Clint Bowyer won the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship, his first series title. He finished the season 21 points ahead of Carl Edwards, the fourthclosest championship margin in series history. Bowyer finished the 2008 season with one victory, 14 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s. He had no DNFs.
There were 12 different race winners in 2008, led by Kyle Busch who tied a series record with 10 wins this season.
2008 Season Highlights
• Tony Stewart won the season-opening race at Daytona then repeated his trip to Victory Lane in the second race (Auto Club Speedway). It was just the third time in NASCAR Nationwide Series history a driver had won the first two races of the season (Dale Earnhardt in 1986 and Chad Little in 1995).
• Mark Martin won the third race of the season (Las Vegas), ending Stewart’s bid to become the first driver to win the first three races of a season in NASCAR Nationwide Series history.
• Matt Kenseth posted the first victory for Ford in 2008 with his win at Atlanta, making it three different manufacturers to win in the first four races.
• Clint Bowyer won at Bristol, becoming the 10th consecutive different race winner at the Tennessee short track.
• Kyle Busch posted his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory of 2008 with his win at Texas. Busch has won in all three of NASCAR’s national series this season, making this the fourth consecutive season he has won in all three series. Only two other drivers have accomplished the feat and both did so just once – Kevin Harvick in 2003 and Terry Labonte in 1995.
• Kyle Busch became the second repeat winner with his victory at Phoenix. Like Tony Stewart, Busch’s wins came in consecutive races.
• Kyle Busch posted his third consecutive victory of 2008 with his win at Mexico City. Busch’s victories all came on different type tracks.
• Tony Stewart won his second restrictor-plate race with his victory at Talladega.
• Tony Stewart won his fourth race of the season and the sixth consecutive for Joe Gibbs Racing with his win at Darlington – his first there in any NASCAR series.
• Kyle Busch became the second four-time winner of the season with his victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
• Denny Hamlin became the third multiple-race winner with his victory at Dover, his second of the season.
• Brad Keselowski became the first driver to post his career-first victory in 2008 with his win at Nashville.
• Joey Logano won at Kentucky and became the second first-time winner in as many races. He also became the youngest winner in series history at 18 years, 21 days.
• Carl Edwards edged Clint Bowyer to win at Milwaukee, posting his first victory since Nashville in June 2007.
• Tony Stewart continued his partial-season dominance winning his fifth race of the year with his victory at New Hampshire.
• Denny Hamlin won the July Daytona race, the ninth victory for the No. 20 car this season.
• Kyle Busch won at Chicagoland, the third straight Joe Gibbs Racing victory and the 13th of the year for the organization.
• Carl Edwards took the checkered flag at Gateway, posting his second victory in 2008.
• Kyle Busch dominated at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, leading 197 of the 200 laps en route to his series-leading sixth victory.
• Ron Fellows won the rain-shortened Montreal race, posting his first series victory since Watkins Glen in July 2001.
• Marcos Ambrose posted his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory with his win at Watkins Glen.
• Carl Edwards won at Michigan, posting his first series win there.
• Brad Keselowski posted his second career victory with a late-race charge past Clint Bowyer to win at Bristol.
• Kyle Busch posted his series-leading seventh victory when he won at the Auto Club Speedway, scoring a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0.
• Carl Edwards won his fourth race of the season with his victory at Richmond.
• Kyle Busch posted his eighth victory of the season and scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 with his win at Dover.
• Denny Hamlin won the Kansas Lottery 300 – posting the third victory for the No. 18 in four races.
• Kyle Busch won the Dollar General 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, his ninth win of 2008.
• Carl Edwards won his fifth race of 2008 with his victory at Memphis.
• Kyle Busch won the O’Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway, tying the all-time record for wins in a season held by Sam Ard (10 in 1983).
• Carl Edwards continued his charge on points leader Clint Bowyer with his victory at Phoenix, his sixth of the season.
• Carl Edwards won the final race of the year, posting his seventh win of the season.
Qualifying
• 162 drivers attempted to qualify for at least one race this season, including Robert Pressley and Auggie Vidovich who qualified for other drivers.
