2008 Daytona 500
Race details | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 1 of 36 in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | ||||||
Date | February 17, 2008 | |||||
Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. | |||||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) | |||||
Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | |||||
Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 82 °F (28 °C); wind speeds approaching 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)[1] | |||||
Average speed | 152.672 miles per hour (245.702 km/h) | |||||
Pole position | ||||||
Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | |||||
Qualifying race winners | ||||||
Duel 1 Winner | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | ||||
Duel 2 Winner | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||||
Most laps led | ||||||
Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||||
Laps | 86 | |||||
Winner | ||||||
No. 12 | Ryan Newman |
Network | Fox | |||
Announcers |
Nielsen Ratings | 10.2/20 |
The 2008 Daytona 500, the 50th annual running of the event, was held on February 17, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was the 50th to be run since the first in 1959, won by Lee Petty. To commemorate the event, the Harley J. Earl Trophy, which goes to the winner of the race, was plated in gold instead of silver. In addition, the winning car was placed on display for one year at the Daytona 500 Experience attraction just outside Turn Four. Ryan Newman won the race, his only win in the 2008 season and his final win for team owner Roger Penske.
A number of firsts
The race was the first Daytona 500 win for
Television and radio coverage
The race was televised on
Celebrity tickets for charity
To commemorate the golden running of "The Great American Race", Daytona International Speedway held a “Celebrity Tickets for Charity” competition. Those designs were whittled on daytona500.com by internet users down to the top ten choices. Celebrities including Daytona 500 winners
Purse
As befitting the official start of the NASCAR season, the posted awards (announced on January 28, 2008) was a record $18,689,238 (US), with the winning team and their driver taking home a minimum of $1,445,250.[2]
Entry List
- (W) denotes past 500 winner.
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Qualifying
Pole
As is the unique approach that is The Great American Race, qualifying, which was held on February 10, only the top two drivers (which will be the front row) were locked in, with Jimmie Johnson taking position one and Michael Waltrip sitting next to him. Also qualifying via the fastest speeds among the "
Gatorade Duels
The remaining spots were determined by the top finishers excluding the front row drivers in two 150-mile (240 km) races called the
Results of the Duels
Drivers in boldface qualified to the Daytona 500.
Race 1 Results
Top 10 Finishers (Race #1) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos. | Car # | Driver | Car Make | Team | ||||
1 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | ||||
2 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | ||||
3 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | Penske Racing
| ||||
4 | 5 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | ||||
5 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing
| ||||
6 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Petty Enterprises | ||||
7 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | ||||
8 | 87 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | ||||
9 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | Penske Racing
| ||||
10 | 15 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. |
Also advancing to Daytona 500:
Race 2 Results
Top 10 Finishers (Race #2) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos. | Car # | Driver | Car Make | Team | ||||
1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||||
2 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||||
3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | ||||
4 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Gillett Evernham Motorsports
| ||||
5 | 8 | Mark Martin
|
Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | ||||
6 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing
| ||||
7 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | ||||
8 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing
| ||||
9 | 44 | Dale Jarrett | Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing | ||||
10 | 34 | John Andretti | Chevrolet | Front Row Motorsports |
NOTE: Race #2 was extended four laps due to
Failed to qualify:
- Race One: 08-Carl Long.
- Race Two: 49-Ken Schrader, 10-Patrick Carpentier, 37-Eric McClure, 27-Jacques Villeneuve, 50-Stanton Barrett Jr.
Race
In the beginning of the race, Jimmie Johnson and Michael Waltrip started on the front row. For the first 151 laps, there were only two caution flags, both thrown for debris. Jeff Gordon went to the garage after leading a few laps due to a broken suspension. On lap 161, David Ragan tried to block Matt Kenseth but brought out the 3rd caution when Ragan squeezed Kenseth into the wall. The next caution flew on lap 176, when Johnson spun out on the backstretch, and Martin Truex Jr. spun because of the shuffle in the field. Clint Bowyer led the next two laps, but was shuffled through the field and was eventually spun by Juan Pablo Montoya, bringing out the 5th caution. However, he did not have any damage from the crash. The biggest crash occurred on lap 189 when Kevin Harvick knocked Dave Blaney into the wall, collecting Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, Casey Mears, Denny Hamlin, Travis Kvapil, and Carl Edwards. Mears did not pit and wound up 4th in the field despite minor damage. On lap 195, Jeff Burton worked his way up to first. Mears tried to block Tony Stewart, who went with Burton, but turned himself into the wall, bringing out another caution. Burton had a fuel problem on the restart, resulting in Stewart passing him on the outside, bringing Ryan Newman, Kurt and Kyle Busch and Reed Sorenson. Stewart led the next two laps. On the last lap, Ky. Busch jumped to the inside, bringing Stewart with him. Newman was on the outside now. It was a shootout going into the final turn between Newman, Stewart, and the Busch Brothers. Ky. Busch jumped to the inside of Stewart, but Ku. Busch pushed Newman, allowing him to win the 50th running of the Daytona 500.
