Season In Review Week 34:
A Look At The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 29, 2008)
Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have won all seven Chase races: Greg Biffle (two), Jimmie Johnson (two), Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards (one each).Chase Notes: Race 7
All 12 Chase drivers have posted at least one top-10 finish in a Chase race but only Jimmie Johnson has done so in all seven.
All 12 Chase drivers have led laps in at least one of the first six Chase races, with Jimmie Johnson leading in all seven.
Chase drivers led 1,959 of the 2,320 laps (84.4%).
With his back-to-back wins at New Hampshire and Dover to open the Chase for the NASCAR SprintCup, Greg Biffle became the first driver to win the first two Chase races.
2008 Season Highlights
Ryan Newman won the season-opening Daytona 500, his first career restrictor-plate victory.
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 NASCARs 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.
Carl Edwards won at Texas to join Jeff Burton as the only drivers with multiple victories at Texas.
Kyle Busch won at Darlington and became the youngest race winner there.
Kasey Kahne followed up his win in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race with victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway. He became the sixth driver to win both races in the same season.
Kyle Busch became the first driver to post four victories with his win at Dover.
Kasey Kahne won the Pocono 500 and became the third multiple-race winner of 2008.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Michigan, ending a 76-race winless streak.
Kyle Busch won at Infineon Raceway, scoring his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series roadcourse victory and giving him victories on all four types of tracks in NASCARs premier circuit.
Kurt Busch won at New Hampshire, his first victory since Michigan in August 2007.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season In Review
Kyle Busch continued to win, capturing the July race at Daytona, his sixth win of the season.
At Chicagoland, Kyle Busch won back-to-back races for the first time in his career, extending his collection of checkered flags in 2008 to seven.
At Indianapolis, Jimmie Johnson won his second race of 2008 his second win at the Brickyard.
Carl Edwards returned to Victory Lane at Pocono Raceway after waiting out rain and fuel issues for his fourth victory of the season.
Kyle Busch won at Watkins Glen, completing a sweep of the two road-course races this season.
Carl Edwards completed the second NASCAR Sprint Cup-NASCAR Nationwide Series weekend sweep of the season with his victory at Michigan.
Carl Edwards posted back-to-back victories for the second time in 2008 when he won at Bristol.
Jimmie Johnson dominated the field at Auto Club Speedway, scoring a perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 to post his third victory.
Jimmie Johnson reversed his California strategy at Richmond, waiting until the closing laps before moving to the front to capture his fourth win of the season.
With his victory at New Hampshire, Greg Biffle became the 11th different race winner in 2008.
Greg Biffle won at Dover, posting consecutive series wins for the first time in his career.
Jimmie Johnson continued to share Victory Lane with Roush Fenway drivers as he posted his fifth victory of 2008 in winning the Camping World RV 400 presented by Coleman at Kansas Speedway.
Tony Stewart won at Talladega, his 33rd career victory but his first in 2008. It was also his first win at Talladega Superspeedway.
Jeff Burton won at Lowes Motor Speedway, making 2008 his first multiple-win season since 2001.
Jimmie Johnson won at Martinsville in dominating fashion, leading 339 laps the most he has ever led in a race in his career.
Carl Edwards won at Atlanta, posting his seventh win of 2008.All-time Record
The 28 different drivers that led at Talladega-2 set the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record for different lap leaders in a race. It eclipsed the mark of 26 set at Talladega in July 1986 and tied in April 2001, also at Talladega.
Qualifying
84 drivers have attempted to qualify for at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this season, including Matt Crafton who qualified Robby Gordons car at Dover.
There have been 14 different pole winners in 2008:Jimmie Johnson (five)
Jeff Gordon (three)
Kyle Busch (two)
Greg Biffle (two)
Kasey Kahne (two)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (one)
Ryan Newman (one)
Joe Nemechek (one)
Denny Hamlin (one)
Patrick Carpentier (one)
Paul Menard (one)
Brian Vickers (one)
Carl Edwards (one)
Travis Kvapil (one)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season In Review
There have been three first-time pole winners in 2008, continuing a 22-year streak of at least one first-time pole winner (1987-2008).Patrick Carpentier (New Hampshire)
Paul Menard (Daytona-2)
Travis Kvapil (Talladega-2)
Patrick Carpentier and Paul Menard won consecutive career-first poles the first time that careerfirst poles had been posted in back-to-back races since David Green (Homestead) and Kevin Lepage (Atlanta) in 1999.
Qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather at the Auto Club Speedway, Bristol, Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Richmond-2, New Hampshire-2, Lowes-2, Martinsville-2 and Atlanta-2.
49 different drivers have posted at least one top-10 start, led by Jimmie Johnson with 25.
The pole winner (or driver who started first) has won eight times and has finished in the top 10 in 17races this season.
Two pole winners have gone on to finish last in that race: Ryan Newman (Phoenix) and Greg Biffle(Darlington).
The average finish of the pole winner in 2008 is 12.70.
Landon Cassill won the pole for the NASCAR Nationwide Series at New Hampshire and Patrick Carpentier followed up with the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. It was the first time ever that two Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates swept the poles at the same track in a weekend.
Mark Martin has started second six times this season all as a result of timed qualifying. The modern era record for second-place starts is 10 by Jeff Gordon in 1996. Richard Petty (1964) and David Pearson (1968) each had 17 second-place starts the all-time record but both came in seasons with more than 48 races.
Travis Kvapil won the pole for Talladega-2 his career first on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was also his first top-10 start since 2005 and just the sixth of his career. To top off matters it came in his 100th career race.The Races
70 drivers have qualified for/participated in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race this season.
37 different drivers have posted at least one top-10 finish in 2008, led by Carl Edwards with 24.
Eight drivers have a best finish of second this season:David Gilliland
Jeff Gordon
Kevin Harvick
Matt Kenseth
Paul Menard
Juan Pablo Montoya
Brian Vickers
Michael Waltrip
There have been eight green-white-checkered finishes this season:Bristol
Texas
Richmond
Michigan
Infineon
Daytona-2
Talladega-2
Martinsville-2
One race has gone less than the scheduled distance: New Hampshire-1 (284 of 301 laps).
The race has been won from a top-10 start 27 times this season.NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season In Review
The deepest in the field that a race winner started in 2008 was 34th, by Tony Stewart at Talladega-2.
Eight races have been won from the pole and the average start of the race winner in 2008 is 8.09.First-Timers
Start Pole Win
Dario Franchitti (Daytona) Patrick Carpentier (New Hampshire) None
Michael McDowell (Martinsville) Paul Menard (Daytona-2)
Marcos Ambrose (Infineon) Travis Kvapil (Talladega-2)
Max Papis (Infineon)
Joey Logano (New Hampshire-2)
Scott Speed (Martinsville-2)
Laps Led Lead in Points Top 10 in Points
Dario Franchitti (California) Ryan Newman (Daytona) Reed Sorenson (Daytona)
Michael McDowell (Dover) Kyle Busch (California)
Sam Hornish Jr. (Michigan) Carl Edwards (Las Vegas) *
* Lost points lead after mid-week penalty
The Pole Winner/Race Winner
The pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying) finishing position:First 8
2nd-5th 7
6th-10th 3
11th-30th 10
31st or beyond 5
The lap leader performance of the pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying):Led First Lap 24
Led at All 32
Led Most Laps 11
Won Race 8
The race winners starting positions:Pole 8
2nd-5th 11
6th-10th 8
11th-30th 4
31st or beyond 2
The lap leader performance of the race winner:Led First Lap 7
Led Most Laps 14
Led Mid-Race Lap 6
Led With 10 to Go 22
Led With One to Go 32
Note: Mid-Race lap is as scheduled regardless of shortened or extended race length.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season In Review
Laps Led
Jimmie Johnson has led 1,736 laps this season, more than any other driver.
50 drivers have led at least one lap this season. No one has led in every race.
11 drivers have led the most laps in a race this season:Jimmie Johnson (nine)
Kyle Busch (seven)
Tony Stewart (four)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (three)
Carl Edwards (three)
Matt Kenseth (two
Denny Hamlin (one)
Greg Biffle (one)
Kasey Kahne (one)
Mark Martin (one)
David Reutimann (one)
Rookie Performance
Five different drivers have been the highest-finishing rookie in 2008:Regan Smith (10)
Sam Hornish Jr. (10)
Patrick Carpentier (seven)
Michael McDowell (five)
Dario Franchitti (one)
Owner Highlights
Ryan Newman won the season-opening Daytona 500, his first career 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.
