Spencer qualifies for Daytona Shootout

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (Aug. 6, 2001) -- A little bit of "Excitement" has been added to the 2002 Budweiser Shootout At Daytona lineup. Jimmy Spencer, nicknamed "Mr. Excitement," was added to the All-Star field after he won the pole for last weekend's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Spencer, driver of the No. 26 Kmart Ford Taurus for Travis Carter and Carl Haas, will make his third Budweiser Shootout start on Feb. 10 at Daytona International Speedway. He's among the 17 drivers that are qualified to date for the Budweiser Shootout.

In the 1995 Budweiser Shootout (then Busch Clash), Spencer finished seventh in the first segment and ninth in the second segment of the race. In 1998, Spencer won the Budweiser Shootout qualifying race, transferred to the main event, and finished a solid fourth.

"That screws me up now because I can't play golf that Sunday afternoon," said Spencer with a laugh on Saturday when he realized he made the Budweiser Shootout field. "That's gonna mess me up for the Daytona race." <pre> Current qualifiers:

Bill Elliott   No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid R/T
Dale Jarrett   No. 88 UPS Ford
Jeff Gordon  No. 24 DuPont Automotive Finishes Chevrolet
Mark Martin  No. 6 Viagra Ford
Dale Earnhardt Jr.  No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet
Stacy Compton   No. 92 Kodiak Dodge Intrepid R/T
Bobby Labonte  No. 18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac
Ryan Newman  No. 02 Alltel Ford
Ricky Rudd  No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford
Sterling Marlin  No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid R/T
Todd Bodine  No. 66 Blue Light Special Ford
Jimmy Spencer  No. 26 Kmart Ford

Former Budweiser Shootout winners that are also eligible for the 2002 Budweiser Shootout Tony Stewart (2001) Rusty Wallace (1998) Geoffrey Bodine (1992) Ken Schrader (1990) Terry Labonte (1985)

-SPR