We saw that there was plenty of action on the track with most of the race with the drivers side by side, back and forth and numerous single file race lines. This was a race to remember. 

The people I spoke with said they never fell asleep during the race and the house was packed. If you thought the fans would not be there for Jr., you would be wrong. The crowd went crazy, and at the end it was nuts when he came down the tri-oval to the checkered flag. 

We saw many times during the race that not only Jr., but Tony Stewart and Dave Blaney led the race were up in the front. It came down to the last lap and the last turns on the track for the race to unfold. 

Now – Onto the race!! 

Can you believe it!!! 

Here we are in the 30^th Budweiser Shootout. And can you believe it! We already have drivers getting into trouble. 

I know I do not have to go into it, as most of you all know, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart are in the NASCAR meeting room. Busch was to be on the pole, but with his actions, he will be going to the back of the pack. 

Stewart will find himself in the back as well. Both drivers will be getting the big news this Tuesday about fines and any penalties. 

We also have three other drivers going to the back due to car or engine changes. 

23 drivers will be racing tonight. 70 laps of pure fun. The big prize? $200,000 dollars. No points on the line, it’s all about winning. 

The drivers are on the track for three pace laps. Michael Waltrip and Mark Martin bring the drivers out of turn 4 to the… 

GREEN FLAG Waltrip and David Gilliland lead the pack through turns one and two. At the start of lap 2, Gilliland is the leader, Waltrip to 2^nd. Air looks to big the challenge to the field.  

We saw in practice that when these cars are three wide the middle car is all over the place from the side draft.  

Lap 4 Mark Martin is the leader. The cars bouncing around. Kasey Kahne, your new Budweiser driver finds himself three wide as the buffer between Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. 

Lap 6 Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the National Guard Chevy is on the bottom and is your new leader. The crowd goes wild. Waltrip to the high side. Lap 7 Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Stewart are three wide in the middle of the pack. 

No real big pull away being in front. It looks like we see the two rows of drivers is the race 6 rows back. Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Bill Elliott 3 seconds from the pack. 

Lap 9 Waltrip complains of his car bumping too much and drops to the back of the pack. Dave Blaney runs 2^nd, Reed Sorenson 3^rd, Kahne 4^th and Kurt Busch 5^th. 

Lap 13 the top 6 are now single file. Waltrip keeps falling back to 14^th. Lap 14 we see most of the pack go single file. With this segment being 20 laps, we will not see a big fight until the next segment. 

Lap 15 Jamie McMurray is tagged from behind by Gilliland and is big time slideways. A big save and good hands by McMurray. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 15 as Bill Elliott blows a tire in turn one and save the car from big damage. Bur the car comes up, hitting the outside wall. The right hand side of his car is smacked up good. The front is flat on the ground. Elliott’s day is over. 

Getting Elliott’s car from it’s position in the turn against the wall will be a challenge. In fact the drivers stay under yellow until lap 20 where we are supposed to have the break. NASCAR brings the field into pit road. 

The NASCAR tow trucks have to pull Elliott’s car from the apron with cables to tug it down the 31-degree banking, so it can be towed away. I guess it is a good time for that 10-minute break, which NASCAR informs the teams it’s time for the break. 

Segment 2 will be started soon. 

The drivers are back on the track. Your top 10 drivers – Earnhardt Jr., Blaney, Sorenson, Carl Edwards, McMurray, Gilliland, Kurt Busch, Stewart, Truex Jr. and Hamlin. 

GREEN FLAG lap 21 as Earnhardt Jr. and Blaney get the double file restart format going once again. Sorenson pushes Earnhardt forward past the outside row. Edwards moves up to 3^rd. 

Lap 22 Edwards takes the lead while Jr. tries to through the block. Lap 23 McMurray pushes Edwards on the low side and Blaney pushes Jr. on the outside. 

YELLOW FLAG number two on lap 23 as McMurray ends up into Hamlin coming out of turn four. Hamlin is squeezed into the outside wall of the tri-oval. McMurray has heavy damage to his car. Hamlin has damage to the front nose on the right and left. 

Gordon, Ryan Newman, Dale Jarrett, Greg Biffle and Johnson come into pit road. Waltrip also is on pit road, but misses his stall and will have to go around one more time. 

GREEN FLAG lap 26 as the field restarts two wide again. Earnhardt on the low side, Blaney on the high side. Lap 27 Blaney is the leader, Jr. is behind him. Lap 29 we are back to two wide. The low line with Blaney and Jr. are 4 car lengths in front of the outside line. 