Richard Childress Racing captured the top three finishing positions in the Food City 500: Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, respectively. It was the first 1-2-3 finish for a car owner since Roush Fenway racing captured the top four spots at Homestead in November 2005: Greg Biffle, Mark martin, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards, respectively.
Joe Nemechek won the pole at Talladega, giving car owner Barney Visser his first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup pole. It came in Vissers 49th as a car owner.
Hendrick Motorsports began competing in NASCAR Sprint Cup in 1984 and won its first race in 1986. HMS has posted at least one victory each of its 22 seasons since and has gone past the seventh race of a season before posting its first win eight times but only four times since 1994 (including this season). The deepest that HMS has gone into a season before scoring a win was 1992 when the first victory did not come until race No. 23.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Michigan and became the 14th different driver to win for Hendrick Motorsports. Every full-time driver for Hendrick Motorsports since 2000 has posted at least one victory while with the organization.
Marcos Ambrose posted a third-place finish driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford at Watkins Glen, the first top-five finish for the Wood Brothers since Ricky Rudds fourth at Bristol in August 2005.
Carl Edwards posted only the second NASCAR Sprint Cup-NASCAR Nationwide Series weekend sweep at Michigan when he won both races there in August. Both came with Jack Roush as the car owner. Mark Martin posted the first in 1993.
Roush Fenway Racing swept the top three finishing positions at Dover-2: Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. It was the second 1-2-3 sweep by a car owner in 2008.NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season In Review
Penalties
There have been 567 on-track penalties issued this season.
Penalty Recap:Pitting Before Pit Road is Open 281
Too Fast Entering Pit Road 54
Too Fast Exiting Pit Road 85
Others 147
Manufacturer
Chevrolet leads the manufacturers points standings with 198 points. Toyota has 197, Ford 193, and Dodge 138.
Chevrolet and Toyota have each posted 10 victories in 2008. Ford has eight and Dodge four.
All four manufacturers have been in the top four finishers four times this season: Texas, Charlotte, Michigan and Indianapolis.More Records
Kevin Harvick extended his current streak of running at the finish to 77 races. That is the all-time record for consecutive races without a DNF. Harvicks Richard Childress Racing teammate, Clint Bowyer, is second on the list, currently on a 70-race streak of running at the finish. Note: HermanBeam completed 84 consecutive races that he competed in (1961-63), but he did not race in all of the scheduled events during his personal streak. His longest consecutive-race streak was 35 races.
Five foreign-born drivers participated at Infineon Raceway: Marcos Ambrose (Australia), Patrick Carpentier and Ron Fellows (Canada), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) and Max Papis (Italy). It was the largest contingent of foreign-born drivers in a race in NASCAR Sprint Cup history, eclipsing the previous mark of three which was set eight times most recently at Infineon in 2007.
At Watkins Glen, three nations were represented among the top five for the first time in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history. Kyle Busch (first), Tony Stewart (second) and Martin Truex Jr. (fifth) are from the United States, Marcos Ambrose (third) from Australia and Juan Pablo Montoya (fourth) Colombia.Notebook
Ryan Newman posted the first Daytona 500 victory for Dodge since Ward Burton won in 2002. That victory was the only other restrictor-plate victory for Dodge.
Tony Stewart won at Talladega Superspeedway in his 20th attempt. That leaves only three active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tracks at which Stewart has not visited Victory Lane: Auto Club Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Among active drivers, only Jeff Gordon has won at more tracks. Gordon has yet to win at two tracks: Homestead-Miami Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. By contrast Jimmie Johnson has yet to visit Victory Lane at six active tracks.
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).
Jeff Gordon won the pole at Atlanta, making this his 16th consecutive year with a pole. He is third on the all-time list for consecutive years with a pole behind David Pearson (20) and Richard Petty (17).NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season In Review
Jeff Gordon finished 43rd after his accident at Texas, just the second time in his career that he finished 43rd. The other also came at Texas (March 1999).
Greg Biffle won the pole on the newly-repaved Darlington Raceway, breaking Ward Burtons 1996 track qualifying record. Burtons was the longest-standing qualifying record at an active, nonrestrictor- plate track.
Denny Hamlin led 381 laps, setting the record for the number of laps led in a 400-lap race at Richmond. He eclipsed the mark of 369 set by Bobby Allison in September 1979. The record for laps led all-time at Richmond is 488 of 500 on the half-mile configuration by David Pearson in September 1970.
