2008 UAW-Dodge 400
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The 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 was the third 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 ...
. It was held on March 2, 2008, before a crowd of 153,000 in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Nevada, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, an intermediate track that holds
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
races. The 267-lap race was won by Carl Edwards of the Roush Fenway Racing team, who started from second position.
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 ...
driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second and Edwards's teammate
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 ...
was third.
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 ...
, the pre-race Drivers' Championship leader over Ryan Newman, won the
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
with the fastest overall lap time in the qualifying session. Busch led the first twenty laps until he was passed by Edwards. He held the lead until the first green-flag
pit stops In auto racing, motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed ...
and regained the position after the stops ended. Busch retook the lead on lap 81 and held it until he was passed by Matt Kenseth.
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
took over the lead on lap 163, before Earnhardt became the leader on the 181st lap and maintained this position until Edwards regained it 14 laps later. The race was stopped for 17 minutes when Gordon crashed on lap 262, and car parts were strewn into the path of other drivers, requiring officials to clean the track. Edwards maintained the lead at the restart and held it to win the race. There were 11 cautions and 19 lead changes by nine different drivers during the race. It was the second victory in succession that was achieved by Edwards over the course of the season, and the ninth of his career. He was later issued with a 100-
point Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...
penalty after his car was found to violate NASCAR regulations, dropping him from first to seventh in the Drivers' Championship. Kyle Busch increased his lead over Ryan Newman to twenty points as a consequence. Ford took over the lead of the Manufacturers' Championship, five points ahead of
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
.
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
moved clear of
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
in third place, with 33 races left in the season. The race attracted 12.1 million television viewers.


Background

The UAW-Dodge 400 was the third out of 36 scheduled stock car races 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 ...
. It ran for a total of 267 laps over a distance of , and was held on March 2, 2008, in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Nevada, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, an intermediate track that holds
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
races. The standard track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a four-turn oval. Its turns are banked at 20 degrees and both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch are banked at 9 degrees. Before the race,
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 ...
led the Drivers' Championship with 335
points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...
, six points ahead of Ryan Newman in second and nineteen points over
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...
in third.
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 ...
and Carl Edwards were fourth and fifth, respectively, and Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick,
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
,
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 ...
,
Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...
, Brian Vickers, and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top 12. In the Manufacturers' Championship,
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
and Ford were tied for the lead with 12 points each; their rivals
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
and
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
were tied for third place with 10 points each. Johnson was the race's defending champion. In preparation for the race, NASCAR held the second of its two preseason tests for Sprint Cup entrants on January 28–29 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sessions began at 9:00 am Eastern Standard Time (EST), paused from 12:00 to 1:00 pm, and concluded at 5:00 pm Sixty-seven cars participated in the January 28 morning session; Denny Hamlin was quickest with a top speed of , while Kyle Busch was quickest in the afternoon session, with a top speed of . Several incidents occurred during the second session;
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'' " ...
spun leaving turn two and damaged his car's nose after hitting the inside wall; Sam Hornish Jr. heavily damaged his car after scraping the wall hard; and
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 ...
heavily damaged his Dodge's rear after spinning.
Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various ot ...
spun, but did not damage his car;
David Ragan David Lee Ragan (born December 24, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing, and is also an analyst for NASCAR on Fox ...
wrecked after spinning off turn two; and Mark Martin damaged the front of his vehicle when he hit a concrete piling after swerving to avoid a tow truck. During the third session with 74 cars, Edwards had the fastest speed of , and Burton damaged the right side of his car after hitting the wall. Juan Pablo Montoya recorded the fastest speed of the two days, at in the fourth and final session. Edwards was looking forward to the race weekend, and felt his result would be good. Biffle was confident he could secure a top-five finishing position, and stated if his car's handling were good, he believed he could be in contention for winning the race. Having won twice at the track in the early 2000s, Kenseth said he enjoyed racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and hoped the Roush Fenway Racing cars would be able to contend for race victories. Johnson was considered by some bookmakers as the favorite to win the race, and in the event he succeeded, he would have become the first person to secure four consecutive victories in a NASCAR Cup Series racing event since Jeff Gordon won the Southern 500 four times between 1995 and 1998. He said it would be "great" if he took the victory, but would not approach the event differently from at a track where he had not won a race. One change of driver happened before the race.
Jon Wood Jonathan Wood (born October 25, 1981) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He is the grandson of Glen Wood, one of the famous Wood Brothers who founded what has become the NASCAR Cup Series' longest continuously active t ...
, the grandson of retired driver
Glen Wood Glenn Alexandria Wood (July 18, 1925 – January 18, 2019) was an American NASCAR driver from Stuart, Virginia. Early life He and brother Leonard Wood co-founded the legendary Wood Brothers Racing team in 1953, and won four races over an elev ...
, was originally scheduled to replace
1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 40th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 17th modern-era Cup series. The season began on February 7 at Daytona International Speedway and ended on November 20 at the Atla ...
champion
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 ...
in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing car, but withdrew because of a lack of experience with the
Car of Tomorrow The Car of Tomorrow (abbreviated as CoT) was the common name used for the chassis of the NASCAR Cup Series (2007 –2012) and Xfinity Series (since 2011 full-time) race cars. The car was part of a five-year project to create a safer vehicle ...
, and former Haas CNC Racing driver Johnny Sauter took over his seat. Wood said he felt Sauter was a better qualifier when Elliott was not available to drive. Kahne developed a sinus infection two days before the event, and his team had Nationwide Series driver
Jason Keller Jason Keller (born April 23, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing driver. Previously, he was a mainstay in NASCAR's second-tier series, competing in 519 Nationwide Series races between 1991 and 2010. On May 15, 2010, Keller made his ...
ready to replace him if he could not compete.


