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The 2008 Sprint Cup Series was the 60th season of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17 and ended with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16.

Kyle Busch, driving for his new team Joe Gibbs Racing, dominated the first 26 races of the season; entering the Chase as the Top Seed with 8 wins. Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Matt Kenseth would also qualify for the Chase.

In the Chase, Kyle Busch suffered a string of poor finishes, which took him out of Championship contention early. Carl Edwards led the points after the first two races of the Chase, but Johnson was close behind. After the third race of the Chase, Johnson took the points lead and held it through the remainder of the season. Edwards would have two back-to-back poor finishes at Talladega and Charlotte, but 3 wins in the final four races were not enough to overcome Johnson’s lead. Jimmie Johnson won his third consecutive championship by 69 points in his 7th full time season, winning 7 times in the year and having only a single DNF.

2008 was notable for being the first season that the Cup Series was known as the Sprint Cup, and was notable for being Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s first season with Hendrick Motorsports and Kyle Busch’s first season with Joe Gibbs Racing. It was the first season that Joe Gibbs Racing fielded Toyotas, and was the final season for Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty. A number of Open Wheel stars made a transition to the Cup Series, including Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish, Jr., Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve. Of the four, only Hornish remained with his original team by the end of the season.

It was the first full time season for the Car of Tomorrow, and the first season that Coors Light sponsored the Pole Award, taking over for Budweiser as the official beer of NASCAR. It was the final full time season for Petty Enterprises.

Full Time Team Chart[]

Manufacturer Team Number Driver Sponsor
Chevrolet Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 01 Regan Smith *(34)
Ron Fellows (2)
Principal Financial
Steak-Umm Burgers
Coors Light
1 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops
8 Mark Martin (24)
Aric Almirola (12)
U.S. Army
15 Paul Menard Menards
Furniture Row Racing 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row
Haas CNC Racing 66 Scott Riggs (35)
Max Papis (1)
State Water Heaters
Haas Automation
Hunt Brothers Pizza
70 Jeremy Mayfield (7)
Johnny Sauter (9)
Ken Schrader (1)
Jason Leffler (5)
Scott Riggs (1)
Tony Raines (12)
Max Papis (1)
Haas Automation
Hunt Brothers Pizza
Hendrick Motorsports 5 Casey Mears Kellogg's
Carquest
24 Jeff Gordon DuPont
Nicorette
Pepsi
48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's
88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Amp Energy / Mountain Dew
National Guard
Richard Childress Racing 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniels
DirecTV
BB&T
29 Kevin Harvick Shell Pennzoil
31 Jeff Burton AT&T
Lenox Industrial Tools
Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 41 Reed Sorenson (35)
Scott Pruett (1)
Target
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco Havoline
Wrigley's Gum
Gillett Evernham Motorsports 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser
10 Patrick Carpentier *(29)
Terry Labonte (1)
Mike Wallace (1)
A.J. Allmendinger (5)
Valvoline
Bumper-to-Bumper Auto Parts
Charter
Lifelock
Sears Auto Center
Tow Truck in a Box
19 Elliott Sadler Best Buy
Stanley Tools
Garmin
McDonald's
Penske Racing 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite
12 Ryan Newman Alltel
Kodak
77 Sam Hornish, Jr. * Mobil 1
Penske Truck Rental
Petty Enterprises 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios / General Mills
45 Kyle Petty (17)
Chad McCumbee (9)
Terry Labonte (9)
Boris Said (1)
Wells Fargo
Marathon
Richard Petty Driving Experience
PVA.org
Victory Junction Gang
Robby Gordon Motorsports 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam
Valvoline
Camping World
Charter
Menards
Ford Roush Fenway Racing 6 David Ragan AAA
16 Greg Biffle 3M
Jackson Hewitt
Dish Network
17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt
Carhartt
R&L Carriers
USG
26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal
Irwin Industrial Tools
99 Carl Edwards Office Depot
Aflac
Claritin
Dish Network
Wood Brothers Racing 21 Bill Elliott (23)
Johnny Sauter (1)
Jeff Green (1)
Jon Wood (5)
Marcos Ambrose (6)
Motorcraft
U.S. Air Force
Little Debbies
Yates Racing 28 Travis Kvapil Ford
FreeCreditReport.com
Hitachi Power Tools
Academy Sports & Outdoors
All Sport
38 David Gilliland FreeCreditReport.com
CitiFinancial
Ford
Digital TV Transition
Toyota Bill Davis Racing 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar
Hall of Fame Racing 96 J.J. Yeley (21)
P.J. Jones (1)
Brad Coleman (1)
Ken Schrader (11)
Joey Logano (2)
Texas Instruments DLP HDTV
Joe Gibbs Racing 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx
18 Kyle Busch M&M's/Mars Incorporated
Interstate Batteries
20 Tony Stewart Home Depot
Subway
Michael Waltrip Racing 00 David Reutimann (5)
Michael McDowell *(21)
Mike Skinner (3)
Kenny Wallace (1)
A.J. Allmendinger (1)
Mike Bliss (1)
Aaron's
Champion Mortgage
44 Dale Jarrett (5)
David Reutimann (31)
UPS
55 Michael Waltrip NAPA
Team Red Bull 83 Brian Vickers (35)
Scott Speed (1)
Red Bull
84 A.J. Allmendinger (24)
Mike Skinner (7)
Scott Speed (4)
Brian Vickers (1)
Red Bull

