The Busch Light Clash is an annual pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at Daytona International Speedway from the race's inception in 1979 until 2021, after which it was moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum beginning in 2022. At Daytona, the race, along with the ARCA Menards Series' season-opening BRANDT 200, served as the kickoff events for Daytona Speedweeks. The event is one of two non-points races on the Cup Series schedule, the other being the NASCAR All-Star Race.
The 2009 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 31st annual running of the Budweiser Shootout, it was held on February 7, 2009, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, before a crowd of 80,000 people. The 78-lap race was won by Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing, after he started from the next-to-last 27th position. Jamie McMurray of Roush Fenway Racing finished in second, and Stewart-Haas Racing's Tony Stewart was third.
The 2011 Budweiser Shootout was a stock car race and the first exhibition event of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on February 12, 2011 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 75-lap race was won by Kurt Busch for the Penske Racing team. Jamie McMurray finished second and Ryan Newman came in third.
The 2012 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 34th annual running of the Budweiser Shootout, it was held on February 18, 2012 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, before a crowd of 82,000 people. Kyle Busch of the Joe Gibbs Racing team won the 82-lap race. It was Busch's first victory in the event; Stewart-Haas Racing driver Tony Stewart finished second with Richard Petty Motorsports racer Marcos Ambrose third.
The 2013 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on February 16, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 75 laps, it was the first exhibition race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing won the race, while Greg Biffle finished second. Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.
The 2013 Daytona 500, the 55th running of the event, was held on February 24, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida over 200 laps and 500 miles (800 km) on the 2.5-mile (4 km) asphalt tri-oval. It was the first race of the 2013 Sprint Cup season. Danica Patrick won the pole for the race, becoming the first woman to earn a pole position in NASCAR's highest division. She also achieved the best-ever finish by a woman at the Daytona 500, finishing 8th. Jimmie Johnson, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, making this his first win of the season and his second win in the "Great American Race" and his first since the 2006 race. His teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 2nd while Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Newman rounded out the Top 5.
The 2014 Daytona 500, the 56th running of the event, was held on February 23, 2014 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps and 500 miles (800 km) on the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the first race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, making this his second Daytona 500 victory breaking a 55-race winless streak. Denny Hamlin finished 2nd, while Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the Top 5. This race had seven cautions and 42 lead changes among 18 different drivers. The top rookies of this race were polesitter Austin Dillon (9th), Alex Bowman (23rd), and Brian Scott (25th).
The 2014 The Profit on CNBC 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 2, 2014, at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the 1 mile (1.6 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the second race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kevin Harvick won the race, his first win driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second. Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Kyle Larson (20th), Austin Dillon (24th), and Cole Whitt (27th).
The 2010 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on February 6, 2010 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, before a crowd of 85,000. The 76-lap race was won by Kevin Harvick of the Richard Childress Racing team. It was Harvick's first victory of the season; Kasey Kahne finished second and Jamie McMurray came in third.
The 2003 GFS Marketplace 400 was the 23rd stock car race of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It was held on August 17, 2003 at Michigan International Speedway near Brooklyn, Michigan before a crowd of 150,000. The 200-lap race was won by Ryan Newman of the Penske Racing South team after he started from second position. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing finished second and Joe Gibbs Racing's Tony Stewart came in third.
The 2018 Daytona 500, the 60th running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 18, 2018, contested over 207 laps—extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish—on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway. It was the first race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, and also marked the first race for the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 as Chevrolet's car for this season, replacing the SS. Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing won the race after contact with Aric Almirola on the final lap resulted in a single-car accident for the latter. Bubba Wallace making his first Daytona 500 start finished second while Denny Hamlin came in third. This was the last Daytona 500 starts for Danica Patrick, Trevor Bayne, Kasey Kahne, David Gilliland, Mark Thompson, BK Racing, Furniture Row Racing and D. J. Kennington.
The 2018 1000Bulbs.com 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on October 14, 2018, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 193 laps – extended from 188 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.66 mile (4.2 km) superspeedway, it was the 31st race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the fifth race of the Playoffs, and second race of the Round of 12. This was a notable race for Stewart-Haas Racing, who dominated in qualifying and both stages, and ended up winning the race with driver Aric Almirola
The 2003 Budweiser Shootout was the first of two exhibition stock car races of the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The 25th running of the Budweiser Shootout, and the first to be held at night to enable a broadcast in prime time, it was held on February 8, 2003, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, before a crowd of 75,000 spectators. Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. won the 70-lap race starting from the 19th position. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon finished in second, with Roush Racing's Matt Kenseth third. It was Earnhardt's first Budweiser Shootout victory, and his first at Daytona International Speedway in the Cup Series since the 2001 Pepsi 400.
The 2021 Daytona 500, the 63rd running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on February 14–15, 2021 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. In one of the biggest surprise upsets in Daytona 500 history, Michael McDowell, driving for Front Row Motorsports, won after Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski wrecked battling for the lead on the final lap. McDowell was a 100–1 underdog, making his 358th Cup Series start and driving for a team with only two previous Cup Series victories.
The 2005 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 27th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, February 12, 2005, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway, before a crowd of 120,000. The race took the scheduled 70 laps to complete. In an action-packed race, Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports would take the lead on lap 55 and hold off the field to win his first Budweiser Shootout. To fill out the podium, Ryan Newman of Penske Racing and Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.
The 2006 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was postponed to Sunday, February 12, 2006 from the originally scheduled date of February 11 due to rain. The race was held in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway, before a crowd of 60,000. The race was extended from 70 laps to 72 due to a green–white–checker finish. At race's end, rookie Denny Hamlin, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing would pass teammate Tony Stewart on the final restart and hold off the field to pull off a stunning victory in the shootout, the first Budweiser Shootout win of his career. To fill out the podium, Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
The 2004 Aaron's 499 was the ninth stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 25, 2004, before a crowd of 155,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In a controversial end to the race, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would win the race under caution over fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., after Brian Vickers caused a caution with 5 to go. The win was Gordon’s 65th career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win and his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing would finish third, after a review of the results of the last scoring loop.
The 2002 Pepsi 400 was the 17th stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 44th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, July 6, 2002, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 160 laps to complete. At race's end, Michael Waltrip, driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., would win a crash-marred race under caution, a decision that would prove controversial with fans, as they wanted the race to finish under green. To fill out the podium, Rusty Wallace of Penske Racing and Sterling Marlin of Chip Ganassi Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
The 2002 Tropicana 400 was the 18th stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the second iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 14, 2002, in Joliet, Illinois, at Chicagoland Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.41 km) tri-oval speedway. The race took the scheduled 267 laps to complete. At race's end, Kevin Harvick, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would stretch out a fuel run and climb through the field to win his third career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first and only win of the season. To fill out the podium, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports and Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
The 2002 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and the 24th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 10, 2002, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5-mile (4.0-km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 70 laps to complete. At race's end, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Tony Stewart would manage to dominate the second half of the race to take his second career Budweiser Shootout victory. To fill out the top three, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.
