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Planning to attend any of the events leading up to the Great American Race at Daytona? Here's a primer:

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The Budweiser Shootout

The 30th Budweiser Shootout at Daytona will be run under the lights for the fourth consecutive year on Saturday.

The non-points event, which has jump started the Cup Series season since 1979, will be televised by FOX (8 p.m. ET).

From 1979 to 1997, the event was known as the Busch Clash; in 1998 it became the Bud Shootout. The current name -- Budweiser Shootout at Daytona -- was adopted in 2001.

This year, 23 drivers are eligible, including Clint Bowyer, J.J. Yeley, Reed Sorenson and Martin Truex Jr. who won their first poles in 2007.

Note: The Budweiser Shootout consists of drivers who earned a Bud Pole Award in the previous season and past champions of the event who did not earn a pole during the previous year but finished among the top 50 in the season's final championship standings.

Dale Earnhardt leads all drivers with six victories in the Budweiser Shootout. The only drivers to win consecutive Shootout races are Neil Bonnett (1983-84), Ken Schrader (1989-90) and Tony Stewart (2001-02).

Note: Coors Light announced in September 2007 that it will replace Budweiser as the sport's official beer in '08. The five-year, $20 million deal includes renaming the Cup Series' pole award to the Coors Light Pole Award, but does not impact the Budweiser Shootout.

Qualifying for the Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 uses a different qualifying procedure than any other race. On Pole Day, Sunday, the fastest two cars will earn their starting spots for the Daytona 500 -- the pole and outside pole positions.

• The fastest qualifier will earn the pole for both the Daytona 500 and the first 150-mile Gatorade Duel qualifying race. In addition to the polesitter, the odd-number positions (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc.) of the highest-ranked 35 finishers in the final 2007 Cup Series car owner points standings will be assigned to the first qualifier.

• The second-fastest qualifier earns the outside pole for the Daytona 500 and will start on the pole for the second 150-mile Gatorade Duel qualifying race. In addition to the second-fastest qualifier, the even-number positions (2nd, 4th, 6th, etc.) of the highest-ranked 35 finishers in the final 2007 Cup Series car owner points standings will be assigned to the second qualifier.

Note: Cale Yarborough, Buddy Baker and Bill Elliott hold the record with four pole position starts in the Daytona 500. Yarborough started from the point in 1968, 1970, 1978 and 1984; Baker started from the pole in 1967, 1973, 1979 and 1980; Elliott held the honors in 1985-87 and 2001.

Yarborough and Elliott have the most wins from the pole. Yarborough won in 1968 and 1984; Elliott won in 1985 and 1987.

Three drivers share the record of most consecutive pole positions: Fireball Roberts (1961-63); Elliott (1985-87); and Ken Schrader (1988-90).

The Gatorade Duel

The Gatorade Duel is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 15. The two 150-mile qualifying races determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500. From 1959-1968, the races were 100 miles in length; beginning in 1969, the distance was extended to 125 miles; and the current length was implemented in 2005.

Additional cars that were not among the highest-ranked 35 in the final 2007 car owner points will be alternated between the first and second 150-mile qualifying events using an odd-even format. The odd-number positions will be assigned to the first qualifier while the even-number positions will be assigned to the second qualifier. The odd-even positions are not determined by where the car qualified in the overall field, but their specific qualifying order among those cars not part of the highest-ranked 35 group.

A maximum of 66 cars will be permitted to compete between the two qualifying races, and all cars must compete in one of these events to be eligible for the Daytona 500.

Starting positions for the Daytona 500 will be designated for the highest-ranked 35 positions from the final 2007 car owner point standings from each qualifier, the two-highest finishing cars in each qualifier not among that highest-ranked 35 group and the two front-row qualifiers.

The balance of the 43-car field will be filled by the fastest remaining qualifiers who have not earned a starting position, with the exception of the 43rd position which will be assigned to an eligible former or current Cup Series champion.

Should there not be an eligible champion, the position will be assigned to the next fastest qualifier not in the field.

Note: Dale Earnhardt leads all drivers with 12 victories in this event, including a remarkable 10-year winning streak from 1990-99. Cale Yarborough ranks second with six wins.

Only seven times has the winner of a Gatorade 125-mile race gone on to win the Daytona 500. Fireball Roberts was the first to do so, in 1962. Yarborough did it twice, in 1977 and 1984. Bill Elliott (1985), Bobby Allison (1988), Sterling Marlin (1995) and Earnhardt (1998) also have accomplished the feat.

The 50th Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, 500 mile Cup Series race held annually at Daytona International Speedway.

Regarded as the most prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar -- carrying by far the largest purse -- the Daytona 500 is the final event of Speedweeks and also is known as "The Great American Race."

By unanimous consent, the United States Senate recently designated February 17, 2008 -- the date of the historic 50th running of the Daytona 500 -- as "Race Day in America."

The resolution, introduced during the 110th Congress by Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez, notes that the Daytona 500 is the most prestigious stock car race in the United States; and that Daytona International Speedway is the home of "The Great American Race"; and that winning the prestigious Harley J. Earl Trophy is stock car racing's greatest prize and privilege; and that well-known politicians, celebrities and athletes take part in the festivities surrounding the Daytona 500.

The winner of the Daytona 500 is presented with the Harley J. Earl Trophy, and the winning car is displayed, in race-winning condition, for one year at the Daytona 500 Experience, a museum and gallery adjacent to Daytona International Speedway.

Note: Only three drivers have won consecutive Daytona 500s: Richard Petty 1973-74; Cale Yarborough 1983-84; and Sterling Marlin 1994-95.