Major Part Time Teams[]

Manufacturer Team Number Driver Sponsor
Dodge Chip Ganassi Racing 40 Dario Franchitti *(13)
David Stremme (1)
Ken Schrader (1)
Sterling Marlin (2)
Jeremy Mayfield (1)
Bryan Clauson (3)
Dodge
Target
Fastenal
The Hartford
Kennametal
Tums
Chevrolet
Ford
Front Row Motorsports 34 John Andretti (10)
Jeff Green (3)
Tony Raines (7)
Chad Chaffin (2)
Brian Simo (2)
Makoto

Schedule[]

Round Date Race Name Track TV
February 9, 2008 Budweiser Shootout Daytona International Speedway FOX
February 14, 2008 Gatorade Duel 150s Daytona International Speedway SPEED Channel
1 February 17, 2008 Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway FOX
2 February 25, 2008 Auto Club 500 Auto Club Speedway FOX
3 March 2, 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 Las Vegas Motor Speedway FOX
4 March 9, 2008 Kobalt Tools 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway FOX
5 March 16, 2008 Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway FOX
6 March 30, 2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500 Martinsville Speedway FOX
7 April 6, 2008 Samsung 500 Texas Motor Speedway FOX
8 April 12, 2008 Subway Fresh Fit 500 Phoenix International Raceway FOX
9 April 27, 2008 Aaron's 499 Talladega Superspeedway FOX
10 May 3, 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 Richmond International Raceway FOX
11 May 10, 2008 Dodge Challenger 500 Darlington Raceway FOX
May 17, 2008 Sprint All-Star Challenge Lowe's Motor Speedway SPEED Channel
12 May 25, 2008 Coca-Cola 600 Lowe's Motor Speedway FOX
13 June 1, 2008 Best Buy 400 Benefitting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks Dover International Speedway FOX
14 June 8, 2008 Pocono 500 Pocono Raceway TNT
15 June 15, 2008 Lifelock 400 Michigan International Speedway TNT
16 June 22, 2008 Toyota / Save Mart 350 Infineon Raceway TNT
17 June 29, 2008 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 New Hampshire Motor Speedway TNT
18 July 5, 2008 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola Daytona International Speedway TNT
19 July 12, 2008 Lifelock.com 400 Chicagoland Speedway TNT
20 July 27, 2008 Allstate 400 At The Brickyard Indianapolis Motor Speedway ESPN
21 August 3, 2008 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Pocono Raceway ESPN
22 August 10, 2008 Centurion Boats at the Glen Watkins Glen International ESPN
23 August 17, 2008 3M Performance 400 Presented by Bondo Michigan International Speedway ESPN
24 August 23, 2008 Sharpie 500 Bristol Motor Speedway ESPN
25 August 31, 2008 Pepsi 500 Auto Club Speedway ESPN
26 September 7, 2008 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Richmond International Raceway ABC
Chase for the Nextel Cup
27 September 14, 2008 Sylvania 300 New Hampshire Motor Speedway ABC
28 September 21, 2008 Camping World RV 400 Presented by AAA Dover International Speedway ABC
29 September 28, 2008 Camping World RV 400 Presented by Coleman Kansas Speedway ABC
30 October 5, 2008 AMP Energy 500 Talladega Superspeedway ABC
31 October 11, 2008 Bank of America 500 Lowe's Motor Speedway ABC
32 October 19, 2008 Tums QuikPak 500 Martinsville Speedway ABC
33 October 26, 2008 Pep Boys Auto 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway ABC
34 November 2, 2008 Dickies 500 Texas Motor Speedway ABC
35 November 9, 2008 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Presented By Pennzoil Phoenix International Raceway ABC
36 November 16, 2008 Ford 400 Homestead-Miami Speedway ABC

Results[]

