The 2008 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona Pace Cars - 2008 Corvette Coupe's

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the 2008 race.  This was his second Shootout and first win with Hendrick Motorsports.

February 9th, 2008

The 2008 Budweiser Shootout was the first official, non-points paying event of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The race was run on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida and was restricted to those who were the fastest qualifiers in the 2007 season as well as past winners of the event.

There were two ways to become eligible for the Budweiser Shootout: win a pole or win the Budweiser Shootout. For 2008, there were 23 eligible drivers: nine drivers being past winners with lifetime exemptions into the race as long as they remain active in the series, and 15 who were fastest in qualifying for NEXTEL Cup races in 2007.

The race was broken down into two segments: The first segment, which was 20 laps, followed by a ten-minute intermission, followed by a 50-lap segment, during which teams are required to make a green flag pit stop to change a minimum of two tires. Unlike points-paying races, all restarts were double-file with lead lap cars in the front, and work can be done during red flag periods. When all was said and done, Dale Earnhardt Jr. led an event record 46 of the 70 laps to win his first race. 

The two Corvette Pace Cars used were Crystal Red Metallic Coupes with a Yellow, White and Black Budweiser Shootout livery and a Red Interior and sported the usual Safety and Race add ons such as the Strobe lights. One thing to note,as these cars were sold, the roof strobe light bar was retained for future usage since these were custom built by/for the specific C6 roof lines and not off the shelf items.