Shootout has evolved from Clash of three decades past

When the field takes the green flag Saturday night for the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, it will mark the most recent major change to an exhibition race whose format has evolved ever since the first Busch Clash in 1979.

It's hard to imagine that a 20-lap sprint featuring a nine-car field comprised of pole position winners from the previous season would have grown to what is now -- the kickoff event for the stock-car portion of Speedweeks. What once took a little more than 15 minutes to complete is now a full-blown race, with multiple segments and a fuel stop.

In that time, the race has also gone from a Sunday afternoon time slot following the ARCA race to prime-time coverage under the lights.

The change from pole winners to a roster of cars from each manufacturer -- including rookies Joey Logano and Scott Speed -- is only the latest in the evolution of the race, which came about when Anheuser-Busch and NASCAR executives first developed the idea behind what would become the Busch Clash.

The inaugural race was held on Sunday afternoon, following Daytona 500 qualifying and the ARCA race -- which turned out to be Kyle Petty's first stock-car victory. Buddy Baker beat Darrell Waltrip by a car-length as Oldsmobiles swept the first four finishing positions. The race was broadcast live on CBS, a precursor to the 500 one week later -- and most NASCAR fans remember how that one turned out. (Flashback: Memories of a special 500)

A young driver by the name of Dale Earnhardt won the first of his six Shootout victories one year later in an unusual situation, even for NASCAR standards. Heavy winds pushed back the day's on-track schedule, and the ARCA event was stopped in mid-race by a red flag so the Clash could be run live in its regularly scheduled national television slot.

The smallest Clash field was in 1981, when seven cars took the green, with Waltrip beating Benny Parsons to take home a record $71,000. And because of weather, the 1983 Clash was pushed back to Monday.

Ricky Rudd suffered a wild, end-over-end crash in the 1984 Clash, and wound up taping his swollen eyelids open so he could see to drive the car later in the week. Three years later, Bill Elliott averaged 197.802 mph in the fastest Clash in history. (Continued)