• There were 18 different pole winners in 2008:
Kyle Busch (four)
Carl Edwards (four)
Joey Logano (three)
Tony Stewart (two)
Brian Vickers (two)
Jamie McMurray (two)
Colin Braun (two)
Kasey Kahne (one)
Brad Keselowski (one)
Landon Cassill (one)
Bryan Clauson (one)
David Reutimann (one)
Scott Pruett (one)
Dario Franchitti (one)
Cale Gale (one)
Kevin Harvick (one)
James Buescher (one)
Denny Hamlin (one)
• There were eight first-time pole winners this season:
Colin Braun (Mexico City)
Joey Logano (Nashville-2)
Brad Keselowski (Milwaukee)
Landon Cassill (New Hampshire)
Bryan Clauson (Daytona-2)
Dario Franchitti (Watkins Glen)
Cale Gale (Bristol-2)
James Buescher (Memphis)
• 60 drivers posted at least one top-10 start this season, led by Carl Edwards with 25.
• Qualifying was canceled at Auto Club Speedway, Atlanta, Bristol, Texas and Richmond-2.
The Races
• 150 drivers qualified for at least one NASCAR Nationwide Series race this season.
• There were 12 different race winners in 2008:
Kyle Busch (10)
Carl Edwards (seven)
Tony Stewart (five)
Denny Hamlin (four)
Brad Keselowski (two)
Mark Martin (one)
Matt Kenseth (one)
Clint Bowyer (one)
Scott Wimmer (one)
Joey Logano (one)
Ron Fellows (one)
Marcos Ambrose (one)
• 49 drivers registered at least one top-10 finish in 2008, led by Clint Bowyer with 29.
• Nine drivers had their series-best finish in 2008 be second:
Greg Biffle
Colin Braun
Jeff Burton
Patrick Carpentier
Kevin Harvick
Kasey Kahne
David Reutimann
David Stremme
Brian Vickers
• 10 races were extended by green-white-checkered finishes in 2008:
Las Vegas
Atlanta
Phoenix
Richmond
Darlington
Charlotte
Daytona-2
Dover-2
Memphis
Phoenix-2
• Two races were shortened in 2008: Bristol (171 laps) and Montreal (48 laps).
Records
• Denny Hamlin won at Richmond, scoring the fifth consecutive victory for Joe Gibbs Racing. It was the first time in the history of the NASCAR Nationwide Series that an owner posted five straight wins. Roush Fenway Racing recorded four consecutive victories in 2000 (Rockingham through Darlington) with Mark Martin winning Rockingham, Atlanta and Darlington (in the No. 60) and Jeff Burton winning Las Vegas (in the No. 9). Three different drivers registered victories for JGR during the streak: Kyle Busch (Texas and Phoenix in the No. 18 and Mexico City in the No. 20), Tony Stewart (Talladega in the No. 20) and Hamlin (Richmond in the No. 20). Stewart extended the Gibbs streak to six races with his victory at Darlington (the fourth straight for the No. 20).
• JGR registered its 14th victory of the season with Busch’s win at O’Reilly Raceway Park. That broke a tie with Richard Childress Racing for the most by a car owner (2007).
• James Hylton competed in the second Daytona race, his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race since June 24, 2006. At 72 years, 313 days old, he extended his record as the oldest competitor in any of NASCAR’s three national series.
• Kyle Busch has won 10 NASCAR Nationwide races this season, tying Sam Ard for the most victories in a series single season.
First-Timers
Start Pole Win
James Buescher (Phoenix) Colin Braun (Mexico City) Brad Keselowski (Nashville)
Kevin O’Connell (Mexico City) Joey Logano (Nashville) Joey Logano (Kentucky)
Ryan Hackett (Richmond) Brad Keselowski (Milwaukee) Marcos Ambrose (WGI)
Joey Logano (Dover) Landon Cassill (New Hampshire)
Shelby Howard (ORP) Bryan Clauson (Daytona-2)
Wheeler Boys (Montreal) Dario Franchitti (Watkins Glen)
Andrew Ranger (Montreal) Cale Gale (Bristol-2)
Scott Steckly (Montreal) James Buescher (Memphis)
John Wes Townley (Dover-2)
Justin Allgaier (Charlotte-2)
Marc Davis (Memphis)
Jarit Johnson (Memphis)
Brian Ickler (Phoenix-2)
Patrick Sheltra (Phoenix-2)
Top-10 Finish Laps Led
Bryan Clauson (Daytona) Dario Franchitti (Texas)
Dario Franchitti (Las Vegas) Dwayne Leik (Talladega)
Cale Gale (Nashville) Sam Hornish Jr. (Charlotte)
Steve Wallace (Mexico City) James Buescher (Milwaukee)
Chase Miller (Darlington) Joey Logano (Nashville)
Joey Logano (Dover) Bryan Clauson (Dover-2)
Colin Braun (ORP) Andrew Ranger (Kansas)
Josh Wise (ORP)
Austin Dillon (Memphis)
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