The 2011 Bud Shootout ended with Kurt Busch winning a narrow victory over Joplin native Jamie McMurray, which should show those jerks over at SB Nation Kansas City. Columbia’s Carl Edwards finished 21st, which should show us. Busch survived a late, low pass by Denny Hamlin that was deemed illegal to pick up the win in NASCAR’s opening night.
It was Daytona’s first experiment with a form of two-car racing resulting from changes in the track surface and NASCAR rules, and the result was vastly different from the pack racing that had once predominated there. Two sets of two—belonging to Hamlin and Ryan Newman and Busch and McMurray— were well ahead of the rest by the end, and while Hamlin passed Newman illegally below the out-of-bounds line Busch moved past him high.
Qualifying for the Daytona 500 begins on Sunday, while the second round of qualifying, the Gatorade Duels, happen Thursday, February 17. The race itself will be held on February 20, on FOX.