The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 60th season of
professional stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
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 with the
Budweiser Shootout exhibition race, followed by the
50th Daytona 500 on February 17. The season continued with the
2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup
The 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup was contested in the final ten races of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to determine a champion. The Chase began with the Sylvania 300 on September 14, 2008 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and ended with the Ford ...
beginning on September 14 with the
Sylvania 300 at
New Hampshire Motor Speedway and concluded with the
Ford 400 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16.
As a result of the merger between
Sprint Corporation and
Nextel Communications, NASCAR's premier series was renamed as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning with the 2008 season, The season marked the first season that the
Car of Tomorrow was used for the entire season after being used for select races during the 2007 season.
Coors Light also replaced
Budweiser as the Official Beer of NASCAR, thereby becoming the new sponsor of the Pole Award given to
pole winner in each Sprint Cup Series race. However, Budweiser was still the official sponsor for
Bud Shootout
The Busch Light Clash is an annual pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at Daytona International Speedway since the race's inception in 1979 until 2022 ...
at
Daytona in February.
Jimmie Johnson of
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...
was crowned champion at season's end, making him only the second driver in NASCAR's top division to win three championships in a row, with the first being
Cale Yarborough
William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough (born March 27, 1939) is an American former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver and owner, businessman, and farmer. He is one of only two drivers in NASCAR history to win three consecutive championships, winning in 1 ...
.
Top stories
Car of Tomorrow
All Sprint Cup races utilized the
Car of Tomorrow (CoT) template. NASCAR announced on May 22, 2007, that the original timetable, which would have the full-time use of the single car template in 2009, was being abandoned as 80% of all owners were in favor of moving the full-time use of the CoT one year ahead so they would not race with two sets of rules for all but ten races. The cars approved for the 2008 season were the
Chevrolet Impala, the
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966.
The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version.
The Charger has ...
, the
Ford Fusion and the
Toyota Camry. Dodge had used the
Avenger in the 2007 CoT races, but stated that the Charger would be used full-time in 2008.
Economic problems affect NASCAR
The
Economic crisis of 2008, with high gas prices over
US $4 a gallon caused NASCAR's largely
blue-collar fan base to feel the pinch.
While
Bristol was one of a few tracks that still sold out, others saw crowds shrink.
Daytona International Speedway sold out the
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
, but not the
Coke Zero 400. Some track ticket packages now included all-you-can-eat deals, and tracks also offered nearby campgrounds to entice those who come for several days to see
Nationwide and
Craftsman Truck races. For their
fall race,
Lowe's Motor Speedway offered discounts on local hotel rooms, novelties and food and drink.
The economy also affected the teams themselves with high
diesel fuel prices, with that fuel needed to power the
semi-trailer trucks which transport the race cars to and from racetracks. Sponsorships also grew increasingly harder to come by, further increasing the gap between teams. Before the season began,
Morgan-McClure Motorsports ceased operations for their single-car team, while
Yates Racing had no major sponsor on the No. 28 and No. 38 cars that they run in the series, as their
M&M's sponsorships moved to the
Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 team. The Yates team made do in piecemeal fashion, finding companies to sponsor a few races at a time, a practice that paid the bills but stretched the marketing department. As a result of the cutbacks, half of the one hundred employees at Yates were laid off.
Even better sponsored teams struggled. On July 1,
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 ...
shut down its No. 40 team with
2007 IndyCar Champion and
Indianapolis 500 winner
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 ...
driving because of a lack of sponsorship funding, becoming the first major victim. Ganassi Racing lost 70 jobs as a result of the closure. Other companies also switched teams for
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
.
Caterpillar Inc., despite its decade long relationship with
Bill Davis Racing and its flagship No. 22, moved to
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...
's No. 31 car driven by
Jeff Burton, while
General Mills, associating itself with
Petty Enterprises
Petty Enterprises (formerly Lee Petty Engineering) was a NASCAR racing team based in Level Cross, North Carolina, USA. It was founded by Lee Petty with his two sons Richard Petty and Maurice Petty. The team was later owned by Richard Petty, hi ...
since 2000, also left to head for RCR's fourth team.
To counter many of these problems, teams also took on financial partners, much like
Fenway Sports Group joining
Jack Roush and
George N. Gillett Jr. teaming up with
Ray Evernham
Raymond Donald Evernham Jr. (born August 26, 1957) is an American consultant for Hendrick Companies, formerly an auto racing crew chief for Bill Davis Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, owner of his own team Evernham Motorsports from 2001 to 2 ...
last year. In June 2008, Petty Enterprises sold a majority share to Boston Ventures as another example of the economic struggles.
Teams and drivers
Complete schedule
List of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams in 2008 (43 full-time teams).
Limited schedule
Schedule
Television
United States
The 2008 season marked the second year of television contracts with
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'').
Twelv ...
,
TNT and
ESPN/
ABC. The biggest changes involved ESPN and ABC, as
Dale Jarrett became the network's lead race color commentator and
Rusty Wallace became the pre-race analyst. Dale, who completed his driving career with the
Sprint All-Star Race XXIV, followed in the footsteps of his father,
Ned, who worked with ESPN through most of the 1980s through the 2000 NASCAR season.
Allen Bestwick took over the hosting role for all races as well as some editions of
ESPN2's ''
NASCAR Now'', replacing
Brent Musburger
Brent Woody Musburger (born May 26, 1939) is an American sportscaster, currently the lead broadcaster and managing editor at Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN).
With CBS Sports from 1973 until 1990, he was one of the original members ...
and
Suzy Kolber on the pre-race show, with
Shannon Spake taking Bestwick's place as pit reporter. Also, veteran NASCAR reporter
Nicole Manske (along with Ryan Burr) took over as a part-time host of ''NASCAR Now'' show for
Erik Kuselias. No major changes were made by Fox and TNT for the 2008 season.
One innovation was Fox's "Gopher Cam", placed below the track near the inside of the turns for a unique perspective. In the need for a name for their new mascot, Fox turned to internet users and even drivers for suggestions, and the gopher cam mascot was named "Digger". "Digger" is now emblazoned on T-shirts, hats and even as a plush toy.
