Schrader

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Many of the familiar -- and expected -- names were running in the lead pack of Sunday's Bud Shootout, including race-winner Tony Stewart, who held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to defend his 2001 Shootout win. Also among the leaders were 2001 Cup champ Jeff Gordon and the man who finished two spots behind him in the standings, Sterling Marlin.

The other guy, however, isn't someone who spent a lot of time out front last season, although he has run well here at Daytona, sitting on the Daytona 500 pole three times during his career.

Ken Schrader piloted the No. 36 to a fourth-place finish on Sunday, moving with Gordon to pass Sterling Marlin in the waning laps after being passed by Gordon moments before. Schrader even led a lap, but he didn't think he had the car to maintain it -- and he was right.

"The little M&M's Pontiac was good, but when we got in the lead I knew we were in trouble," said Schrader. "When you're running second you know where you're going to go. When you're the leader, you try to figure out where they're going to go. I screwed up and let Tony back by. He pushed us through the tri-oval to get the lead, and that was kind of fun."

Stewart never relinquished the lead after that, but Schrader was still pleased with his performance -- although he didn't place much stock in this race being important in terms of kick starting a strong 2002 campaign.

"Hey, it was the Bud Shootout and we ran fourth. ... We've had a good car in this thing here the last couple of years. We just finished fourth instead of running out of gas this year. ... It's only one race. It's fun, but it's only one race."

After following Gordon by Marlin late, could he have caught Stewart if there been a few more laps?

"Nah, I think it was pretty much done."

The Shootout is only one race, and an exhibition one at that. But teams generally use it to gauge what they need to do to prepare for the qualifying races later in the week. Schrader was in that boat, but he wasn't necessarily revealing his team's plans for modifying the No. 36 Pontiac.

"We know what we need to do for Thursday now, and we're looking forward to Thursday and Sunday."

Schrader did tip his hand a little, alluding to his car's handling during the race's final laps.

"I thought something would happen between (Stewart and Earnhardt Jr.), and that was going to dictate what we did (at the end of the race). (But) I was way loose. Jeff (Gordon) got on my rear and I couldn't hold on, so I just fell back in line," said Schrader. "Handling is going to be key here all week."

Learning curve
Despite the much publicized issues with the car setup rules dominated much of the talk on Sunday, drivers were able to take away useful info regarding how to approach both the qualifying races and the 500.

"Anytime you get out there in race conditions, you'll learn a lot for the next race," said Gordon, who finished third on Sunday.

When asked how much info -- on a scale of one to five -- was gained that would help on Sunday, both Gordon and Earnhardt said "five."

Despite joining the chorus of Ford driver calling for NASCAR to help the Taurus -- which is did later in the day, announcing a ¼-inch reduction in spoiler height for the Fords, Todd Bodine said he also picked up some tidbits for Thursday's 125s.

"We learned a lot for the 125s. We had a totally different setup in the car than what we had been running and it was pretty decent. ... We ended up 10th, (but) we learned a lot. That's one of the advantages of running the Bud Shootout."

In winning the race, Stewart would seem to have an advantage heading into the 125s and the 500. But the driver of the No. 20 Pontiac wasn't ready to say that lessons learned in the Shootout would translate to success later in the week.

"To win here two years in a row, in my opinion, is a great accomplishment for our team and for our sponsors," said Stewart. "But today is over with now and it's time to look toward next week. The bigger goal starts on Sunday with the first points race of the year. We're setting our sights at the end of the year and it starts a week from Sunday, not this Sunday."