diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 404ded510..38a0e299b 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,6 +1,11 @@
 PACKER_BINARY ?= packer
-PACKER_VARIABLES := binary_bucket_name kubernetes_version kubernetes_build_date docker_version cni_version cni_plugin_version source_ami_id arch instance_type
+PACKER_VARIABLES := ami_name binary_bucket_name kubernetes_version kubernetes_build_date docker_version cni_version cni_plugin_version source_ami_id arch instance_type
+AWS_DEFAULT_REGION ?= us-west-2
+
+K8S_VERSION_PARTS := $(subst ., ,$(kubernetes_version))
+K8S_VERSION_MINOR := $(word 1,${K8S_VERSION_PARTS}).$(word 2,${K8S_VERSION_PARTS})
 
+ami_name ?= amazon-eks-node-$(K8S_VERSION_MINOR)-v$(shell date +'%Y%m%d')
 arch ?= x86_64
 ifeq ($(arch), arm64)
 instance_type ?= a1.large
@@ -8,8 +13,6 @@ else
 instance_type ?= m4.large
 endif
 
-AWS_DEFAULT_REGION ?= us-west-2
-
 T_RED := \e[0;31m
 T_GREEN := \e[0;32m
 T_YELLOW := \e[0;33m
diff --git a/eks-worker-al2.json b/eks-worker-al2.json
index ce1c2c673..e233ed6e0 100644
--- a/eks-worker-al2.json
+++ b/eks-worker-al2.json
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "variables": {
     "aws_region": "us-west-2",
-    "ami_name": "amazon-eks-node-{{user `kubernetes_version`}}-v{{isotime `20060102`}}",
+    "ami_name": null,
     "creator": "{{env `USER`}}",
     "encrypted": "false",
     "kms_key_id": "",