DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Twenty-one drivers are eligible to compete in the 27th Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, including nine former winners, four newcomers and reigning Nextel Cup Series champion Kurt Busch.

Busch earned his spot in the starting field by winning the Bud Pole Award in the last race of the 2004 season. The '05 Shootout will mark his third start in the non-points paying race, which is set for Feb. 12 to officially kick off the NASCAR portion of Daytona Speedweeks.

Making their Shootout debuts will be Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Brian Vickers and Casey Mears.

The Shootout also will kick off three farewell tours for retiring drivers: Rusty Wallace's "Last Call," Mark Martin's "Salute To You" and Terry Labonte's "Shifting Gears, Texas Style" tours.

The complete line-up of eligible drivers for the Shootout:

• 1. Ryan Newman, 8 poles (Rockingham, Bristol, Loudon, Richmond, Charlotte, Martinsville, Atlanta, Phoenix)
• 2. Jeff Gordon, 6 (Martinsville, Michigan, Sonoma, Daytona, Chicago, Bristol)
• 3. Kasey Kahne, 4 (Las Vegas, Darlington, California, Pocono)
• 4. Jeremy Mayfield, 2 (Dover, Dover)
• 5. Casey Mears, 2 (Pocono, Indianapolis)
• 6. Joe Nemechek, 2 (Talladega, Kansas)
• 7. Brian Vickers, 2 (Richmond, California)
• 8. Greg Biffle, 1 (Daytona)
• 9. Kurt Busch, 1 (Homestead)
• 10. Jimmie Johnson, 1 (Charlotte)
• 11. Bobby Labonte, 1 (Texas)
• 12. Ricky Rudd, 1 (Talladega)
• 13. Dale Jarrett (Shootout winner in 1996, 2000, 2004)
• 14. Tony Stewart (Shootout winner in 2001, 2002)
• 15. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Shootout winner in 2003)
• 16. Mark Martin (Shootout winner in 1999)
• 17. Rusty Wallace (Shootout winner in 1998)
• 18. Geoffrey Bodine (Shootout winner in 1992)
• 19. Ken Schrader (Shootout winner in 1989, 1990)
• 20. Bill Elliott (Shootout winner in 1987)
• 21. Terry Labonte (Shootout winner in 1985)

Tickets to the Budweiser Shootout can be purchased by calling 1-800-PITSHOP, or by logging onto www.1800pitshop.com.

NASCAR.com

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