[Motorsports One]

Budweiser Shootout To Have Different Look, New Format In 2009: The 2009 Budweiser Shootout will have a different race format and a new method for qualifying. NASCAR's top officials, from Chair & CEO Brian France to President Mike Helton, have worked with Anheuser-Busch and Daytona Int'l Speedway (DIS) to recreate the event as part of A-B's sponsorship renewal with DIS. In the past, pole winners from the previous year have automatically qualified for the non-points race, which is considered the unofficial kickoff to the Sprint Cup season. But when Coors replaced Bud as the official beer of NASCAR and took over entitlement of the Coors Light Pole Award, A-B sought to separate its marquee event from the award. The specifics of those changes are still being finalized. Changes are expected to be announced later this month. The 2009 race is scheduled for February 7, the weekend prior to the Daytona 500.(Sports Business Daily) (Source: Jayski)

If the Shootout is no longer tied to the Pole Award, doesn't it then just become a new "mini" all-star race?...

[Quality88]

Forgive me for bein this cynical, but this reaks of crap, as in it's gonna be crap.

[Bob Tanner]

It's Coor's dime so I guess if they want a different format it's OK. I mean, it's only an exhibition event. If it's a hokey as I think it has the potential of being, I'll just find something else to do that day.

Of course, if NA__AR would quit playing the whore and quit selling itself out to high-rolling sponsors, then it might be a non-story?

But, as of now I don't know any specifics. Heck, it might even be an improvement over the Bud Shootout? I'm in a <wait and see> mode.

Martin. Care to share you thoughts on the Montreal "Dash through the raindrops?" I'm sure we'd all like to hear from someone who was there.

[Motorsports One]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

Care to share you thoughts on the Montreal "Dash through the raindrops?" I'm sure we'd all like to hear from someone who was there.

Started a new post titled "NAPA Windshield Wipers 200"...

[Gillette Young Gun]

It doesn't make sense to me. But I guess it's another money issue...

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Gillette Young Gun

It doesn't make sense to me. But I guess it's another money issue...

Nope. Not about money at all. Anyone who has worked for any length of time will tell you that whenever a department head or someone in authority is replaced, shortly after the new person takes over, they "put their stamp on everything." They change personnel, change furniture, rearrange offices, create misc. changes, not necessarily for the betterment of thing but just to show who's in control.

Animals call the phenomenon "marking their turf."

Money has very little to do with it. It's all about control and ownership.