Practice and qualifier

Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race, one on Friday and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, the second 45 minutes and the third 60 minutes. In the first practice session, Kyle Busch was fastest with a time of 30.009 seconds;
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
, Johnson, Stewart, David Reutimann, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Edwards,
Elliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...
, Kurt Busch, and Jeremy Mayfield rounded out the session's top-10 fastest drivers. Hornish made contact with the turn-two barrier, while Reed Sorenson and Patrick Carpentier spun in turn four, but avoided damaging their cars. Montoya switched to a back-up car after heavily colliding with the turn-two wall, and Bobby Labonte did the same after he lost control in turn four and damaged his left-rear quarter. Kahne made light contact with the turn-four wall, and the car was repaired by his team. Forty-seven drivers entered qualifying on Friday afternoon. Due to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, 43 could race. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitors' fastest times. Drivers who recorded their lap times early in the session were at an advantage because the track was cooler, and thus the air was more dense and the track gave more grip. Edwards felt his car had oversteer during his run. Kyle Busch won the third pole position of his career with a time of 29.613 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by Edwards, who was 0.125 seconds slower and had the pole position until Kyle Busch's lap. Martin qualified third, Gordon fourth, and Mike Skinner fifth. Biffle, Scott Riggs, Earnhardt, Kurt Busch, and Sadler completed the top-10 qualifiers. The four drivers who failed to qualify were A. J. Allmendinger, Joe Nemechek, John Andretti, and Sauter (who crashed at turn two on his first qualifying lap).
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 ...
withdrew from the race prior to qualifying. After the qualifier, Busch said his team was aware of the car's potential, which was displayed in Friday's sole practice session and the January test session; he was worried about his vehicle being very tight going into the first and second turns, having been on the accelerator pedal throughout his fastest lap. On Saturday afternoon, Matt Kenseth was fastest in the second practice session with a time of 30.321 seconds, ahead of Clint Bowyer, Earnhardt, Travis Kvapil,
David Gilliland David Leonard Gilliland (born April 1, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. Since 2017, he has operated David Gilliland Racing, a team that races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series, ...
, Biffle, Johnson, Newman, Hornish, and Edwards. Kyle Busch scraped the outside wall while driving up the track; he sustained minor damage and did not switch to a back-up car. Later that day, Kahne led the final practice session with a time of 30.580 seconds; Edwards,
Paul Menard John Paul Christian Menard (born August 21, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport Racing. Men ...
, Gordon, his
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 Johnson and Earnhardt, Reutimann, Biffle, Bowyer, and Dave Blaney occupied positions two through 10. Bowyer moved to the outside of the track, but was unable to steer left and hit the outside wall leaving turn two and into the backstretch; he came down the track and Kyle Petty hit Bowyer and damaged his front-left fender before Bowyer's car stopped after he made contact with the inside wall. Bowyer was required to use a back-up car, but Petty was able to repair his chassis.


