Budweiser Shootout: N’s & Q’s
fanhouse.com
Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Michael Waltrip, Daytona Int’l Speedway, Sprint Cup, Danica Patrick
Thanks to some comments made after the Budweiser Shootout, a bit of controversy swelled on Saturday night about how the non-points exhibition race was really supposed to end.
Kevin Harvick, in an interview with SPEED’s NASCAR Victory Lane show, said he thought the entry blank he had signed for the race indicated the race must finish under green.
The race, though, finished under yellow. NASCAR’s regular season format for a green-white-checkered finish after the race had an extra lap tacked on the end due to Michael Waltrip‘s crash and subsequent caution with 6 laps to go. Such rules state that NASCAR gives one chance for the race to finish under green, and if there’s a caution, the race ends at that instant.
Harvick wasn’t the only one confused as some attributed the discrepancy to what was said during the television broadcast. A quick look back (and admittedly non-thorough) on the DVR Sunday by yours truly didn’t locate a particular spot where the commentators noted the race would finish one way or another prior to the race.
NASCAR officials quickly put down any questions by stating that the entry blank indeed said there would be one attempt to finish the race under green — just like the race ended. In fact, the Associated Press’ Jenna Fryer was able to track down a copy of the entry blank later in the evening to confirm.