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2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season in Review - Week 7
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 2, 2008) – Five different drivers have posted victories in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series in 2008: Ryan Newman (Daytona), Carl Edwards (California and Las Vegas), Kyle
Busch (Atlanta), Jeff Burton (Bristol) and Denny Hamlin (Martinsville). Dale Earnhardt Jr. has posted
five top-10 finishes – more than any other driver. Five drivers have posted top-10 finishes in four of the six
races. Burton is the only one of the six with a victory this season.
2008 Season Highlights
Ryan Newman won the season-opening Daytona 500, his career-first restrictor-plate victory.
Teammate Kurt Busch finished second, giving car owner Roger Penske not only his first restrictorplate
victory, but also his first 1-2 finish in 25 years of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing.
Ryan Newman led the points following Daytona; Kyle Busch following California and Carl Edwards
following Las Vegas – a career-first for all three.
Carl Edwards won back-to-back races at California and Las Vegas – the second time in his career
he has posted consecutive wins.
Kyle Busch won at Atlanta – the first victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Toyota. The
victory came in the 40th start for Toyota in NASCAR’s premier series and was the first by a foreignbased
manufacturer since Jaguar won with Al Keller at Linden (N.J.) Airport in 1954.
Jeff Burton won the Food City 500 and was followed across the line by teammates Kevin Harvick
and Clint Bowyer – giving car owner Richard Childress his first-ever 1-2-3 sweep.
Denny Hamlin won at Martinsville – his fourth career victory and his first in his home state of Virginia.
Qualifying
There have been three different pole winners in 2008: Jeff Gordon (two), Jimmie Johnson (one) and
Kyle Busch (one). Qualifying was canceled due to weather at Auto Club Speedway and Bristol.
Jimmie Johnson won the first Coors Light Pole Award, posting his second pole at Daytona.
Jeff Gordon won the Coors Light Pole Award at Atlanta – making this his 16th consecutive year with
a pole. Gordon is third on the all-time list for consecutive years with a pole, behind David Pearson
(20) and Richard Petty (17).
28 different drivers have posted at least one top-10 start this season.
Jeff Gordon is the only driver to start from the top 10 in every race in 2008.
There has been a first-time pole winner each season since 1987 – 21 consecutive years.
The Races
Twenty-seven different drivers have posted at least one top-10 finish in 2008.
No one has posted a top-10 finish in every race this season.
Hendrick Motorsports began competing on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 1984 and won its first
race in 1986. HMS has posted at least one victory each of the 22 seasons since. The deepest that
HMS, which has yet to win a race in 2008, has gone into a season before scoring a win was 1992
when the first victory for Hendrick did not come until race No. 23.
The Turnarounds
Dale Earnhardt Jr. gained 13 positions at Las Vegas, returning to the top 10 in the point standings
after dropping to 23rd at California. Earnhardt is currently fourth – his highest point position since he
ranked third following the second Texas race in 2006.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne have each gained 12 positions in the point standings over
their final 2007 positions.
Kasey Kahne was the only driver with three top-10 finishes in the first three races this season. In
2007, Kahne did not get his third top 10 until race No. 24 (Bristol).
The Pole Winner/Race Winner
The pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying) finishing position:
First 0
2nd-5th 3
6th-10th 0
11th-30th 3
31st or beyond 0
The lap-leader performance of the pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying):
Led First Lap 2
Led at All 6
Led Most Laps 1
Won Race 0
The race winner’s starting positions:
Pole 0
Top Five 2
6th-10th 4
11th-30th 0
31st or beyond 0
The lap-leader performance of the race winner:
Led First Lap 0
Led Most Laps 3
Led Mid-Race Lap 2
Led With 10 to Go 5
Led With One to Go 6
Note: Mid-Race lap is as scheduled regardless of shortened or extended race length.
Laps Completed
32 drivers completed all 200 laps of the season-opening Daytona 500 – one shy of the all-time
record.
Two drivers have completed every lap raced this season: Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick.
Laps Led
28 drivers have led at least one lap this season. No one has led in every race.
Kyle Busch (two); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (one), Carl Edwards (one), Jimmie Johnson (one), Tony
Stewart (one) have led the most laps at least once this season.
Points
Jeff Burton became the fourth different driver to lead the points when he took the lead following
Martinsville. It is his first time to lead the points since Oct. 14, 2006 (Charlotte).
Eight of the top 12 drivers in the current point standings finished 2007 in the final top 12. The four
drivers missing from 2007 are ranked 13th through 16th.
Rookie Performance
Sam Hornish Jr. has posted the best finish by a rookie candidate in 2008: 15th at Daytona.
Three different drivers have been the highest-finishing rookie in 2008: Regan Smith (three) Sam
Hornish Jr. (twice); Dario Franchitti (once).
Penalties
There have been 112 on-track penalties issued this season.
Every team that has competed in two or more races this season has received at least one on-track
penalty.
Penalty Recap:
Pitting Before Pit Road is Open 61
Too Fast Entering Pit Road 13
Too Fast Exiting Pit Road 4
Others 34
Manufacturer
Chevrolet and Toyota are tied for the lead in the manufacturer point standings, each with 37 points.
Ford has 35 points. Dodge has 25.
Ford and Toyota each have two victories this season. Chevrolet and Dodge each have one.
Ryan Newman posted the first Daytona 500 victory for Dodge since Ward Burton won in 2002. That
victory was the only other restrictor-plate victory for Dodge.
Behind the Numbers
Speed MOV Leaders Changes Cautions Laps
Lead
Lap DNFs
Daytona 152.672 0.092 17 42 7 32 32 5
California 132.704 UC 15 33 11 43 22 2
Las Vegas 127.729 0.504 9 19 11 44 21 6
Atlanta 140.975 2.066 9 26 8 35 13 2
Bristol 89.775 0.588 8 17 10 68 21 1
Martinsville 73.163 0.398 8 20 18 89 17 4
Average 119.503 0.730 11.000 26.167 10.833 51.833 21.000 3.333
News and Results |
Point Standings |
2008 Schedule |
2008 Teams |
2007 Schedule and Results
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