The 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 was the tenth
stock car race of the
2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 60th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 37th modern-era Cup season. It was contested over thirty-six races, and began on February 9 at Daytona International Speedway w ...
. The event was held on May 3, 2008, before a crowd of 112,000, at
Richmond International Raceway in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
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, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
. Originally scheduled for 400 laps,
Clint Bowyer won the race after a late caution and subsequent
green–white–checker finish
In North American auto racing, a green–white–checker finish (GWC) is a racing restart procedure one in which the race is restarted from a caution period with 2 laps remaining. When the race distance is extended to accommodate such a finish, i ...
extended the race to 410 laps.
Summary
The race was telecast on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
starting at 7:45 pm
US EDT, with radio coverage on
Sirius Satellite Radio and
MRN beginning at 7:30 pm US EDT. The race is named for Columbiana, Ohio resident Dan Lowry, who was the winner of an essay contest sponsored by race sponsor
Crown Royal whisky.
Clint Bowyer won the race.
Pre-race news
*Last week at
Talladega,
Ken Schrader filled in on the #70
Haas CNC Racing car. Schrader was the interim substitute for
Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
's #40
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
Dodge, but failed to qualify.
*
Johnny Sauter would return again to Haas and pilot their #70 ride for this race.
Race
The action came with 48 laps left. While Denny Hamlin who dominated the race, led on a fuel crisis, the caution flew for
Casey Mears' crash. The crash involved
Michael Waltrip
Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, and published author. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience. He is the younger brother o ...
in his self-owned #55 Toyota. The replays showed that Mears accidentally forced Waltrip into scraping across the wall. Then instantly afterwards Michael Waltrip pushed Mears around. These hits on Mears' rear caused him to eventually hit the wall nearly head-on. For the shove Waltrip was parked by NASCAR.
Denny Hamlin led 381 laps until a cut tire and a pit road penalty ended his day. On lap 398,
Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
,
spun
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...
into the wall, triggering an enormous amount of controversy over the matter and intense boos from the crowd, as Earnhardt was extremely popular due to his family relations with his famous father
Dale Sr. Although many fans felt that Busch intentionally caused the accident, years later on Dirty Mo Radio Earnhardt would later address the incident and state that Busch did not intentionally cause the wreck.
He would say that "Even in the moment, I knew that it wasn't
usch
Usch is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has ...
turning me on purpose." Earnhardt had said that Busch had simply had wanted to get a better run off of the corner, but had gotten loose and spun him. At the next Richmond race, Earnhardt would seem to get payback on Busch, as on lap 212 Earnhardt spun Busch heading into Turn 1.
However,
Clint Bowyer surged in front of Busch before the caution flag was thrown. Bowyer was able to hold off Busch and
Mark Martin to score his second career cup win, despite leading only two laps. His win was the last one when numbered 07, and his win brought Chevrolet to having the most NASCAR wins in history.
Results
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400
Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400
Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400
NASCAR races at Richmond Raceway