Qualifying results


Race

Live television coverage of the race began at 3:30 pm EST in the United States 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 ...
. Around the start of the race, weather conditions were sunny, between , and no rain was expected. Gusty winds from the north created strong headwinds on the back straight. Kenny Farmer, chaplain of Las Vegas Motor Speedway, began prerace ceremonies with an invocation. Actress Carol Linnea Johnson of the stage production '' Mamma Mia!'' performed the
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
, and John Byers, co-director of
UAW The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American Labor unions in the United States, labor union that represents workers in the Un ...
-
Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
National Training Center, commanded the drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, two drivers moved to the rear of the field because of unapproved changes: Bowyer had switched to a back-up car, and Kahne had changed his engine. The race started at 4:48 pm; Kyle Busch maintained his pole position advantage heading into the first corner and led the field on the first lap. Carpentier went up the track on the same lap, but avoided hitting the barriers, while Reutimann did the same and scraped the outside wall, causing right-rear damage to his car. He was black-flagged by NASCAR because debris was dangling from his vehicle. Reutimann's right-rear tire exploded while entering the pit road on lap 5, but no debris was left on the track. On lap 9, Bowyer hit the wall, causing Kahne to drive down the track. He also made contact with Jamie McMurray, who slid through the infield frontstretch grass, causing the first caution flag and the appearance of the pace car. During the caution, most drivers elected to make pit stops for tires, and 18 drivers remained on the track. Kyle Busch stayed out and led the field back up to speed on the lap 13 restart. Three laps later, Edwards started to challenge Kyle Busch for the lead. Jeff Gordon moved up to third on lap 18, and Martin moved from third to eighth by the same lap. Kyle Busch and Edwards ran alongside each other in the battle for the first position on lap 20; the battle concluded after Edwards passed Kyle Busch on the following lap. Gordon was passed by Biffle for third place on lap 22, while Kurt Busch moved up to fifth on the same lap. By lap 28, Biffle had closed the gap to Kyle Busch and passed him for second position two laps later. Edwards had a 1.3-second lead over teammate Biffle on the same lap. Kyle Busch fell to fourth place after Gordon passed him on the 33rd lap. Kyle Busch reclaimed the third position from Gordon two laps later; Kurt Busch had moved into third after moving ahead of Gordon on the same lap. By the 42nd lap, Edwards and teammate Biffle had opened a 3.0-second lead over Kyle Busch. Riggs and Kurt Busch both moved in front of Kyle Busch for third and fourth positions on lap 45. Green-flag pit stops began on lap 48. Edwards and Biffle made pit stops on lap 49, handing the lead to Riggs. Hornish hit the turn-two outside wall on the following lap after his right-front tire went down in the trioval, and sustained damage to his right-front quarter panel, but no debris came off his car. After the pit stops, Edwards regained the lead and held a 5.0-second lead over Kyle Busch; Martin moved into third place, Riggs regained fourth place, and Harvick moved up to fifth place by lap 65. Four laps later, a second caution was needed when debris was spotted at turn two. Most of the leaders, including Edwards, made pit stops. Jeff Burton chose to remain on the track and led on the lap-76 restart, ahead of Earnhardt and Kyle Busch. On lap 78, Kyle Busch moved ahead of Earnhardt to take second place, and began to close the gap to Burton. Kyle Busch passed Burton to reclaim the lead three laps later, and opened up a 1.3-second advantage over Burton by the 92nd lap. Earnhardt was passed by Edwards for fifth place on lap 94, and Biffle got ahead of Gordon for seventh on the same lap. Edwards gained fourth place when he passed Stewart on the 96th lap, and Burton lost second to Kenseth two laps later. On lap 102, Burton fell to fourth place after Edwards passed him. By lap 105, Kyle Busch held a 3.1-second lead over Kenseth. Four laps later, the third caution was triggered when Stewart's car made heavy contact with the turn-two wall after his right-front tire burst. Stewart grazed his foot and climbed out of his car; emergency workers helped take him to a waiting car, which took him to the infield medical center for further examination. All the leaders, including Edwards, chose to make pit stops for tires and adjustments under caution. NASCAR required Edwards to fall back to the end of the longest line because one of his crew members had allowed a tire to roll away from the pit box. Kyle Busch maintained