Another innovation was TNT's "RaceBuddy", an internet application that showed multiple views of the race and radio feeds from drivers (using NASCAR.com Race Day Scanner).
Canada and Mexico
In Canada NASCAR races were seen on
TSN
TSN may refer to:
Science and technology
* Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function
* Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System
* The Science Netwo ...
and
RDS in English and French, while
Speed Channel Latin America held the rights in Mexico and all of Latin America, including the Bud Shootout, the Gatorade Duels and the Sprint All-Star Race.
Outside North America
Sky Sports held the rights in
Great Britain, while
Five US aired a one-hour highlights package preceding each race. In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
the 2008 Sprint Cup Series season was covered by Fox SPORTS as usual however,
Free-to-air TV TEN HD presented marquee events live along with one hour highlights packages from all other rounds the Saturday after the event. Ten HD also presented the entire Nationwide series season, marking the first time that a full NASCAR Championship was shown on Free-to-Air TV in Australia, mostly due to
Marcos Ambrose's involvement in the series.
NTV held the rights in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, while
Sky Italia held rights in
Italy (only
NNS NNS can stand for:
* New neoclassical synthesis (economics)
* NASCAR Nationwide Series (previous name of the NASCAR Xfinity Series)
* Nashville Number System (music)
* National Numeracy Strategy (UK education)
* Near Net Shape
* Nearest neig ...
) and
Premiere Sport held the
German rights. In
Spain,
Teledeporte broadcast six live races and hour-long summaries of the remaining thirty.
2008 competition changes
On January 21, 2008,
NASCAR announced various competition changes for the
2008 season.
Qualifying procedures
* In all three national series, teams that were not locked into the starting field via the Owners Points exemption qualified together as a group at the end of their respective qualifying sessions. This rule was dubbed "
The Boris Said Rule" as per what happened during qualifying for the
2007 Pepsi 400
The 2007 Pepsi 400 was the 18th race of the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season and held on July 7, 2007, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
It was the final race at Daytona named the Pepsi 400; beginning in 2008, the r ...
, where Said was the provisional pole sitter when rain washed out the remainder of qualifying, and rules required that all cars must attempt to make a lap before inclement weather stops all activities. The session was washed out, and Said did not make the field as the field was set by the rulebook (Top 35 in points among owners, past race winners and qualifying attempts).
Revisions to pit road rules
* Over-the-wall pit crews in NASCAR's three national series were able to hand push their car no more than three pit boxes away from their assigned pit box—limiting the crews to the same three-box length for pushing as the vehicles could drive through getting onto pit road.
* Outside tires that had been removed from a vehicle during a pit stop could no longer be free-rolled from the outside of the pit box to the wall. The tires were required to be hand-directed to the inner half of the pit box before being released.
Fuel cell size
* Only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ran the same upgraded gallon fuel cell which was used in the
2007 Nextel Cup Series. The fuel cell was a safety feature that was added that year, replacing the old 22-gallon cell while 22-gallon cell was retained for
NASCAR Nationwide Series and
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Engines
* A new engine combination package introduced in the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series allowed for cost-saving opportunities for teams. Modifications reduced RPMs and horsepower, which helped engines and pieces to last longer. In turn, teams had the opportunity to run multiple races using the same engine components.
Tire usage at non-sanctioned tests
* Teams in all three national series received an allotment of tires to use for non-NASCAR sanctioned tests. Cup Series teams had access to 200 tires over the course of the year (except for tests that were sanctioned by
Goodyear); Nationwide teams got 160 tires and Truck teams got 120 tires.
NASCAR fines
* Money collected from fines issued to drivers and others was remitted to th
NASCAR Foundation which supported a variety of charitable initiatives. Previously, fine money had been added to the season-ending point funds paid to drivers based on their finish in the point standings.
Testing
The first tests followed the change of the calendar at Daytona International Speedway in the first two full weeks of January. Teams that finished in odd numbered positions (1, 3, 5, etc.) through the
2007 USG Sheetrock 400
The 2007 USG Sheetrock 400 was the 19th race of the 2007 in NASCAR, 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nextel Cup Series season. It took place during daytime on July 15, 2007, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois with the broadcast airing on NA ...
tested January 7 through 9, while even numbered finishers (2, 4, 6, etc.) through that same period tested January 14 through 16. Speed televised nightly reports throughout this period, as well as the events of the annual Media Tour in Charlotte and the tests in Las Vegas (held on January 28 and 29th) and California (held on January 31 and February 1).
The remaining dates and tracks that were announced December 4, 2007 were:
* Phoenix International Raceway – March 3 and 4
* Pocono Raceway – May 27 and 28
* Lowe's Motor Speedway – September 23 and 24
On April 15, an additional practice session was announced by NASCAR at Lowe's to be held on May 5 and 6th due to problems that were unforeseen at both Las Vegas and Texas during their spring races.
2008 season races
Budweiser Shootout
The 2008 NASCAR season and the 2008 edition of
Speedweeks began with the thirtieth annual
Budweiser Shootout on February 9 at
Daytona International Speedway in
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal Resort town, resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population ...
. The non-points race, featured the previous season's pole winners and past winners of the event. Following tradition teams randomly picked their starting positions,
Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...
drew the pole, but ultimately had to start near the rear due to a crash in final practice. The 2008 race set a record with 23 drivers starting the race, the largest field ever in the event.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first NASCAR race with his new team
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...
and his first Sprint Cup Series win since May 2006 at Richmond, leading a record 47 of the 70 laps.
Daytona 500
Pole qualifying
Qualifying for the 2008
Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway took place on February 10 of that year.
Jimmie Johnson won the pole with
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 ...
starting second who had been the center of controversy during a
cheating scandal in
last year's race.
Gatorade Duels
The
Gatorade Duels were held on February 14, 2008, which established the starting order for the 2008 Daytona 500.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first race, with Darrell Waltrip waving the green flag, and the race was wreck free, while the second race was won by
Denny Hamlin driving a
Toyota, giving the Japanese manufacturer its first
Sprint Cup Series victory. The win also marked the first win by a foreign make since 1954, when
Al Keller won at
Linden Airport, driving a
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
.
