DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. --- By the time some drivers take the green flag for tonight's Budweiser Shootout all-star race, their cars will have been racing against highway traffic for more than 600 miles.

That's because many cars didn't leave a race shop near Charlotte, N.C., until this morning.

A 10-car crash during a late practice session Friday night will force some teams, especially the truck drivers, into overtime to get new cars to Daytona International Speedway in time for the main event.

Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and David Gilliland were swept into a crash that started along the backstretch when Clint Bowyer bumped Ryan Newman into a spin.

Minutes later, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Hamlin wrecked. Busch was so upset, he ran into Stewart's car on pit road at least four times -- earning both a trip to the NASCAR hauler.

If the first day of practice is any indication, tonight's race should be out of control.

The 70-lap race doesn't count toward the Sprint Cup Series standings, so it's the first chance for drivers to get a feel for the new racing season. The field of 23 drivers -- pole winners from last year and shootout champions -- will be running for a lot of money (a guaranteed prize of more than $200,000), but the opportunity to drive the new winged stock car is every bit as valuable.

And since nobody plans to use their all-star car in next week's Daytona 500, the only thing that matters is winning.

Nothing else, even crashing, seems to matter. Even in practice.

"This is wild for practice," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

"That was pretty aggressive for not having (any) money on the line," Greg Biffle said.

Bowyer accepted the blame for the first big wreck.

"It shouldn't have happened," Bowyer said. "I was trying to let off. The 41 (Reed Sorenson) was pushing me really hard. I wasn't trying to do that."

Teams don't want to use their Daytona 500 cars in tonight's all-star race. And since many considered their all-star cars as a backup for the 500, it was necessary for some teams to ship new cars to Daytona in time for the race.

Busch won the pole position in a blind drawing. Mark Martin will be on the outside pole. Busch will be in a new car; Martin in one that needed a lot of repair work.

Edwards said the race will have as much action as the practice, if not more.

"The race is going to be spectacular because these cars are all over the place," Edwards said.