As the seconds counted off the clock at Cowboys Stadium and Super Bowl XLV came to an end, the team at Fox Sports started promoting the next big event: the Daytona 500. ESPN, ESPN2, Motor Racing Network and Sirius-XM NASCAR Radio are all on hand at Daytona this week as the teams get ready for the official start of the 2011 NASCAR season.
SPEED kicks things off Friday at 5:30 p.m. with the Budweiser Shootout practice that will showcase the drivers who qualified for this year’s race. On Saturday at 8 p.m., Fox will carry the 33rd annual Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. As has been the case since 2003, the shootout will be run in two segments. The first is 25 laps, followed by an intermission. The second segment is a 50-lap sprint for the win.
| Budweiser Shootout |
| The Budweiser Shootout format is unchanged from 2010, but there is a slight wrinkle in eligibility requirements. Criteria are based on the following qualifications, with eligibility based on a driver having competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series within the last two seasons. Eligible drivers include: |
| » The 12 who qualified for the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup |
| » Past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions |
| » Past Budweiser Shootout champions |
| » Past Daytona 500 and Daytona 400 champions |
| » NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie of the year drivers from 2001 to 2010 |
Following the first segment, a 10-minute “pit stop” gives crews the opportunity to make normal adjustments to their cars. That means making tweaks they would do on a normal pit stop during a regular NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event.
The 2011 field is made up of 30 drivers, including the 2010 Chase field. Five-time reigning champion Jimmie Johnson will run, as will Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton.
This should be a wild ride because the 2.5-mile Daytona track has been repaved after last year’s pothole incident.
Finally, on Sunday Fox will carry the qualifying for the pole positions for this year’s Daytona 500 starting at 1 p.m. The Fox broadcast crew again will be anchored at the Hollywood Hotel with Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond. Then the race call goes to the familiar gang of Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds.
Examiner columnist Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!, on washingtonexaminer.com.