Bill Elliott
William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...
driving the #21
Ford for
Wood Brothers Racing failed to race his way in during the first duel, this will be the first time the Wood Brothers team has not competed in NASCAR's signature event in 46 years. A wreck in the second race on lap 17 took out
Jacques Villeneuve,
Stanton Barrett,
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 ...
, and
Jamie McMurray after Villeneuve got loose in turn 3.
Daytona 500
The 50th annual running of the Daytona 500 was held on February 17, 2008, marking the 50th anniversary since the inaugural running in
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
.
Ryan Newman won the race with teammate
Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...
finishing second, it marked team owner
Roger Penske's first win on a restrictor-plate track. The win also ended Ryan Newman's 81 race winless drought in Sprint Cup Series racing.
Jeff Burton led during the last restart with 3 laps left and immediately lost the lead.
Tony Stewart led during the last lap but it was the
Penske Racing teammates of Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch who denied Stewart the win as he tried for the 10th time to win the race.
Auto Club 500
The 2008
Auto Club 500 was run on February 24 and February 25 due to rain at the newly renamed
Auto Club Speedway of Southern California
Next Gen California (formerly known as Auto Club Speedway), originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racin ...
(previously California Speedway) in
Fontana, California
Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional h ...
. Qualifying was canceled for the
Sprint Cup,
Nationwide and
Craftsman Truck Series after periods of rain showers fell for most of the day on Friday. As a result, the race lineup was determined by the NASCAR rule book. The race began on late Sunday afternoon but was red flagged and eventually postponed until Monday morning. Veteran NASCAR driver Mark Martin made his 700th Sprint Cup Series start. The first caution of the race was brought out when
Denny Hamlin lost control in turn 3 after running over some water that had seeps up through cracks in the track surface. The next caution involved a large wreck when
Casey Mears spun out in turn 2 after also running over water. The wreck collected Casey's teammate
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Reed Sorenson and
Sam Hornish Jr. were also involved. Hornish hit Sorenson's car causing his car's hood to come up and hit his windshield obscuring his vision leading him to rear end the back of Casey Mears' car causing Mears' car to tumble onto its side. The race was
red flagged as track workers cleaned up and tried to repair the water problem by cutting into the track. Drivers who were involved in early wrecks notably Earnhardt Jr. and Mears complained that NASCAR should not have started the race with water still seeping onto the track. Eventually a seventh caution for rain put the race on hold, at 11:00 PM
PT (2:00 AM
ET), NASCAR decided to postpone the remaining race laps until Monday morning at 10:00 AM PT (1:00 PM ET) due to seeping water on the track. When the race resumed, it was
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...
teammates
Jeff Gordon and
Jimmie Johnson leading the race until
Carl Edwards took the lead from Johnson to win his first race at Auto Club Speedway. The
Nationwide Series race was run one hour after the conclusion of the Sprint Cup race.
Failed to make race as qualifying was canceled due to rain:
Patrick Carpentier (#10),
Mike Skinner (#27),
Ken Schrader (#49),
A. J. Allmendinger (#84),
Burney Lamar
Burney Lamar (born August 21, 1980) is an American stock car racing driver. He has driven in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series.
Racing career
Lamar began racing go-karts at the age of 5 and won a total of 25 track cham ...
(#08)
UAW-Dodge 400
The
UAW-Dodge 400 was run on March 2 at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Kyle Busch, a
Las Vegas native, won the pole and led 56 laps in the race before slipping to 11th.
Matt Kenseth also ran strong during the race leading 70 laps and was running third with five laps to go when he was spun by
Jeff Gordon. Gordon's car hit hard against the inside retaining wall head on at 180 miles per hour, and the wall did not have a
SAFER barrier, this caused his car's
radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics.
A radiator is always a ...
to fly out from the chassis into the path of oncoming traffic. Kenseth was able to recover from the spin without hitting anything. The wreck brought a red flag on lap 264 as track workers cleaned up, Jeff Gordon walked away sore from the wreck and made the point that SAFER barriers should be installed to the inside walls.
Carl Edwards went on to win his second race in a row and the ninth of his career.
Following the race it was announced that the #99 car driven by Edwards had failed post-race inspection. On March 5, Edwards was docked 100 championship points with team owner
Jack Roush also docked 100 owner points. Carl Edwards' crew chief Bob Osbourne was fined $100,000 and suspended for six races until April 30. As the 99 team qualified for the
Chase for the Sprint Cup, the team did not receive 10 bonus points for the UAW-Dodge 400 victory used for determining the Chase seeding order.
Failed to qualify:
A. J. Allmendinger (#84),
Joe Nemechek (#78),
John Andretti (#34),
Johnny Sauter (#21; crashed on first lap)
''NOTE:
Burney Lamar
Burney Lamar (born August 21, 1980) is an American stock car racing driver. He has driven in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series.
Racing career
Lamar began racing go-karts at the age of 5 and won a total of 25 track cham ...
(#08) withdrew prior to qualifying.''
Kobalt Tools 500
The
Kobalt Tools 500 was held on March 9 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...
.
Jeff Gordon won the pole.
Carl Edwards had the car to beat along with
Kyle Busch, although Edwards' engine expired late in the race. Busch would go on to lead 173 laps and win the race.
Failed to qualify:
Ken Schrader (#49),
Bill Elliott
William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...
(#21),
Johnny Benson (#27),
John Andretti (#34),
Burney Lamar
Burney Lamar (born August 21, 1980) is an American stock car racing driver. He has driven in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series.
Racing career
Lamar began racing go-karts at the age of 5 and won a total of 25 track cham ...
(#08)
Food City 500
The
Food City 500 was held on March 16 at
Bristol Motor Speedway in
Bristol, Tennessee. Qualifying was canceled due to a day-long rain on March 14, and as a result, the field was set by NASCAR's rulebook, giving
Jimmie Johnson the 2007 series champion, the pole position.