Kyle Busch led 786 laps in the first 14 races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season. He had also led the exact same number through the first 15 races (the same weekend) in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Kyle Busch led 415 laps at Bristol, the 13th time a driver has led 400 laps or more at the Tennessee short track. The standard was set by Cale Yarborough, who led all 500 laps in March 1973. Busch became the third driver to lead over 400 laps and not win the race, joining Richard Petty (442 laps in July 1964) and Rusty Wallace (409 laps in August 1993).
42 cars completed the Pepsi 500 setting the track record for cars running at the finish for Auto Club Speedway.
The 43 cars running at the finish in the second Richmond race is the first time that all the cars have been running at the finish of a Richmond race, breaking the record of 39 which occurred four times. It was just the second time since the field was mandated to 43 cars that all starters finished a race. The other was at New Hampshire in September 2007.
The 40 cars running at the finish at Dover set the record for cars finishing a race there.
The 42 cars running at the finish at Kansas set the record for cars finishing a race there.
Chad McCumbee started his first Lowes race in the Bank of America 500, becoming the 500th different driver to compete at Lowes Motor Speedway.Brotherly Wins
Kyle Busch won at Infineon Raceway, followed by brother Kurt at New Hampshire, giving them the first back-to-back wins by brothers since Kyle won at California and Kurt at Richmond in September 2005. Kyle again won at Daytona, making it the first time brothers had won three consecutive races since 1955-56. Tim Flock won the final race of 1955 and the first of 1956 and his brother, Fonty, won the second race. Kyle posted the fourth straight win for the Busch brothers with his win at Chicago. It was the fourth time that brothers had won four straight:
1952 Tim (Race No. 22 and 23), Bob (Race No. 24) and Fonty Flock (Race No. 25)
1952 Herb (Race No. 31 and 32), Donald (Race No. 33) and Herb Thomas (Race No. 34)
1955 Tim (Race No. 36 and 37), Fonty (Race No. 38) and Tim Flock (Race No. 39)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season In Review
Behind the Numbers
Speed MOV Leaders Changes Cautions Laps
Lead
Lap DNFs
Daytona 152.672 0.092 17 42 7 23 32 5
California 132.704 UC 15 33 11 43 22 2
Las Vegas 127.729 0.504 9 19 11 44 21 6
Atlanta 140.975 2.066 9 26 8 35 13 2
Bristol # 89.775 0.588 8 17 10 68 21 1
Martinsville 73.163 0.398 8 20 18 89 17 4
Texas # 144.814 0.399 6 16 6 27 10 5
Phoenix 103.292 7.002 4 10 8 42 10 3
Talladega 157.409 UC 20 52 8 23 27 8
Richmond # 95.786 0.439 4 4 11 62 16 8
Darlington 140.350 3.115 15 35 8 31 20 2
Charlotte 135.772 10.203 16 37 11 50 17 5
Dover 121.171 4.224 9 15 5 26 6 4
Pocono 125.209 3.702 12 23 10 36 34 5
Michigan # 145.375 UC 13 31 8 22 22 4
Infineon # 76.445 1.716 5 5 6 14 31 6
New Hampshire * 106.719 UC 8 9 7 33 26 4
Daytona # 138.554 UC 10 21 11 33 30 6
Chicago 155.761 0.133 10 17 3 10 21 1
Indianapolis 115.117 0.332 16 26 11 52 36 2
Pocono 130.567 3.858 13 25 7 31 28 5
Watkins Glen 97.148 2.275 5 8 4 9 32 5
Michigan 140.351 0.947 9 18 7 27 17 5
Bristol 91.581 1.969 3 4 8 56 15 7
California 138.857 2.076 9 20 8 34 22 2
Richmond 92.680 0.365 10 22 14 71 32 0
New Hampshire 105.468 0.505 8 14 8 37 21 6
Dover 114.168 0.934 9 15 10 45 16 3
Kansas 133.549 0.280 10 16 7 25 17 1
Talladega # 140.281 0.052 28 64 10 41 18 16
Charlotte 133.699 0.946 16 24 10 49 16 5
Martinsville # 75.931 0.708 14 7 12 76 13 4
Atlanta 134.272 2.684 8 18 10 43 18 2
Average 121.435 1.875 10.79 21.61 8.88 39.61 21.12 4.18
# - Extended Race * Shortened Race