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There have been 12 different race winners in 2008 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series: Kyle Busch (six), Tony Stewart (five), Denny Hamlin (three), Carl Edwards (three), Mark Martin (one), Matt Kenseth (one), Clint Bowyer (one), Scott Wimmer (one) and Ron Fellows (one) along with first-timers Brad Keselowski (two), Joey Logano (one) and Marcos Ambrose (one). Bowyer has held the points lead since Nashville in March and is now 122 points ahead of Keselowski.
2008 Season Highlights
• Tony Stewart won the season-opening race at Daytona then repeated his trip to Victory Lane in the second race (California). 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 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 only 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.
• 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 season 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.
Qualifying
• 140 drivers have attempted to qualify for at least one race this season.
• There have been 14 different pole winners in 2008:
Carl Edwards (three)
Tony Stewart (two)
Kyle Busch (two)
Brian Vickers (two)
Joey Logano (two)
Colin Braun (one)
Kasey Kahne (one)
Brad Keselowski (one)
Landon Cassill (one)
Bryan Clauson (one)
David Reutimann (one)
Jamie McMurray (one)
Scott Pruett (one)
Dario Franchitti (one)
Gale Gale (one)
• There have been seven 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) and Cale Gale (Bristol-2).
• Qualifying was canceled at California, Atlanta, Bristol and Texas.
• The 53 cars that attempted to make the field at Daytona has been the largest of the season.
• 54 drivers have posted at least one top-10 start this season, led by Clint Bowyer with 20.
The Races
• 131 drivers have qualified for at least one NASCAR Nationwide Series race this season.
• There have been 12 different race winners in 2008:
Kyle Busch (six)
Tony Stewart (five)
Denny Hamlin (three)
Carl Edwards (three)
Brad Keselowski (two)
Mark Martin (one)
Matt Kenseth (one)
Clint Bowyer (one)
Scott Wimmer (one)
Joey Logano (one)
Ron Fellows (one)
Marcos Ambrose (one)
• 47 drivers have registered at least one top-10 finish in 2008, led by Clint Bowyer with 21.
• Six races have been extended by green-white-checkered finishes in 2008: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Richmond, Darlington, Charlotte and Daytona-2.
• Two races have been shortened in 2008: Bristol (171 laps) and Montreal (48 laps).
Spreading the Wealth
Kyle Busch has won six races this season – in three different cars, for two different owners. Jamie McMurray won three races in 2004 – each for a different car owner. Busch has driven four different cars for three different owners: Joe Gibbs (No. 18, 20), Todd Braun (No. 32) and Eddie D’Hondt (No. 92). He has won for Gibbs and Braun and finished second at Watkins Glen for D’Hondt.
First Time Winner
Joey Logano posted his first career pole in qualifying for Nashville. Brad Keselowski followed by winning his first career race. It was the 29th time in series history that a first-time pole and first-time race winner occurred in the same event. In only five of those 29 times did the same driver post both a first pole and first win in the same event.
Rocket Start
Joey Logano posted his second series pole and then won at Kentucky – posting his first career win in just his third NASCAR Nationwide Series race. He became the 19th driver to score his first victory within his first three series races. Eight of the other 18 drivers posted their first series win in 1982, the first year for the series, and 14 did so within the first three years of the series. Logano joined Derrike Cope (1994 – third race), Ron Fellows (1998 – second race) and Kurt Busch (2006 - first race) as the only drivers to achieve their first win within their first three races since 1987.
NASCAR Age Record
James Hylton competed in the Winn-Dixie 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona, 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 the top three NASCAR series.
Dominance Rebirth
Tony Stewart has won five of the seven NASCAR Nationwide Series races that he has participated in this season. Success in a partial season is not a new concept in the series. Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin both had very successful partial seasons over the years. Earnhardt won five of the 11 series races he participated in during 1986; three of seven in 1991 and two of four in 1993. Martin won seven of 14 NASCAR Nationwide Series races that he ran in 1993, six of 14 in both 1996 and 1999 and has one victory in his two races this season.
Series 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 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 continued its record-setting season, registering 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 wins by a car owner. The RCR mark was set in 2007.
