Budweiser Shootout: N's & Q's

Thanks to some comments made after the Budweiser Shootout, a bit of controversy swelled on Saturday night about how the non-points exhibition race was really supposed to end.

Kevin Harvick, in an interview with SPEED's NASCAR Victory Lane show, said he thought the entry blank he had signed for the race indicated the race must finish under green.

The race, though, finished under yellow. NASCAR's regular season format for a green-white-checkered finish after the race had an extra lap tacked on the end due to Michael Waltrip's crash and subsequent caution with 6 laps to go. Such rules state that NASCAR gives one chance for the race to finish under green, and if there's a caution, the race ends at that instant.

Harvick wasn't the only one confused as some attributed the discrepancy to what was said during the television broadcast. A quick look back (and admittedly non-thorough) on the DVR Sunday by yours truly didn't locate a particular spot where the commentators noted the race would finish one way or another prior to the race.

NASCAR officials quickly put down any questions by stating that the entry blank indeed said there would be one attempt to finish the race under green -- just like the race ended. In fact, the Associated Press' Jenna Fryer was able to track down a copy of the entry blank later in the evening to confirm.

Tweet to the finish

Third-place finisher Jamie McMurray became the second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to send a shout-out to Twitter after a race, which he did while talking with journalists inside the infield media center after Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout.

"I'm hoping I can make some Twitter pages at this point," said McMurray after his strong first outing with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing. "If you want to send the highlight out, I'd appreciate it."

Denny Hamlin was the first to do it when he noted his followers on the social networking site after crossing the finish line first in the Fall 2009 race at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. McMurray only recently started 'tweeting' but has already amassed nearly 5,000 followers.

Wall-ed out

Michael Waltrip, involved in the Shootout's first two incidents, ended his night in the garage after the second crash against Daytona's backstretch wall inflicted substantial damage to his No. 51 Toyota.

Waltrip, who was not interviewed by the television broadcast, chose to air his frustration with fellow driver Ryan Newman on Twitter later in the evening.

"I was goin straight on the straight," Waltrip wrote about his contact with Newman on lap 69 that set up the final green-white-checkered finish.

Later, Waltrip tweeted (Note: punctuation added for clarity), "Need to go to sleep. Still mad and you're not suppose to go to sleep mad. I need to vent. I'd kick my dog but thats mean. Congrats kh."

The 'kh' standing for, of course, race-winner Kevin Harvick.

For what its worth, Newman hit the fence during last year's 150-lap qualifying event in quite a similar fashion after contact from David Reutimann. Newman, incensed at having a torn-up race car, walked up the track and threw his hands in the air at Reutimann under caution.

Reutimann later apologized for the incident.

Hands-up save

Most would agree that Danica Patrick had a successful debut in the crash fest that was the Automobile Racing Club of America's (ARCA) season-opener at Daytona prior to the Shootout on Saturday night.

The IndyCar driver finished 6th in her first stock car event, but not before taking a wild slide through the 2.5-mile track's tri-oval. Danica managed to keep the No. 7 Chevrolet off the wall during the half-spin after contact sent her towards the infield grass, and got some praise from broadcasters for the save.

A few around the internet chuckled while the the in-car camera revealed she took her hands off the wheel in the midst of the wreck.

Watching it again, I'd argue this: Patrick only took her hands off the wheel when she thought she was going to hit the wall. Such a move is pretty typical in racing -- especially in open-wheel cars.

Often, drivers are taught to do so after they feel any chance at control is lost and impact is imminent to avoid causing injuries to their arms, wrists and hands due to the steering wheel whipping one way or another when the front wheels strike something.

In the replay, Danica tried to control the car for as long as possible, let go when she approached the wall, and reassumed grip as the car started back towards the infield. All in all, a nice save.

Super sentiment

Kyle Busch didn't have a 'Super' finish in Saturday night's Shootout and fellow driver and friend Scott Speed didn't participate in the event. That didn't stop them from having a 'Super' weekend, though.

Busch, continuing the Twitter trend of this post, posted a picture on his feed before Saturday night's 75-lap event showing his smiling mug with a handful of tickets for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami on Sunday evening.

The recently engaged Busch was apparently heading south to the championship contest between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints with his fiancé Samantha Sarcinella, Speed and his wife Amanda, as well as Interstate Batteries chairman Norm Miller.