Results
Results of the 50th Daytona 500 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos | Grid | Car | Driver | Make | Team | Laps | Status | Winnings (in US$) |
1 | 7 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | Penske Racing
|
200 | Running | $1,506,040 |
2 | 43 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Penske Racing
|
200 | Running | $1,063,870 |
3 | 6 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 200 | Running | $871,049 |
4 | 24 | 18 | Kyle Busch• | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 200 | Running | $652,938 |
5 | 5 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | 200 | Running | $545,959 |
6 | 35 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | Gillett Evernham Motorsports
|
200 | Running | $430,015 |
7 | 10 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Gillett Evernham Motorsports
|
200 | Running | $389,204 |
8 | 26 | 7 | Robby Gordon* | Dodge | Robby Gordon Motorsports | 200 | Running | $352,921 |
9 | 3 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (W) | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 200 | Running | $352,920 |
10 | 18 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing
|
200 | Running | $313,763 |
11 | 13 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Petty Enterprises | 200 | Running | $329,756 |
12 | 23 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull Racing Team | 200 | Running | $285,245 |
13 | 36 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 200 | Running | $323,496 |
14 | 16 | 29 | Kevin Harvick (W) | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 200 | Running | $322,224 |
15 | 19 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. (R) | Dodge | Penske Racing
|
200 | Running | $319,845 |
16 | 20 | 44 | Dale Jarrett (W) | Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing | 200 | Running | $277,213 |
17 | 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 200 | Running | $341,416 |
18 | 42 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing | 200 | Running | $291,221 |
19 | 11 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing
|
200 | Running | $321,520 |
20 | 25 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 200 | Running | $303,978 |
21 | 27 | 66 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | Haas CNC Racing
|
200 | Running | $287,928 |
22 | 21 | 15 | Paul Menard (R) | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 200 | Running | $279,295 |
23 | 33 | 70 | Jeremy Mayfield | Chevrolet | Haas CNC Racing
|
200 | Running | $271,220 |
24 | 31 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 200 | Running | $284,545 |
25 | 37 | 96 | J. J. Yeley | Toyota | Hall of Fame Racing | 200 | Running | $277,095 |
26 | 38 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing
|
200 | Running | $276,888 |
27 | 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson (W) | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 200 | Running | $329,606 |
28 | 32 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Robert Yates Racing
|
200 | Running | $278,746 |
29 | 2 | 55 | Michael Waltrip (W) | Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing | 200 | Running | $275,135 |
30 | 30 | 28 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Robert Yates Racing
|
200 | Running | $291,202 |
31 | 12 | 8 | Mark Martin
|
Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 200 | Running | $301,846 |
32 | 15 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | 200 | Running | $290,753 |
33 | 40 | 40 | Dario Franchitti (R) | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | −1 | Running | $270,613 |
34 | 39 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Dodge | Petty Enterprises | −3 | Running | $260,320 |
35 | 9 | 5 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | −6 | Accident | $284,945 |
36 | 28 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing
|
−6 | Running | $308,129 |
37 | 29 | 01 | Regan Smith (R) | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | −6 | Running | $267,095 |
38 | 34 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Toyota | Bill Davis Racing | −11 | Accident | $259,563 |
39 | 8 | 24 | Jeff Gordon (W) | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | −14 | Suspension | $319,599 |
40 | 22 | 34 | John Andretti | Chevrolet | Front Row Motorsports | −16 | Running | $258,613 |
41 | 41 | 78 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | −29 | Running | $258,470 |
42 | 14 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing
|
−39 | Accident | $267,763 |
43 | 17 | 87 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | −59 | Engine | $256,735 |
(W) – Denotes former race winner. (R) – Denotes rookie.
• – Led most laps
Average Speed: 152.672 mph (245.702 km/h)
Margin of Victory: .092 seconds
Time of Race: Three hours, 16 minutes and 30 seconds
Lead Changes: 42 among 17 drivers
Cautions: Seven for 23 laps[3]
* — On Wednesday, February 20, NASCAR docked Robby Gordon and his self-owned team both 100 owner and driver points for violations during the first day of inspections back on February 8, including an illegal nose cover. His crew chief, Frank Kerr, was fined $100,000, suspended for the next six races starting at California, and was placed on probation until 12/31/08 as a result. An appeal, heard on March 5, the points penalties and the Kerr suspension were overturned, however, the fine was increased to $150,000,
Gallery
-
Pace car
-
Newman's Daytona 500-winning car
References
- ^ "Weather of the 2008 Daytona 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Archived from the original on 2013-07-06. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
- ^ Jayski.com
- ^ NASCAR.com