:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/1345017/GYI0062152620.jpg)
The NASCAR season is getting ready to kick off once again, as the 2012 Daytona 500 is just over a week away. Sunday will see the Qualifiers take place for the first race on the road to the Sprint Cup, but the annual Budweiser Shootout will take place on Saturday night for no points, but the first bragging rights and first real chance to cheer of the new year.
Enumclaw, Washington's own Kasey Kahne will be participating in the Shootout on Saturday night and is certainly hungry to improve upon his finish in the 2011 Sprint Cup standings, where he clocked in at No. 14 when all was said and done. Kahne has never won the Daytona 500, so it would definitely get his season off to a terrific start with a win next Sunday. At last year's Daytona, Kahne qualified for the No. 11 grid, but finished in 25th place.
The race begins at 5:29 p.m. PT and will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
Here's how the Bud Shootout starting lineup will shape up tonight, courtesy of Jeff Gluck at SB Nation.
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Jamie McMurray
- David Ragan
- Greg Biffle
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Carl Edwards
- Jeff Burton
- Ryan Newman
- Jeff Gordon
- Tony Stewart
- Denny Hamlin
- Clint Bowyer
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kasey Kahne
- Michael Waltrip
- Marcos Ambrose
- Kevin Harvick
- Matt Kenseth
- Paul Menard
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Kyle Busch
- Brad Keselowski
- Kurt Busch
- AJ Allmendinger
For full updates and information on the Budweiser Shootout and the 2012 Daytona 500, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated NASCAR hub.