Lap 30 your top 5 drivers are Blaney, Jr., Stewart, Sorenson and Casey Mears. Lap 31 the top 8 drivers are single file. Lap 32 Jr. is pushed to the front by Stewart. Blaney gets the shuffle back to 7^th. 

Lap 35 Sorenson clears Stewart for 2^nd. Lap 37 Stewart takes the lead with help from Blaney. Earnhardt has help from Gordon and Mears. Lap 38 it’s a drag race in front between Jr. and Stewart. Kurt Busch is on pit road. 

Lap 39 Earnhardt and Stewart side by side and Hendrick power 4 drivers in the top 9.  

30 to go your top 5 are Jr., Gordon, Mears, Stewart and Blaney. Lap 41 Gordon has a huge run, drops to the low side and takes the lead from Jr. Lap 42 Gordon in front with Jr. and Stewart side by side once again for 2^nd. 

Jr. is the leader once again with a slingshot move around Gordon. Stewart along side of Gordon on the inside. Lap 44 Stewart is on the inside of Jr. for the lead once again.  

25 to go Jr. is mirror driving to keep the field behind him. Gordon is back to 2^nd, Mears 3^rd and Stewart 4^th. Lap 46 Gordon is back in the lead. Hendrick cars are 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd. 

Jr. moves back into the lead, Gordon gets the shuffle back to 5^th as Johnson moves to 4^th.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 48 as Gilliland blows a right front tire coming out of turn four into the outside wall, collecting Kahne, Truex Jr. and Biffle. Everyone except Kurt Busch is on pit road. Busch is a lap down. 

The race out of pit road is Blaney, Jr., Mears, Johnson and Sorenson. The rest of the top ten with 20 to go is Gordon, Kenny Schrader, Stewart, Edwards and Martin. 

GREEN FLAG lap 52 (18 to go) with the two wide restart, Blaney on the inside, Jr. on the outside. Blaney hops to the middle for a second to hold both rows back, then to the low side. 

Jr. back to the front on the outside with help from Johnson and Gordon. Lap 53 things get a bit dicey as Clint Bowyer and Hamlin make contact with each other as Schrader slips backwards with almost a four wide field. 

Lap 55 Jr. is still the leader with Johnson and Gordon behind them. Stewart is on the low side with help from Blaney. Lap 56 Gordon pushes Johnson from behind as Jr. has a half car gap in front of the two. 

Lap 57 Waltrip’s car towards the back of the pack is wild all over the place but no issue at the moment. Hendrick power lines the outside with Martin in tow. Stewart slips back a bit. 

11 to go Stewart gets some help from Mears and Blaney on the low side. Blaney is working good with Stewart to move them forward. 

10 to go Jr. in front with Johnson and Stewart battling for 2^nd place. Stewart has a great run to retake the lead heading into the tri-oval. 

9 to go Stewart leads with Earnhardt in tow. Johnson and Kurt Busch follow. 

8 to go Gordon pops to the low side, Jr. hops in front of him. Stewart leads. 

7 to go Stewart in front of Earnhardt Jr., Gordon and Johnson. Things start to look like they’re happening faster. 

YELLOW FLAG with 6 to go as Kurt Busch blows a tire in turn three, looks like he was going to save it, does then spins sideways out of turn 4 in front of Martin, but no contact. 

We also see on a replay that J.J. Yeley hitting Newman as he checked up on the backstretch. Both driver’s cars have damage. 

GREEN FLAG 3 to go as Stewart, Gordon and Sorenson are on the inside row, Jr. Johnson and Mears on the outside row. Both rows are even down the back stretch. 

2 to go Stewart and Jr. run side by side with everyone else still the same. Sorenson hits the wall for a second but saves it. 

WHITE FLAG Earnhardt takes the lead in front of Stewart. Johnson and Gordon race side by side. Down the back stretch Jr. and Stewart. Johnson makes a move to the outside. Johnson gives Jr. a huge bump from behind to move him to the front.

At the line Jr. is the winner, Stewart 2^nd, Johnson 3^rd, Gordon 4^th and Sorenson 5^th. Rick Hendrick pops on the radio to tell Jr. “that’s the way to start our deal.” 

The race lasted for 1 and a half hours. This was one of the better races. Talk about starting of the season. This was a great race and the fans got a show as well as the drivers who gave a thumbs up.