Jeff Burton won the race after it was extended six laps due to the
green-white-checkered finish rule when
Denny Hamlin had fuel pump problems on the final restart. This was
1999 champion Dale Jarrett's final points race after 668 career starts.
''NOTE: Race extended six laps due to green-white-checkered finish.''
Failed to make race as qualifying was canceled due to rain:
Patrick Carpentier (#10),
Jeff Green (#21),
John Andretti (#34).
As a result of the standings after this race, two teams that were not in the Top-35 in owners points, the #83
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
Toyota Camry of
Brian Vickers and the #2
Miller Lite Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966.
The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version.
The Charger has ...
of
Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...
(owners points were given to the #77) were locked into the Top 35 after the first five races.
Goody's Cool Orange 500
The
Goody's Cool Orange 500 was held on March 30 at
Martinsville Speedway in
Ridgeway, Virginia.
Jeff Gordon won the pole.
Kyle Petty failed to make the race after
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 ...
tied with his qualifying time, due to the fact that Franchitti was 38th in owners points and Petty was 40th, marking the first time since 2004 that he failed to make a race.
Denny Hamlin won this race, the third for Toyota in Sprint Cup history. The race was notable for having 20 caution periods, the second most ever during a NASCAR Sprint Cup race; only the 22 cautions imposed at the 2005 Coca-Cola 600 has more.
Failed to qualify: Kyle Petty (#45),
Tony Raines (#08),
John Andretti (#34),
Joe Nemechek (#78)
Samsung 500
The
Samsung 500
The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Fort Worth, Texas. Even though it is advertised as a "500-mile" race, because TMS is a track that is in length, the actual race distance is ...
was held on April 6 at
Texas Motor Speedway in
Fort Worth, Texas.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the pole. The race was won by
Carl Edwards who started 2nd and led 123 laps. The major story of the race weekend was
Michael McDowell's near head-on crash during qualifying after he lost control heading into turn 1 on his second lap. McDowell's car slammed into the turn 1
SAFER barrier and spun upside down for several hundred yards before the car began a series of at least eight barrel rolls, coming to rest at the bottom of the race track near the infield. McDowell exited the car and was ok. Qualifying was delayed 1 hour and 12 minutes as NASCAR officials assessed and repaired damage to the SAFER barrier.
''NOTES: 1. Race extended five laps due to a
green-white-checkered finish.''
''2. During post race inspection
Ryan Newman's #12 car was found to be one-eighth of an inch higher beyond the allotted half-inch tolerance. As a result, Newman and car owner
Roger Penske were penalized 25 championship driver and 25 championship owner points, respectively. Crew chief Roy McCauley was fined $25,000 and placed on
probation until December 31.''
Failed to qualify:
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 ...
(#40),
Chad McCumbee
Chad McCumbee (born October 15, 1984) is an American stock car racing driver. He currently drives in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and has run four full seasons in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He is also known for his portray ...
(#45),
Burney Lamar
Burney Lamar (born August 21, 1980) is an American stock car racing driver. He has driven in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series.
Racing career
Lamar began racing go-karts at the age of 5 and won a total of 25 track cham ...
(#08)
Subway Fresh Fit 500
The
Subway Fresh Fit 500
The United Rentals Work United 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held annually at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona since 2005. It is one of two Cup Series races at the track, the other being the Season Finale 500. Cha ...
was held on April 12 at
Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
in
Avondale, Arizona
Avondale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 89,334, up from 76,238 in 2010 and 35,883 in 2000.
Avondale, incorporated in 1946, has experienced rapid ...
.
Ryan Newman won the pole. Coverage of the pre-race was interrupted when
Fox switched over to cover the remaining Yankees-Red Sox baseball game.
Jimmie Johnson won the race by not
pitting
Pitting corrosion, or pitting, is a form of extremely localized corrosion that leads to the random creation of small holes in metal. The driving power for pitting corrosion is the depassivation of a small area, which becomes anodic (oxidation re ...
for fuel during the last laps. The win marked
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...
' first win of the 2008 season.
Failed to qualify:
Kyle Petty (#45),
John Andretti (#34)
Aaron's 499
The
Aaron's 499 was held April 27 at
Talladega Superspeedway in
Talladega, Alabama. The race marked the one-quarter mark of the season.
Joe Nemechek won the pole.
David Stremme substituted 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 ...
, who fractured his left ankle in a hard crash during the
Nationwide Series Aaron's 312 race. Kyle Busch won the race after leading only 12 laps. The race featured only eight cautions. Most of those cautions were results of one or two car incidents. However, the last caution was a result of the "Big One" that occurred in the final moments of the race. Because the crash occurred after the white flag had been waved, the race was allowed to finish under caution.
Failed to qualify:
Dave Blaney (#22),
J. J. Yeley
Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J. J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 13 and 66 cars for MBM Motorsports and part-time in ...
(#96),
John Andretti (#34)
Crown Royal presents the Dan Lowry 400
The
Crown Royal presents the Dan Lowry 400 was held on May 3 at
Richmond International Raceway in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
.
Denny Hamlin won the pole and went on to lead 381 of the 400 laps. However, a leaking right-front tire caused him to fall back with 18 laps left. It then appeared that
Dale Earnhardt Jr. whose last Sprint Cup win came at this race two years ago, would be able to win the race and end his winless streak. However Kyle Busch recovered from a restart failure and drove after Earnhardt Jr. With 5 laps left, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. got side by side and Earnhardt Jr. crashed with 3 laps left. The caution flew and the fans were angry with Kyle Busch even though it was clear and obvious that Busch was not at fault; and that he and Earnhardt Jr. were just plain, cleanly racing and refusing to lose. Earnhardt Jr. himself said on the radio and in the post-race ceremonies that Busch was not at fault but nonetheless the fans jeered Busch for the rest of the race and in the days that followed.
Meanwhile, at the time of the contact RCR driver
Clint Bowyer caught up with the two leaders and stole the lead from Kyle Busch. On the final restart Clint Bowyer drove off for his second NSCS victory while Kyle Busch fought Mark Martin for second place. It was Bowyer's last win in NASCAR while numbered as 07, and this win brought Chevrolet to winning the most NASCAR wins in history.
