Daytona Beach, FL – Budweiser will replace Gatorade as the mile qualifying races for the Daytona 500, starting next year.
Officials from Anheuser-Busch and Daytona International Speedway announced the name change on Friday, one day after the qualifiers determined the 43-car field for this year's Daytona 500.
Budweiser will also become the official title sponsor of Speedweeks at Daytona -- a ten-day stretch of stock cars races at the 2.5-mile superspeedway -- and the Daytona 500 pre-race broadcast show in 2013.
"Budweiser is the longest running active partner with Daytona International Speedway, and we are incredibly excited to enter this new chapter with them in 2013," track president Joie Chitwood said.
Budweiser will no longer be the title sponsor of the pre-season, non points Shootout race at Daytona, which was won by Kyle Busch last Saturday night.
Tony Stewart, the defending Sprint Cup Series champion, and Matt Kenseth won Thursday's qualifiers and therefore will start third and fourth, respectively, in Sunday's 500-mile race at Daytona.
Kenseth's Roush Fenway Racing teammates, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, secured the front row for the Daytona 500, with Edwards winning the pole and Biffle taking the outside pole in last Sunday's time trials at Daytona.
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