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)
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)
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)
Steven Wallace (Mexico City) Joey Logano (Nashville)
Chase Miller (Darlington)
Joey Logano (Dover)
Colin Braun (ORP)
Josh Wise (ORP)
The Pole Winner/Race Winner
• The Coors Light Pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying) finishing position:
First 5
2nd-5th 7
6th-10th 2
11th-30th 6
31st or beyond 6
• The lap-leader performance of the pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying):
Led First Lap 15
Led at All 21
Led Most Laps 5
Won Race 5
• The race winner’s starting positions:
Pole 5
2nd-5th 8
6th-10th 5
11th-30th 5
31st or beyond 2
• The lap-leader performance-of-the-race winner:
Led First Lap 7
Led Most Laps 15
Led Mid-Race Lap 8
Led With 10 to Go 20
Led With One to Go 26
Note: Mid-Race lap is as scheduled regardless of shortened or extended race length.
Laps Led
• 55 drivers have led at least one lap this season.
• Kyle Busch has led 1,249 laps in 2008, more than any other driver.
• Drivers who led the most laps:
Kyle Busch (nine)
Tony Stewart (four)
Carl Edwards (three)
Clint Bowyer (three)
Denny Hamlin (two)
Mark Martin (one)
Scott Pruett (one)
Brad Keselowski (one)
Marcus Ambrose (one)
Jeff Burton (one)
Rookie Performance
• Three rookie contenders have won poles this season: Landon Cassill (Memphis), Bryan Clauson (Daytona-2) and Dario Franchitti (Watkins Glen).
• One rookie finished in the top 10 at Daytona: Bryan Clauson (sixth). It was also his career-first top- 10 finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
• Times as the highest-finishing rookie:
Dario Franchitti (nine)
Cale Gale (five)
Bryan Clauson (four)
Landon Cassill (four)
Patrick Carpentier (two)
Chase Miller (two)
Owner Highlights
• All three regular Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have won this season and all three have won at least one race in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Joey Logano also won in the 20, giving the team four different winners.
• Though Clint Bowyer leads the driver points standings by 128, the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 leads the owner points standings by 282 points over the No. 2 of Richard Childress Racing.
• Chip Ganassi Racing posted back-to-back poles at Montreal and Watkins Glen. The poles came with different drivers at the wheel. Scott Pruett won the Montreal top starting spot while Dario Franchitti put the Fastenal Dodge first on the grid at Watkins Glen.
• Jack Roush posted his 19th overall victory at Michigan International Speedway when Carl Edwards won there. Roush has 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins and four each in the Nationwide and Truck Series.
Penalties
• There have been 382 on-track penalties issued this season.
• Penalty Recap:
Pitting Before Pit Road is Open 152
Too Fast Entering Pit Road 45
Too Fast Exiting Pit Road 34
Others 151
Manufacturer
• Toyota leads in the manufacturers’ points standings with 186 points. Chevrolet is in second with 157. Ford has 139 points while Dodge has 90.
• Toyota has 15 victories, Chevrolet six and Ford four.
• Toyota swept the first three finishing positions at New Hampshire – the best performance by a manufacturer this season.
Notebook
• Morgan Shepherd finished on the lead lap at Talladega, his first time in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race since Rockingham on Oct. 23, 1999. His last lead-lap finish in any of the three major NASCAR series was in the season opener for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona on Feb. 16, 2001.
• Colin Braun won the pole at Mexico City in his third series start; Joey Logano won the pole at Nashville – his second series start.
• Mark Green qualified fourth at Richmond – his best start since he rolled off fifth at Rockingham in October 1998.
• Steve Wallace and David Stremme finished fifth and sixth, respectively, at Richmond – the first time two Rusty Wallace Racing drivers have posted top-10s in the same race. They repeated the performance at Darlington the following week.
• Kevin Lepage led one lap at Dover – the first lap he has led since September 2002, also at Dover.
• The 50 cars entered at Chicago was the second-largest contingent in 2008, trailing 53 at Daytona.
• Brad Keselowski’s average speed of 93.509 mph in August set a new track race record for Bristol.