the lead at the restart on lap 115; he was followed by Kenseth and Gordon. Kenseth passed Kyle Busch to take the lead on lap 116. On the next lap, Gordon passed Busch. By lap 135, Kenseth had opened up a 2.2-second lead over Gordon. Biffle moved in front of Burton for fourth place on the 139th lap. On lap 144, Robby Gordon's right-front tire blew, causing him to hit the turn-two wall, and the fourth caution was triggered. All the leaders made pit stops during the caution. Kenseth remained the leader at the lap-150 restart; he was followed by Gordon. The fifth caution was deployed 12 laps later, when Carpentier was squeezed towards the backstretch outside wall by Newman, causing Carpentier to slide down the track and hit the inside wall. Ken Schrader was close by the incident, but swerved to avoid damaging his car. During the caution, the leading drivers, including Kenseth, elected to make pit stops for tires. Gordon took the lead and maintained it at the lap-166 restart. Biffle and his teammate Kenseth drove alongside each other in a battle for second place on lap 166, until Biffle escaped and ran onto the apron on the next lap. Mayfield burst his right-front tire on lap 171, but no debris came off his car, avoiding the need for a caution. Six laps later, Biffle passed Kyle Busch to take fifth place. Riggs experienced oversteer in the fourth turn while running down the inside of Labonte; Franchitti ran into Riggs, causing the sixth caution on lap 179. All the leaders, including Kenseth, elected to make pit stops for tires. Earnhardt led the field on the lap-184 restart; he was followed by Harvick and Edwards. Gordon moved into fifth place by lap 188. Harvick fell to fourth place when Edwards and Kenseth passed him. Edwards passed Earnhardt to reclaim the lead on lap 195, while Earnhardt lost a further position after Kenseth got ahead of him on the same lap. Ten laps later, Biffle moved ahead of Harvick to take fifth place, while his teammate Kenseth had a 1.5-second lead over the second-place Edwards by the 211th lap. Three laps later, the seventh caution was issued when officials located debris in the turn-two groove. The leaders, including Edwards, chose to make pit stops for tires and car adjustments. One tire from Edwards's car went outside his pit box, but he was not penalized because a cameraman blocked Edwards's crew from retrieving the tire. Kenseth led the field back up to speed on the lap-220 restart; Earnhardt was in second place and Edwards third. Casey Mears hit Vickers, who spun and triggered the eighth caution on lap 224; both drivers avoided contacting the wall. Kenseth maintained the lead on the lap-228 restart. Edwards drove up the track in an attempt to take the lead on lap 229, but Kenseth kept the position. Four laps later, the ninth caution was needed when
Dale Jarrett Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is a former American race car driver and current commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series champio ...
spun and hit the turn-two outside wall. Kenseth remained the leader at the restart on lap 237. Edwards passed teammate Kenseth for the lead two laps later, and began to pull away. Earnhardt caught up to Kenseth by lap 243, and 10 laps later, he passed Kenseth for second. Kurt Busch's right-front tire exploded, causing him to hit the wall between turns three and four, and the 10th caution happened on lap 257. Kurt Busch retired from the race because of his crash. He was transported to the infield medical center for a mandatory check-up. Edwards remained in the lead for the lap-263 restart. Earnhardt spun his tires, forcing Kenseth onto the outside lane and Gordon to the inside, where he passed Earnhardt. Kenseth moved in front of Earnhardt and then made contact with Gordon, who was sent into the inside backstretch retaining wall, which had no SAFER barrier installed. Gordon's car's radiator flew out from its chassis and into the path of oncoming traffic. Kenseth slid, but was able to straighten his car and continue. The final caution was initially waved before a
red flag Red flag may refer to: * Red flag (idiom), a metaphor for something signalling a problem ** Red flag warning, a term used by meteorologists ** Red flag (battle ensign), maritime flag signaling an intention to give battle with no quarter (fight to ...
was shown, stopping the race to allow officials to remove debris from the track. The race resumed 17 minutes later, with Edwards leading Earnhardt and Biffle. Edwards maintained the lead for the remaining two laps to secure his second consecutive win and the ninth of his career. Earnhardt finished second, ahead of Biffle in third, Harvick fourth, and Burton fifth. Ragan, Kahne, Kvapil, Hamlin, and Martin rounded out the top-10 finishers. The race had 11 cautions and 19 lead changes among 9 drivers. Edwards led four times for a total of 86 laps, more than any other competitor.


