NASCAR: The Top-Five Clash At Daytona Finishes

2011 Budweiser Shootout

While a close finish in nature, this finish really makes the list because of its obscurity. The man who crossed the line second was declared the winner. This race set the record for lead changes the Bud Shootout, due predominantly to the fact that this was the year of the “tandem-racing” in at the restrictor-plate tracks.

Tandem racing featured. as shown in the video, two cars glued together drafting together among a pack of other tandem pairs. Typically the tandems could get away from the field for a few laps, and here, the tandems of Denny Hamlin/Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch/Jamie McMurray stormed away from the field in the final lap.

Coming to the line, Hamlin sneaked under Busch and ended up passing him just before start/finish, but he did so entirely under the double yellow line (no-pass zone). The cars of Hamlin, Newman, and Busch were three abreast at the line with Busch being declared the winner, despite Hamlin crossing the line first. It was Busch’s only win thus far in the Shootout and the only win for a Dodge in the event.

Next: Countdown: No. 2 Finish