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Season-opening Daytona exhibition race officially the 'Advance Auto Parts Clash'

Speedweeks begins in a month. Are you ready for some racing? (Getty)
Speedweeks begins in a month. Are you ready for some racing? (Getty)

The unofficial first race of the Cup Series season has another new name.

Daytona International Speedway said Wednesday that the Clash, the exhibition race that kicks off Speedweeks every year at Daytona, would be sponsored by Advance Auto Parts. The race, formerly the Sprint Unlimited, didn’t have a sponsor following the departure of Sprint as the title sponsor for the Cup Series.

Monster Energy, the new Cup Series sponsor, didn’t pick up the rights to the race when its sponsor deal was announced in December.

The addition of Advance Auto Parts gives the Feb. 18 event another name in its (semi) illustrious history.

1979-1997: Busch Clash
1998-2000: Bud Shootout
2001-20012: Budweiser Shootout
2013-2016: Sprint Unlimited
2017-?: Advance Auto Parts Clash

Drivers who won a pole in 2016, previous Clash winners, 2016 Chase drivers and former Daytona pole winners are eligible for the race. That means Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Carl Edwards, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. (2016 pole winners), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Clash winner), Danica Patrick (Daytona 500 pole winner), Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray (Chase drivers) are all eligible.

Junior will be replaced in the race by Alex Bowman, who won the pole at Phoenix in Junior’s No. 88 car last year. Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart are also eligible to run in the race but Stewart is retired and Biffle doesn’t have a ride for 2017.

Hamlin won the race in 2016 and became the first driver since Dale Jarrett in 2000 to follow up a Clash win with a Daytona 500 win.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!