Yates Racing’s Paul Menard will sit on the pole for the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.
Joining Menard on the front row will be Richard Petty Motorsports’ Elliott Sadler as the 28 Sprint Cup drivers drew for starting positions Thursday night.
Defending race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start ninth as he opens his second season for Hendrick Motorsports in the 75-lap exhibition race. His teammate, three-time defending Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, will start 21st.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon drew the last starting spot—four of the last six starting positions were drawn by drivers in Chevrolets.
Paul Menard, the pole-sitter for Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout, was involved in a crash in the final 20 minutes of Friday’s final practice.
Menard, in his first season for Yates Racing, lost control of his Ford and was broadsided by Sprint Cup Series rookie Scott Speed. Both drivers walked away from the wreck and neither car appeared beyond repair.
“I’m not sure if we ran over something or the tire just let loose,” said Menard, who is on the front row along with Richard Petty Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler. “But the tire went down and it shot in the corner and went sideways.”
Three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson had the fastest car in practice for the kickoff event for the 2009 NASCAR season.
Only Kyle Busch, whose Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota turned a lap at 191.453 mph was faster than Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (191.156 mph) in Friday’s first practice session. Busch’s car suffered minor rear-end damage late in the evening practice.
As Menard slowed down while trying to straighten out his No. 98 Ford in a turn on the 2 1/2-mile superspeedway, Speed drove his No. 82 Toyota into his left-front fender. Both cars spun across the track and came to a stop near the infield.
“The guy in front of me started spinning out and slowing down, and I had nowhere to go, so I started doing the same,” said Speed, a former Formula One driver. “I couldn’t really see much, honestly…It’s good we got my first wreck under my belt here at Daytona.”
Speed’s car sustained little damage, but Menard’s had to be towed to the garage area. Menard was treated and released from the infield car facility. He said he thought he had a tire going flat before the spin.
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