The 2008 Pep Boys Auto 500, is the thirty-third race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the third to the last race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

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 was held on October 26 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 ...

in Hampton, Georgia.

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

will carry the race beginning at 1 PM US EDT and Performance Racing Network along with Sirius Satellite Radio will have radio coverage starting at that same time. This race will be the last at this track in the current Chase format as they will swap this date for the

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 date as a night race with

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 ...

, and the Southern California track assuming the Chase date 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 ...

Pre-race News

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 was slapped with a very stiff penalty after last week's race at Martinsville. After a post-race inspection at NASCAR's Research and Development center discovered that the sheet metal used was illegal after being lightened to below minimum gauge, NASCAR penalized crew chief Kevin Hamlin with an indefinite suspension and a US $100,000 fine (donated to the NASCAR Foundation.) The stock car racing body also gave an indefinite suspension to car chief Craig Smokstad, and deducted 150 owners and drivers points from the team. It had been speculated the metal had been dipped in acid, but NASCAR and Vickers denied it. (Normally, such an infraction would be a six-week suspension, but only four races remained;

Ryan Pemberton Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

was named permanent crew chief for the #83 team for 2009.) *

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 ...

will make his 1,000th NASCAR start (all national and regional series; was the 1983 Baby Grand National (4-cylinder) Champion) in this race. * Kyle Petty will make his 850th career start.

Qualifying

*Qualifying was rained out for the 10th time this season, which is a new record. Because of the cancellation, points leader Jimmie Johnson will start on the pole as per the NASCAR rule book. It also marks the third consecutive time that the field will be lined up according to the points standings. Failed to make race as qualifying was canceled due to rain: Joey Logano (#02), Bryan Clauson (#40).
''NOTE: The #08 car, to have been driven by Johnny Sauter was withdrawn earlier in the week.''

References

{{2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup

Pep Boys Auto 500 The Ambetter Health 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. William Byron is the defending race winner. This race was originally Atlanta's second race of the season and was run as a late-se ...

NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway October 2008 sports events in the United States