Postrace comments

Edwards appeared in
Victory Lane The following is a glossary of terminology used in motorsport, along with explanations of their meanings. 0–9 ;1–2 finish: When two vehicles from the same team finish first and second in a race. Can be extended to 1–2–3 or 1–2–3– ...
in front of the crowd of 153,000 people to celebrate his second victory of the season, earning him $425,675. He was pleased with the result, saying it was "a very special win" and that he felt he was close to the form he had achieved in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
: "I tried hard to stay calm. And I'm not the best at it sometimes. We all know that." He added, "We do this to win. Winning these races is the greatest. Winning a championship would be the ultimate. What we’re trying to do is win the championship this year. That's our number-one goal." Second-place finisher Earnhardt was disappointed, saying he had his car in his chosen position, but the red-flag period prevented him from winning the race: "Carl wasn't going to get beat today. He had it in the bag. He was so strong... I was terrible on cold tires. I wish all of you knew what that felt like. I hate it." Biffle was philosophical as he argued that he had the fastest car, but did not gain the track position he needed to challenge Edwards because he slid on pit road. Despite his injury, Stewart said he hoped to participate in a planned two-day test session 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 ...
. He also said he was worried about his crash because his legs and hips were tingling and his lower back was in pain. Stewart said the crash scared him and the tingling in his legs had improved after leaving the infield care center. Kurt Busch's crew chief Pat Tryson said the Penske Racing South team and he were relieved the driver emerged uninjured after his crash on lap 256, and that they would do better at the next weekend's race. Gordon said his crash on lap 264 was "probably the hardest hit I've ever taken" and admitted fault for causing the crash. According to Kenseth, "I knew he was going to get a run on me, so I laid back a little bit... We came off
urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...
nbsp;2 and I was up as high as I thought I could, and Jeff just came across. Whether it was on purpose or not, it just kind of wiped us out." Gordon said he hoped
Speedway Motorsports Speedway Motorsports, LLC is an American company that owns and manages auto racing facilities that host races sanctioned by NASCAR, IndyCar Series, NHRA, World of Outlaws and other racing series. The company was founded by Bruton Smith and has i ...
chairman and chief executive
Bruton Smith Ollen Bruton Smith (March 3, 1927 – June 22, 2022) was a promoter and owner/CEO of NASCAR track owner Speedway Motorsports, Inc. He was inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007. He was bill ...
(the owner of Las Vegas Motor Speedway) would install SAFER barriers along the inside retaining walls around the track. Biffle said the circuit barriers should not have had gaps, and that all NASCAR tracks should have SAFER barriers installed. After consulting NASCAR officials, construction crews installed a long SAFER barrier along the inside backstretch wall in August 2008. After the race, NASCAR announced it had found a problem with the lid on the oil reservoir encasement during a postrace inspection on Edwards's car, which was later taken to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in
Concord, North Carolina Concord is the county seat and largest city in Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 105,186, with an estimated population in 2021 of 107,697. In terms of population, the cit ...
, for further analysis. Three days after the race, Roush Fenway Racing was given penalties for "actions detrimental to stock car racing", "car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules", and a device or duct work that permitted air to pass through the car from one area of the interior of the car to another, or to the outside of the car. The penalties included a $100,000 fine and a six-race suspension for Edwards's crew chief Bob Osborne, who was suspended from NASCAR until April 30, 2008, and placed on probation until December 31, 2008. Roush Fenway Racing chief engineer Chris Andrews took over Osborne's role at the next race weekend. Edwards and car owner
Jack Roush Jack Roush (born Jackson Earnest Roush on April 19, 1942) is the founder, CEO, and co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, a NASCAR team headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, and is chairman of Roush Enterprises. Roush Enterprises is the ...
incurred the loss of 100 driver and owner points. If Edwards qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, he would not receive 10 bonus points awarded to him for winning the race, which was used to determine the seeding order. Edwards was allowed to keep the victory; he moved from first to seventh in the Drivers' Championship. On March 12, Roush Fenway Racing announced it would not appeal the penalties. Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith said a bolt that held the oil lid together did not work because of vibration harmonics generated by Edwards's car and the Las Vegas race track. Edwards said the infraction was "an absolute mistake" and that his team had no intention of cheating. Edwards's teammate Biffle and Newman agreed the penalties were justified. According to Sadler, the penalties were not severe enough; he argued that the driver should be penalized or required to miss one event. Toyota Racing Development general manager Lee White said Roush Fenway Racing had modified Edwards's car to enhance downforce by , which increased the car's horsepower leaving the corners. Roush felt White's comments were motivated by results. White later issued a statement in which he apologized for his comments. An internal investigation found no evidence another person had intentionally caused the bolt to come loose, and that the team enacted protective measures to ensure the oil lid would stay fastened in future events. The result meant Kyle Busch maintained his lead in the Drivers' Championship, 20 points ahead of Newman in second place. Kahne's seventh-place finish allowed him to advance into third place, 16 points in front of Harvick, who also moved up three positions. Biffle was in fifth at 427 points. Burton, Edwards, Truex, Sadler, Earnhardt, Stewart, and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 12. Ford moved into the lead of the Manufacturers' Championship, five points ahead of Dodge. Chevrolet moved three points clear of Toyota. The event had a television audience of 12.1 million viewers; it took 3:08:08 to complete the race, and the margin of victory was 0.504 seconds.


Race results


Standings after the race

* ''Note'': Only the top-12 positions are included for the driver standings.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Uaw-Dodge 400
UAW-Dodge 400 The Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first of two races at Las Vegas with the other one being the South Point 400 in the playoff ...
UAW-Dodge 400 The Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first of two races at Las Vegas with the other one being the South Point 400 in the playoff ...
NASCAR races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
UAW-Dodge 400 The Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first of two races at Las Vegas with the other one being the South Point 400 in the playoff ...