time at the lap-41 restart. Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon created a single file as the former led the next eight laps. In the meantime, Waltrip was pushed by Sadler and hit the right-hand wall on the back straight. Kenseth overtook Earnhardt on lap 50, but Earnhardt regained the lead on the next lap. A fifth caution was issued five laps later after a three-car crash involving Reutimann, Stremme, and Sadler entering the first turn. Every driver made pit stops for fuel and tires. Edwards and Kyle Busch ran into the infield grass during the pit stops as the nearest drivers ran four abreast entering turn one.