2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season In Review – Week 9
Apr 23, 2008
CIA Stock Photo, Inc.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Six different drivers have posted victories in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008, led by Carl Edwards with three (California, Las Vegas and Texas). Ryan Newman (Daytona), Kyle Busch (Atlanta), Jeff Burton (Bristol), Denny Hamlin (Martinsville) and Jimmie Johnson (Phoenix) are the other race winners. Two drivers lead all others with six top-10 finishes: Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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 his first restrictor plate
victory and first 1-2 finish in 25 years of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.
• Ryan Newman led the points following Daytona, Kyle Busch following California and Carl Edwards
following Las Vegas - the career-first time 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 foreign-
based manufacturer since Jaguar won with Al Keller at Linden (N.J.) Airport in 1954.
• Jeff Burton won at Bristol 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.
• Carl Edwards won at Texas Motor Speedway to join Jeff Burton as the only drivers with multiple
victories at Texas.
• Jimmie Johnson won the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix, scoring his 34th career victory,
Qualifying
• 62 drivers have attempted to qualify for at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this season.
• There have been four different pole winners in 2008: Jeff Gordon (two), Jimmie Johnson (one),
Kyle Busch (one), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (one) and Ryan Newman (one). Qualifying was canceled due
to weather at the Auto Club Speedway and Bristol .
• Jeff Gordon won the pole at Atlanta, 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).
• 31 different drivers have posted at least one top-10 start, led by Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon and
Jimmie Johnson with six each.
The Races
• 50 drivers have qualified for at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this season.
• 27 different drivers have posted at least one top-10 finish in 2008.
• Jeff Gordon leads all other drivers with three DNFs in seven races in 2008. Gordon finished 43rd
after an accident at Texas - just the second time in his career that he finished 43rd. The other also
came at Texas (March 1999).
First-Timers
Start Pole Win
Dario Franchitti (Daytona) None None
Laps Led Lead in Points Top 10 in Points
Dario Franchitti (California) Ryan Newman (Daytona) None
Kyle Busch (California)
Carl Edwards (Las Vegas) *
* Lost points lead after mid-week penalty
The Turnarounds
• 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).
• Nine of the top 12 drivers in the current point standings are ranked equal to or higher than their
respective positions in the final point standings for 2007. Dale Earnhardt Jr. heads the list with a 13-
position improvement
.
