The week long Daytona 500 festivities kick off Saturday night with the Bud shootout, a 75 lap race at Daytona which will see the NASCAR debut of the track's new racing surface. The clear favorite is the reigning shootout champion Kevin Harvick, who will try for an unprecedented third straight victory.
↵Saturday night will mark Harvick's 7th Bud shootout, with the driver of the #29 Chevy finishing in the top five four times in addition to his two wins. Harvick's recent dominance in the shootout has to make the event's sponsor Budweiser pretty happy considering they're also the sponsor of his car. Cue the conspiracy theories...
↵Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel, Harvick says they're as prepared for this weekend as they've ever been.
↵"The speedway races were very productive for us last year," Harvick said. "I feel like the effort that we're putting in this year is as good as it's ever been. So, you just go down there and you play the game. You play the chess game and you see how it all shakes out in the end. The Shootout's been good to us the last couple of years, so hopefully we'll make it three."
There are no championship points at stake, but there is a million dollars in prize money up for grabs. The winner takes home a cool 200 grand.