February 6, 2006

IRC SHOOTOUT!

The 4th annual Racers Cup Shootout is scheduled for Monday, February 6th, and looks to be an exciting event as always.  The 40-lap, 9-car event will be run at Daytona Night-BR, which will certainly offer two and three wide racing for the prestigious Shootout title.

Eligible drivers earned their spot into the race by winning a pole position at some point in the history of the series, or by being a past Shootout champion.  Those eligible drivers are Bill Schneider, Dean Schmall, Alan Johnson, Eric Brundies, Rick Everett, Pat Veillette, Gilles Mourette, and Dean Howard.  All other IRC drivers can earn a spot in the race from the 20 lap OPEN event to be held prior to the Shootout.

Current Vegas Odds are as follows:

Field  (10-1):  Drivers advancing from the OPEN will have to start in the back of the field for the main event.  However, many prospects for advancing drivers include include some of the top veterans in the series such as Jeff Trowbridge, Gene Patient, Burl Begley, Mike Scarberry, Chris Blalock, Bill Fuller, and Jim Helie.  Also keep an eye out for Ricky Taylor, who looked strong in last year's event.  The rookie class is yet to be completely evaluated, but seems to have many talented drivers who could easily surprise the series vets.  

Dean Howard (10-1):  Howard's racing his been limited lately due to other obligations at his job at Brewco Motorsports.  Team Microspeed has yet to announce whether he will be fielding a car for this event, but if so, look for Howard's odds to change drastically as he will certainly be a contender.

Pat Veillette  (8-1):  Veillette is known mostly for his road course prowess, however he has seen considerable success at the restrictor plate tracks including a Cup win at Talladega.  If his connection holds up, look for him to be there at the end.

Gilles Mourette (8-1):  Mourette's recent return to ovals after a lengthy hiatus has probably hurt his odds slightly, but this may be a good pick as he is always strong, especially in qualifying at the super-speedways.  He has a prior pole at Daytona in the series, and track position can mean so much in this short, 40-lap event.

Alan Johnson  (8-1):  Johnson admits to not favoring restrictor plate racing, however he is the 2003 Shootout Champion, so look for him to be strong.

Rick Everett  (5-1):  Everett hasn't seen great success on the super-speedways, but he had a 2nd place finish in the Daytona 500 in 2002.  He is also a perennial front-runner, a good qualifier, and has a solid connection which means so much in this style of event.

Dean Schmall  (5-1):  Schmall is the defending Shootout Champion, which makes him a strong favorite for this year's event as well.  He has been snake bit lately with numerous wrecks and bad luck, but if he can overcome that he'll certainly be there at the end.

Eric Brundies  (4-1):  The 2005 IRC Cup Series Champ has momentum on his side as he won 9 events with 8 pole positions last season.  He also won the last restrictor plate event in IRC... the 2005 Talladega race to end the season.

Bill Schneider  (3-1):  Schneider is always strong at the super-speedways with some incredible horsepower under the hood of his #62 Alienware Dodge.  He is the 2004 Shootout Champion after advancing by winning the Shootout Open, and he was also last year's Daytona 300 champion.