Joe Nemechek finished off the 2008 Sprint Cup season Sunday with a 36th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Nemechek, who started the 267-lap, 400-mile race from the 16th position, ran strong early in the event, but had handling issues as the race went from daylight to night.
“We were good in the beginning, but faded,” said Nemechek, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet. “We just couldn’t get the proper grip to navigate the 1.5-mile oval. We made a lot of adjustments throughout the race, but nothing seemed to really click.”
Though the finish wasn’t what Nemechek and the No. 78 team had hoped for in the season finale, there were still positives that were accomplished in 2008. Along with qualifying in 32 of 36 races, which set a team record by 11 starts, Nemechek posted a pole-winning position at the April race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. He also recorded the team’s career-best finish of 11th at the October Talladega event.
“When you take a deep breath and look back at the season I feel this Furniture Row Racing team can say that progress was made,” said Nemechek. “We worked hard all year and it was a pleasure to drive for this team.”
Sunday’s race crowned Jimmie Johnson as the 2008 Sprint Cup champion, his third consecutive driver’s title. Carl Edwards, who finished second in points, won the race. Rounding out the race’s top five finishers were: Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer.
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