The other big story of the race was that Michael Waltrip was parked by NASCAR. With 46 laps left a caution flew when Casey Mears crashed. It was seen that Waltrip's hood was locked on Mears' rear and Waltrip was trying frantically to crash Mears. The hits caused Casey Mears to crash and bring out the yellow. Prior to the hits with Casey, Waltrip had hit the wall because of Casey's racing moves. NASCAR instantly parked Michael Waltrip causing Waltrip to face his first disqualification of his career.
''NOTE: Race was extended by eight laps due to
green-white-checker finish.''
Failed to qualify:
Ken Schrader (#40),
Scott Wimmer (#33),
Jon Wood (#21),
John Andretti (#34)
Dodge Challenger 500
The
Dodge Challenger 500 was run May 10 at the newly repaved
Darlington Raceway in
Darlington, South Carolina.
Greg Biffle
Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing Team and full-time in the ...
won the pole, breaking
Ward Burton's long standing pole speed by , mostly due to the repaved surface on the track.
Kyle Busch was the winner of the race. this would be the last race under the "Dodge Challenger 500" name; next year the race will return to the original name of the
Southern 500.
Failed to qualify:
Johnny Sauter (#70),
Jeff Green (#34)
Sprint All-Star Race XXIV
Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the Sprint Showdown were both held on May 17 at
Lowe's Motor Speedway in the
Charlotte, North Carolina suburb of
Concord. This non-points race involved winners of the
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
and 2008 season, along with past Sprint Cup champions and All-Star Race winners from the past decade (1998 through 2007) plus the top two finishing drivers of the Sprint Showdown and a driver voted in by fans from the Showdown whose car had to be raceable. On the line was
$1,000,000 in prize money for the winner.
Kasey Kahne finished fifth in the Showdown and was voted into the All-Star event and went onto capture the victory, becoming the third driver to qualify from the preliminary race and win the main event and the first chosen by the fan vote to do the same. The only cautions the race had was after all 4 segments ended which was 4 cautions.
Sprint Showdown
All-Star Race
Coca-Cola 600
NASCAR's longest race in terms of distance, the
Coca-Cola 600 was run on May 25 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte.
Kyle Busch won the
pole.
Tony Stewart led the race in the final laps after making a pit stop for fuel only, but with three laps remaining Stewart blew a tire giving the lead to
Kasey Kahne who was running five seconds behind. Kahne and
Greg Biffle
Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing Team and full-time in the ...
finished first and second respectively for the second week in a row. Kahne became the first driver to win the Coca-Cola 600 and the
All-Star Race in the same year since
Jimmie Johnson in
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
, and the sixth overall.
Failed to qualify:
Jeff Green (#34),
Stanton Barrett (#50),
Jon Wood (#21),
Joe Nemechek (#78),
Tony Raines (#08)
Best Buy 400
The
Best Buy 400 was held on June 1 at
Dover International Speedway in
Dover, Delaware
Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...
.
Greg Biffle
Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing Team and full-time in the ...
won the
pole. A wreck on lap 17 ruined the day for championship contenders
Tony Stewart,
Kevin Harvick,
Denny Hamlin,
Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
Clint Bowyer, and
Kasey Kahne. The wreck occurred when
Elliott Sadler made slight contact with
David Gilliland, Sadler's car spun out and blocked traffic down the narrow backstretch. Polesitter Greg Biffle dominated the early laps leading 164 of them. Although an alternator problem on lap 170 forced Biffle to relinquish his lead to teammate
Carl Edwards. Biffle switched batteries and kept going, although he was forced to leave the cooling fans off inside his car. In the final 153 laps there were no cautions allowing
Kyle Busch to build a lead over 8 seconds to second place runner Carl Edwards. Busch took the lead from Edwards during green-flag pit stops that ended on lap 237.
NASCAR.com: Early Dover wreck ruins day for nearly half of top 12
/ref> Only the top six cars managed to stay on the lead lap.
Failed to qualify: Jason Leffler (#70), Chad McCumbee
Chad McCumbee (born October 15, 1984) is an American stock car racing driver. He currently drives in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and has run four full seasons in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He is also known for his portray ...
(#45)
Pocono 500
The Pocono 500 was held on June 8 at Pocono Raceway
Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...
in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Kasey Kahne won the pole, he went on to win the race. Starting with Pocono TNT started its six race broadcast schedule. Kyle Busch qualified tenth but in the second practice hit the wall and started from the back. He finished dead last after a crash with Jamie McMurray, but had a big enough cushion in the standings to remain in first place over Jeff Burton by 21 points.
Failed to qualify: J. J. Yeley
Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J. J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 13 and 66 cars for MBM Motorsports and part-time in ...
(#96)
''NOTE: Tony Raines (#34) withdrew before the qualifying session.''
LifeLock 400
The LifeLock 400 was held on June 15 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Qualifying was cancelled because of rain after twelve drivers took times, and the field was set by the NASCAR rulebook. With a green-white-checkered finish extending the race, and fuel economy usage, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first points paying race in 76 attempts in the first win by a driver from North Carolina in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race since October 2006 at Talladega when Brian Vickers won; ironically, Vickers won for Earnhardt's new team, Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...
. It also marked the first time a Chevrolet has gone to victory lane in the last 14 Sprint Cup races there.
Failed to make race as qualifying was cancelled due to rain: Jason Leffler (#70), Tony Raines (#34).
''NOTES: 1. Race extended three laps due to green-white-checkered finish.
2. The #87 Denver Mattress car driven by Kenny Wallace as well as the #08 car without a driver were withdrawn earlier in the week.''
Toyota/Save Mart 350
The first of two road course races on the schedule, the Toyota/Save Mart 350, was raced at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California on Sunday, June 22. Kasey Kahne won the pole, but Kyle Busch dominated the field again starting from the 30th position and winning. Marcos Ambrose made his NASCAR debut. He started in 7th but finished in 42nd
Failed to qualify: J. J. Yeley
Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J. J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 13 and 66 cars for MBM Motorsports and part-time in ...
