NASCAR Is Changing Eligibility Requirement For 2013 Budweiser Shootout At Daytona
By Chip Rouse Feb 20, 2012, 5:12pm CST
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The eligibility requirements will change for the 2013 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.
The grid for next season's Shootout will consist of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series pole winners and past shootout winners who have attempted to qualify for at least one Cup race during the 2012 season, according to NASCAR officials.
This will be the fourth eligibility change in the past five years. Essentially, NASCAR has gone back to what the eligibility criteria were for the period 1979, the first year the Shootout was held, through 2008. The competitors for this year's Bud Shootout, held Saturday and won by Kyle Bush, were determined on the basis of the top 25 in points from the 2011 Sprint Cup standings and previous Shootout winners.
"Fans have expressed a desire to see this event return to its original eligibility rules," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. "We listened and decided it would be best to return to the eligibility rules of years past." He added that the change would also add further meaning to pole qualifying for every Sprint Cup race.