Budweiser Shootout 2012: Kasey Kahne Gets Back To Work In NASCAR Season Opener

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.

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Jamie McMurray
3. David Ragan
4. Greg Biffle
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6. Joey Logano
7. Carl Edwards
8. Jeff Burton
9. Ryan Newman
10. Jeff Gordon
11. Tony Stewart
12. Denny Hamlin
13. Clint Bowyer
14. Jimmie Johnson
15. Kasey Kahne
16. Michael Waltrip
17. Marcos Ambrose
18. Kevin Harvick
19. Matt Kenseth
20. Paul Menard
21. Juan Pablo Montoya
22. Kyle Busch
23. Brad Keselowski
24. Kurt Busch
25. 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.