(#96), Scott Riggs (#70), 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 ...
(#40), Brandon Ash (#02)
''NOTE: Race was extended by two laps due to green-white-checkered finish.''
Lenox Industrial Tools 301
The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 was raced on Sunday, June 29 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. The big surprise was sprung in qualifying when following a rain delay of nearly two hours, Québécois Patrick Carpentier won the pole position over Bobby Labonte. Another big surprise was when Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...
won the race, curtailed 17 laps shy of the scheduled distance as severe thunderstorms hit the area under the seventh and final caution.
''NOTE: Race was cut short to 283 laps due to rain.''
Failed to qualify: Marcos Ambrose (#21), Tony Raines (#34)
Coke Zero 400
The Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola was held on July 5 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Martin Truex Jr.'s car was seized by NASCAR, after the roof template would not fit during opening day technical inspection. Penalties of 150 owner and driver points penalties and a $100,000 fine along with his crew chief and his assistant (car chief) were both suspended for six races being announced on July 8. Paul Menard won the pole, the first of his Sprint Cup career. Tony Stewart became extremely ill on lap 73 and was replaced by former teammate J. J. Yeley
Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J. J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 13 and 66 cars for MBM Motorsports and part-time in ...
. Kyle Busch won his sixth race of the season and the tenth of his career.
''NOTE: Race was extended two laps under a green-white-checkered finish.''
Failed to qualify: Scott Riggs (#66), J. J. Yeley
Christopher Beltram Hernandez "J. J." Yeley (born October 5, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the Nos. 13 and 66 cars for MBM Motorsports and part-time in ...
(#96)
LifeLock.com 400
The second half of the season began with the LifeLock.com 400
The Camping World 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held annually at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, Joliet, Illinois, from 2001 to 2019. Previously, the race was held in July from 2001 through 2010, with nig ...
, held under the lights for the first time on July 12 at Chicagoland Speedway in the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Joilet. It also served as the conclusion of TNT's Summer Series schedule. Qualifying was cancelled due to rain, so the field was set by NASCAR's rulebook. Points leader Kyle Busch won his seventh race of the season.
Failed to make race as qualifying was cancelled due to rain: Johnny Sauter (#08) and Tony Raines (#34).
Allstate 400 at The Brickyard
The Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, kicking off ESPN and ABC's portion of the schedule, was run on July 27 at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
in the Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
suburb of Speedway, Indiana. Jimmie Johnson won the pole and then the race, which was slowed by nine out of eleven competition cautions because of extreme tire wear.
Failed to qualify: Bill Elliott
William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...
(#21), Johnny Sauter (#08), Tony Raines (#34), Stanton Barrett (#50)
Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
The Unannounced Sponsor Pocono Cup race is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Starting in 2022, it is the only Cup Series race at the track after the other Cup Series race at Pocono, the Poco ...
was held on August 3 of this year at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. For the second straight week, Jimmie Johnson won the pole, but this time, it was Carl Edwards getting the win.
Failed to qualify: Chad Chaffin (#34).
Centurion Boats at The Glen
The Centurion Boats at The Glen
Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Cup Series have taken place at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on the road course annually since 1986. Since 2018 the 90-lap, race has been known as Go Bowling at The Glen for sponsorsh ...
, the second and final road course race of the season, was held on August 10 at Watkins Glen International in the New York village of said racetrack. Qualifying was canceled due to rain, and the field was set by the rulebook. Kyle Busch swept both road races with his eighth Cup win and sixteenth overall in all three major series, and clinched the top position in the Chase for the Cup.
Failed to make race as qualifying was cancelled due to rain: Boris Said (#60) and Brian Simo (#34).
3M Performance 400
The 3M Performance 400
The NASCAR Cup Series has held stock car races annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and another in August. The A ...
was held August 19 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Team Red Bull
Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, was a NASCAR team owned by Red Bull founders Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. The team was based in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and was managed by Jay Frye. The te ...
's first pole position was earned by Brian Vickers in qualifying. A veritable parade of Roush Fenway Racing was led by race winner Carl Edwards, as four of the top five were all from the RFR stable and all five made the top ten.
Failed to qualify: Johnny Sauter (#08).
Sharpie 500
The Sharpie 500 was held August 23 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Carl Edwards, the defending race champion, would start on the pole and in the process, wrapped up a position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He then would go on to win the race, but on-track fireworks ensued afterwards when runner up Kyle Busch, whom Edwards would pass with 30 laps to go on a bump and run, bumped Edwards on the cooldown lap. Edwards then turned Busch.
Failed to qualify: Jeff Green (#34), Johnny Sauter (#08), Patrick Carpentier (#10), Stanton Barrett (#50).
Pepsi 500
The Pepsi 500 was held on August 31 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. As part of the 2009 NASCAR realignment, this became the final race to be held here on Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
weekend. In 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
, this race becomes part of the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup
The 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup was the ten-race playoff that determined the champion of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, contested among the top twelve drivers following the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 on September 12 at Richmond International Ra ...
, taking over the spot occupied for the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway, and was to have concluded ESPN's portion of the television schedule. Jimmie Johnson took the pole position, and dominated the race to win.
Failed to qualify: Tony Raines (#70).
Chevy Rock & Roll 400
The final "regular season" race, the Chevy Rock and Roll 400, was scheduled to have been held on Saturday, September 6 at Richmond International Raceway in Henrico County, Virginia. However, Tropical Storm Hanna The name Hanna or Hannah has been used for eleven tropical cyclones worldwide: five in the Atlantic Ocean and six in the Western Pacific Ocean (four regionally in the Philippines by PAGASA). The latter spelling has also been used for one extratropic ...
forced a postponement to Sunday, September 7 in the afternoon and television was moved from ABC to ESPN due to prior commitments to carry an WNBA game and an IndyCar Series race from Chicago, Illinois. This race set the field for the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup
The 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup was contested in the final ten races of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to determine a champion. The Chase began with the Sylvania 300 on September 14, 2008 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and ended with the Ford ...
with the top 12 drivers becoming eligible, and having their points reset to 5,000 with a ten-point bonus for each win they earned in the first 26 races of the season. As Hanna canceled qualifying for the race, the field was set by rulebook.
