No, you're not crazy, the 2012 Bud Shootout was just Saturday. But not a day after the checkered flag flew, NASCAR announced the eligibility rules for the 2013 Bud Shootout.

And for next year's race, what's old is new again.

From 1979-2008 the Budweiser Shootout — which started as the Busch Clash — was open to those drivers who had won a pole in the previous season or who had won a Budweiser Shootout and attempted a race in the previous season. Those rules will now be back in effect for 2013, meaning that the pole-winning car during Sunday's Daytona 500 qualifying will already be entered into next year's race assuming the pole winner isn't a former Shootout champion.

"Fans have expressed their desire to see this event return to its original eligibility rules," Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR senior VP of racing operations said in a release. "We listened and decided it would be best to return to the eligibility rules of years past adding further meaning to pole qualifying for each NASCAR

And we officially have our first "Wow, that was a little intense" wreck of the 2012 season, as Jeff Gordon went a-tumbling in the closing laps of Saturday night's Bud Shootout. Gordon was attempting to nudge Kyle Busch out of the way and set off a reaction that ended with Gordon himself cartwheeling sideways on the track apron. He was fine, the eternal reminder of how safe these cars are, but it was a spooky few moments as his car kept shedding piece after piece and didn't slow down.

"This was not how I wanted to start the 2012 season," Gordon said after clambering out of the flipped vehicle. "I've never been upside down in one of these cars. The hit to the wall was much harder than the rest of it. The roll was pretty soft and pretty easy. The protection we have inside of these cars is amazing because I didn't even hardly feel any of it. The toughest part is when you're laying upside down and you can't get out of the car. The roof was caved in a little bit and that was no fun."

Even though his Budwesier Shootout ended after a crash, there may not have been a driver happier about the pack racing that dominated most of the evening than Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"I like this kind of racing better," Junior said, referring to the pack racing over the tandem drafting style that has dominated restrictor plate racing over the last two years. "At least I know what to expect.  I feel like I have a better chance with this style than I did last year for damn sure."

Few, if any drivers were better at drafting in a big pack than Junior, who has seven Sprint Cup restrictor plate points wins. And Junior's prowess at slicing and dicing through packs of cars was evident, as he led 12 of the 54 laps he completed before being caught up in a crash when Marcos Ambrose got into Joey Logano.

"This is real similar to when we first put the blades on the roofs," Junior said. "These cars that we have now have a really big greenhouse. There is just a massive closing rate. When you get bogged

Martin Truex, Jr. drew the pole for Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout exhibition race at Daytona.

Starting spots for the race were determined as the 25 drivers entered for the race each picked a beer bottle with a starting position on the inside of the label, a concept greater than the execution. The draw, while a great idea for an exhibition race, is generally only slightly more entertaining than standard restrictor plate qualifying. (And that may be debatable.)

During practice for the first race, a multi-car incident happened involving Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, AJ Allmendinger and more.

Kyle Busch starts alongside Truex for the 75 lap, 150 mile race. The rest of the starting lineup is below. Race coverage starts at 8 PM ET on Fox.

1. Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
2. Kyle Busch, Toyota
3. Brad Keselowski, Dodge
4. Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet
5. David Ragan, Ford
6. Kurt Busch, Chevrolet
7. Greg Biffle, Ford
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet
9. AJ Allmendinger, Dodge
10. Joey Logano, Toyota

That's not a C-note, but rather a C-post -- the new one on the No. 48, in fact. (Getty)

Man, we couldn't even get to the Budweiser Shootout before we had the trigger for the first set of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus conspiracy theories.

On Friday, during inspection before qualifying for the Daytona, the C-posts were confiscated off of the No. 48 after NASCAR deemed that there had been illegal modifications made.

"It was an obvious modification that the template inspectors picked up on," explained Darby. "We did some additional inspections and found that they were too far out of tolerance to fix."

Any monetary or points penalties will be assessed to the No. 48 team after the Daytona 500.

Maybe Knaus intentionally had the C-posts confiscated to throw everyone off the scent? How evil genius would THAT be? After all, this is the team that can control cautions with water bottles.

What if Chad asked the crew to damage the car as they rolled it to inspection so that they could skip inspection, but the crew failed and couldn't roll the car fast enough to cause any harm? Or

Bubba and The General / Via @bubbawatsonThe Confederate flag dots every NASCAR infield, but at least in one location, it's not welcome on the track.

PGA Tour golfer Bubba Watson -- stick with us here, we know where we're going -- owns one of the original General Lee cars, which he won at auction last month. Watson's also a close enough friend of driver Denny Hamlin that he's invited Hamlin to caddy for him at Augusta in April. And Watson, a Phoenix resident, wants to drive his new purchase around Phoenix International Raceway when Hamlin and the rest of NASCAR head there next month.

Alas, it's not to be. Watson, the honorary grand marshal, won't be permitted to drive the General Lee on the track. In other words, NASCAR did what Boss Hogg couldn't:

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So every year, NASCAR sets up these photo shoots which are supposed to look "raw" and "cool" or whatever but mostly end up looking rather terrifying, like this shot of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in what appears to be the garage from the "Saw" flicks. Also: Junior may in fact have a family of badgers living in his beard. Say what you will about the guy, he can grow some facial hair. And it looks like he might shoot you if you get lippy with him about it, too.

Bubba Watson and a photobombing Denny Hamlin / Getty ImagesDenny Hamlin is angling to become NASCAR's ambassador to the rest of the sports world. He's already aligned with Michael Jordan and Nike on the corporate front, and this April, he'll don the classic caddy whites to haul PGA Tour golfer Bubba Watson's bag around the famed fairways of Augusta National.

All right, technically speaking, Hamlin will be caddying for Bubba on the Wednesday par-3 tournament, not The Masters itself. But still, it's a high honor ... and just like everything good in "The Dukes of Hazzard," it's thanks to the General Lee.

A few weeks back, Watson bought the original General Lee at auction for $110,000. Hamlin, who has known Watson for several years now and played with him several times, agreed to get Watson a firesuit and helmet to match the General Lee. In return, Watson would put Hamlin on the bag for the Masters par 3 tournament, a one-day event played on Augusta's executive-length course.

"He's going to let me hit a shot," said a visibly excited Hamlin, who