Failed to make race as qualifying was canceled due to rain: Joey Logano (#02), Sterling Marlin (#09), Tony Raines (#34).
Drivers in green made Chase for Sprint Cup.
Chase for the Sprint Cup
Sylvania 300
The first race of the 2008 Chase, and the 27th race of the season, the Sylvania 300, was run September 14 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Qualifying was canceled due to rain, so for the second week in a row, NASCAR's rulebook set the field. While Kyle Busch suffered mechanical problems with a bad sway bar, Greg Biffle won his first race since last October. Joey Logano made his NASCAR debut, finishing 32nd
Failed to make race as qualifying was canceled due to rain: Tony Raines (#34) and Carl Long (#46).
''NOTE: The #02 car, which was to have been driven by Joey Logano was withdrawn as he was entered in the #96 ride.''
Camping World RV 400
The Camping World RV 400, the second race in the 2008 Chase and the 28th race overall, was run September 21 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. Jeff Gordon won his third pole of the season, but it was Greg Biffle winning his second straight race.
Failed to qualify: Chad Chaffin (#34), Johnny Sauter (#08), Stanton Barrett (#50).
Camping World RV 400 presented by Coleman
The Camping World RV 400 presented by Coleman, the third race in the Chase and the 29th overall this season, is scheduled for September 28 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of the ...
. Juan Pablo Montoya won his first NSCS pole for this race, however, he was disqualified and placed in the back of the field because of illegal shock absorbers
A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most sh ...
that exceeded the maximum allowed by NASCAR, and Jimmie Johnson, who was second, was awarded the pole and went on to win the race.
Failed to qualify: Michael McDowell (#00), Johnny Sauter (#08).
AMP Energy 500
The AMP Energy 500, the fourth race in the 2008 Chase and the 30th overall in the season, was held on October 5 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Tony Stewart won the race, his first victory of the 2008 season, ending a winless streak of 43 races. Travis Kvapil pulled off a "Talladega Surprise" and won the pole position. In a race that saw a record 64 lead changes among 28 drivers, Regan Smith
The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' " ...
crossed the finish line in first place. However, he was dropped to 18th place (the last position on the lead lap) for illegally passing eventual winner Stewart in the tri-oval by driving below the yellow line on the inside of the track, which is prohibited at restrictor plate tracks. This race will be moved to November 1, 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
as part of the 2009 NASCAR Schedule Realignment and the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway
Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...
will be run in this spot next season.
Failed to qualify: Patrick Carpentier (#10) Sam Hornish Jr. (#77).
''NOTES: 1. The #08 car, which was to have been driven by Boris Said, was withdrawn earlier in the week.
2. Race extended two laps due to green-white-checker finish rule.''
Bank of America 500
The Bank of America 500, the sole night race on the Chase schedule which marks its halfway point and the 31st overall race of the season, was held Saturday night, October 11 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Charlotte, North Carolina suburb of Concord. Qualifying was cancelled due to rain and the field was set by the rulebook for the eighth time this season. Jimmie Johnson was the polesitter, while Jeff Burton won the race and became a contender in the 2008 Chase once again.
Failed to make race as qualifying was cancelled due to rain: Brad Keselowski (#25), Bryan Clauson (#40), Derrike Cope (#75), Scott Speed
Scott Andrew Speed (born January 24, 1983) is an American race car driver who has competed in numerous disciplines, including open-wheel, stock car, and rallycross racing.
In , Speed became the first American driver to race in Formula One since ...
(#82).
Tums QuikPak 500
The Tums QuikPak 500
The Xfinity 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. The race is traditionally held in the fall and has been run in every NASCAR Cup Series season, starting with the sixth event in the inaug ...
, race number six in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and the 32nd overall race of the season, was held on October 19 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Qualifying was cancelled due to rain, and the field was set by the rulebook for a record ninth time this season. Jimmie Johnson was the winner.
''NOTE: Race extended four laps due to green-white-checker finish rule.''
Failed to make race as qualifying was cancelled due to rain: Sterling Marlin (#09), Derrike Cope (#75).
Following the race at NASCAR's Research and Development Center, an inspection found that Team Red Bull
Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, was a NASCAR team owned by Red Bull founders Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. The team was based in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and was managed by Jay Frye. The te ...
's #83 Toyota, driven by Brian Vickers, had sheet metal that was thinner than required. As a result, crew chief Kevin Hamlin and car chief Craig Smokstad were suspended indefinitely, Hamlin was fined $100,000 and the team lost 150 owner and driver points.
Pep Boys Auto 500
The Pep Boys
Pep Boys is an American automotive aftermarket service chain. Originally named Pep Auto Supply, the company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921 by Emanuel (Manny) Rosenfeld, Emanuel "Manny" Rosenfeld, Maurice "Moe" Strauss, Jack J ...
Auto 500, the seventh race in the Chase and the 33rd overall event this season, was scheduled to be raced on Sunday, October 26 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. As part of the 2009 schedule realignment, the race will be run in 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
on Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
weekend and be replaced in the Chase schedule by the Pepsi 500 in Fontana, California
Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional h ...
while the date for this race will be used to run the AMP Energy 500 in Talladega, Alabama. For the third consecutive race and 10th overall this season, qualifying was cancelled because of rain, which meant Jimmie Johnson would be on the pole as NASCAR's rulebook set the field once again. Carl Edwards won his 7th race of the season.
Failed to make race as qualifying was cancelled due to rain: Joey Logano (#02), Bryan Clauson (#40)
''NOTE: The #08 car, which was to have been driven by Johnny Sauter, was withdrawn earlier in the week.''
Dickies 500
The Dickies 500
The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The inaugural race took place on November 6, 2005. The race has always started in the late aft ...
, the third-to-last race in the Chase and the season (race eight in the Chase and race 34 in the overall season) was held on November 2 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Jeff Gordon won his fourth pole of the year and his first at the track. Carl Edwards won his second consecutive race at the track making it his eighth win of the season. Brad Keselowski made his NASCAR debut, finishing 19th
Failed to qualify: Johnny Sauter (#08), Max Papis (#13), Bryan Clauson (#40), Chad McCumbee
Chad McCumbee (born October 15, 1984) is an American stock car racing driver. He currently drives in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and has run four full seasons in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He is also known for his portray ...
(#45), Tony Raines (#70)
Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
The Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, serving as the penultimate Chase (ninth) and season (35th) race, was held on Sunday, November 9, at Phoenix International Raceway
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
in Avondale, Arizona
Avondale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 89,334, up from 76,238 in 2010 and 35,883 in 2000.
Avondale, incorporated in 1946, has experienced rapid ...
. Jimmie Johnson increase his Championship lead by winning the race and leading the majority of it. The race was delayed for just over an hour due to a light rain shower at lap 44, and a 9 car pileup on lap 273.
''NOTE: Race extended one lap due to green-white-checker finish rule.''
Failed to qualify: Joe Nemechek (#78)
Ford 400
The 2008 season and Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship ended at Homestead, Florida's Homestead-Miami Speedway with the final race of the season, the Ford 400 on November 16, 2008. Carl Edwards won his ninth race of the season. Also, after 14 straight seasons with at least one victory from 1994 to 2007, Jeff Gordon failed to keep his winning streak alive in 2008. It would be first time that he didn't win a race since his rookie year in 1993. His 14-season winning streak of at least one race came to a total of 81 wins. His best finish in the 2008 season was 2nd place twice (Martinsville in March, and Texas in November).
Failed to qualify: Max Papis (#13) Sam Hornish Jr. (#77), Ken Schrader (#96)
Results and standings
Drivers' championship
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) Bold - Pole position awarded by time. ''Italics'' - Pole position set by owner's points standings. * – Most laps led.
Deductions
The following drivers (and teams) were penalized both drivers and owners points for violations:
* Carl Edwards (#99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford) – 100 points plus 10 bonus points entering the 2008 Chase – Las Vegas (A post-race inspection found opened oil tank lid after UAW-Dodge 400.)
* Ryan Newman (#12 Penske Racing Dodge) – 25 points – Texas (Car was " higher than " tolerance following Samsung 500.)
* Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter (#66 and #70 CNC Haas Chevrolets) – 150 points each – Charlotte (Illegal adjustments of wings on both cars; they drove their backup cars in Coca-Cola 600.)
* Martin Truex Jr. (#1 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet) – 150 points – Daytona (Roof on primary car failed inspection prior to Coke Zero 400; drove a backup car.)
* Brian Vickers (#83 Team Red Bull Toyota) – 150 points – Martinsville (A post-race inspection at NASCAR's R&D center found that the car had thinner sheet metal violated the rules following the Tums QuikPak 500.)
Robby Gordon was originally docked 100 points following the Daytona 500 for use of an illegal nose on his car; however, on March 5, the points were given back to his drivers and owners points total, but the team was fined $150,000 instead of $100,000 for said infraction.
Manufacturers' Championship
Chevrolet won the NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship with 11 wins and 219 points for the season, over second place Ford who also had 11 wins, but only 215 points. Toyota finished third with 207 points, and Dodge fourth with 151 points.
Rookie of the Year
The primary contenders for the Rookie title were Regan Smith
The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' " ...
and former Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr. Smith became the first rookie driver to complete all races entered and nearly won the fall race at Talladega. Hornish meanwhile struggled to quickly adapt to stock cars but finished 7 points behind Smith. Canadian Patrick Carpentier missed the Daytona 500 but won the pole at New Hampshire. Road racer Michael McDowell ran 20 races for Michael Waltrip Racing
Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company was as a 50–50 partnership betwe ...
. 2007 Indianapolis 500
The 91st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 2007. It was the twelfth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and marked the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season. Héli ...
winner 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 ...
managed to run the first 8 races before an injury during the Talladega Nationwide Series race, coupled with owner Chip Ganassi shutting down the No. 40 team, ended Franchitti's bid.
See also
* 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series
The 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series began on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway with the Camping World 300, and ended on November 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 300. This was the first season in which NASCAR's second-tie ...
* 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
The 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the fourteenth season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the third highest stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. It was contested over twenty-five races, beginning with the Che ...
* 2008 NASCAR Camping World East Series
The 2008 NASCAR Camping World East Series was the 22nd season of the Camping World East Series, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR. The season began on April 19, 2008, at Greenville-Pickens Speedway with the An American R ...
* 2008 NASCAR Camping World West Series
The 2008 NASCAR Camping World West Series was the 55th season of Camping World West Series, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR. It began with the Toyota/NAPA Auto Care 150 at All-American Speedway on March 29, 2008, and con ...
* 2008 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
The 2008 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series was an exciting season of racing and the second season of the series. Scott Steckly, who dominated many events He won three of the first four events of the year fought off a late season charge from Thomson Jr. ...
* 2008 NASCAR Corona Series
The 2008 NASCAR Corona Series was the fifth season of NASCAR-sanctioned stock car racing in Mexico.
Drivers
Schedule
Results and standings
Races
Standings
(key)
;The top 10
See also
*2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
*2008 NASCAR Na ...
* 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup
The 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup was contested in the final ten races of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to determine a champion. The Chase began with the Sylvania 300 on September 14, 2008 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and ended with the Ford ...
* List of NASCAR all-time cup winners
The following is a list compiling the total number of career victories in NASCAR Cup Series competition. The list recognizes "Cup" victories under the following auspices:
* Strictly Stock (1949)
*Grand National Series (1950–1970)
*Winston Cup ...
* 2008 in sports
2008 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
American football
* Super Bowl XLII – the New York Giants (NFC) won 17–14 over the heavily favored New England Patriots (AFC)
**Location: University of Phoenix Stadium
**Attendance: ...
External links
NASCAR Radio Scanner
Racing-Reference.info
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Nascar Sprint Cup Series
NASCAR Cup Series seasons