Round Race Pole Winner Winner Make Cautions Caution Laps Average Speed Number of Lead Changes
2008 Budweiser Shootout Kurt Busch Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet 4 14 140.751 17
2008 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #1) Jimmie Johnson Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet 2 5 160.810 16
2008 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #2) Michael Waltrip Denny Hamlin Toyota 3 15 128.428 14
1 2008 Daytona 500 Jimmie Johnson Ryan Newman Dodge 7 23 152.672 42
2 2008 Auto Club 500 N/A Carl Edwards Ford 12 44 132.704 33
3 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 Kyle Busch Carl Edwards Ford 11 44 127.729 19
4 2008 Kobalt Tools 500 Jeff Gordon Kyle Busch Toyota 8 35 140.975 26
5 2008 Food City 500 N/A Jeff Burton Chevrolet 10 68 89.775 17
6 2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500 Jeff Gordon Denny Hamlin Toyota 18 89 73.163 20
7 2008 Samsung 500 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Carl Edwards Ford 6 27 144.814 16
8 2008 Subway Fresh Fit 500 Ryan Newman Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 8 42 103.292 10
9 2008 Aaron's 499 Joe Nemechek Kyle Busch Toyota 8 23 157.409 52
10 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 Denny Hamlin Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 11 62 95.786 4
11 2008 Dodge Challenger 500 Greg Biffle Kyle Busch Toyota 8 31 140.350 35
2008 Sprint All-Star Challenge Kyle Busch Kasey Kahne Dodge 0 0 131.132 7
12 2008 Coca-Cola 600 Kyle Busch Kasey Kahne Dodge 11 50 135.772 37
13 2008 Best Buy 400 Benefitting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks Greg Biffle Kyle Busch Toyota 5 26 121.171 15
14 2008 Pocono 500 Kasey Kahne Kasey Kahne Dodge 10 38 125.209 23
15 2008 Lifelock 400 N/A Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet 7 22 145.375 31
16 2008 Toyota / Save Mart 350 Kasey Kahne Kyle Busch Toyota 6 14 76.445 5
17 2008 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Patrick Carpentier Kurt Busch Dodge 7 33 106.719 9
18 2008 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola Paul Menard Kyle Busch Toyota 11 33 138.554 21
19 2008 Lifelock.com 400 N/A Kyle Busch Toyota 9 33 133.996 16
20 2008 Allstate 400 At The Brickyard Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 11 52 115.117 26
21 2008 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Jimmie Johnson Carl Edwards Ford 7 31 130.567 25
22 2008 Centurion Boats at the Glen N/A Kyle Busch Toyota 4 9 97.148 8
23 2008 3M Performance 400 Presented by Bondo Brian Vickers Carl Edwards Ford 7 27 140.351 18
24 2008 Sharpie 500 Carl Edwards Carl Edwards Ford 8 56 91.581 4
25 2008 Pepsi 500 Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 8 34 138.857 20
26 2008 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 N/A Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 14 71 92.680 22
27 2008 Sylvania 300 N/A Greg Biffle Ford 8 37 105.468 14
28 2008 Camping World RV 400 Presented by AAA Jeff Gordon Greg Biffle Ford 10 45 114.168 15
29 2008 Camping World RV 400 Presented by Coleman Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 7 25 133.549 16
30 2008 AMP Energy 500 Travis Kvapil Tony Stewart Toyota 10 41 140.281 64
31 2008 Bank of America 500 N/A Jeff Burton Chevrolet 10 49 133.699 24
32 2008 Tums QuikPak 500 N/A Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 12 76 75.931 14
33 2008 Pep Boys Auto 500 N/A Carl Edwards Ford 10 43 134.272 18
34 2008 Dickies 500 Jeff Gordon Carl Edwards Ford 5 26 144.219 16
35 2008 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Presented By Pennzoil Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 10 55 97.804 9
36 2008 Ford 400 David Reutimann Carl Edwards Ford 7 31 129.472 15

Final Points Standings[]

Pos. Driver Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles Points Difference
1 Jimmie Johnson 36 7 15 22 6 6684
2 Carl Edwards 36 9 19 27 1 6615 -69
3 Greg Biffle 36 2 12 17 2 6467 -217
4 Kevin Harvick 36 0 7 19 0 6408 -276
5 Clint Bowyer 36 1 7 17 0 6381 -303
6 Jeff Burton 36 2 7 18 0 6335 -349
7 Jeff Gordon 36 0 13 19 4 6316 -368
8 Denny Hamlin 36 1 12 18 1 6214 -470
9 Tony Stewart 36 1 10 16 0 6202 -482
10 Kyle Busch 36 8 17 21 2 6186 -498
11 Matt Kenseth 36 0 9 20 0 6184 -500
12 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 36 1 10 16 1 6127 -557
13 David Ragan 36 0 6 14 0 4299 -2,385
14 Kasey Kahne 36 2 4 14 2 4085 -2,599
15 Martin Truex Jr 36 0 3 11 0 3839 -2,845
16 Jamie McMurray 36 0 4 11 0 3809 -2,875
17 Ryan Newman 36 1 2 8 1 3735 -2,949
18 Kurt Busch 36 1 5 10 0 3635 -3,049
19 Brian Vickers 36 0 3 6 1 3580 -3,104
20 Casey Mears 36 0 1 6 0 3527 -3,157
21 Bobby Labonte 36 0 0 2 0 3448 -3,236
22 David Reutimann 36 0 0 4 1 3397 -3,287
23 Travis Kvapil 36 0 0 4 1 3384 -3,300
24 Elliott Sadler 36 0 2 8 0 3364 -3,320
25 Juan Pablo Montoya 36 0 2 3 0 3329 -3,355
26 Paul Menard 36 0 1 1 1 3151 -3,533
27 David Gilliland 36 0 1 2 0 3064 -3,620
28 Mark Martin 24 0 4 11 0 3022 -3,662
29 Michael Waltrip 36 0 1 2 0 2889 -3,795
30 Dave Blaney 35 0 0 2 0 2851 -3,833
31 Scott Riggs 34 0 0 1 0 2797 -3,887
32 Reed Sorenson 35 0 1 2 0 2795 -3,889
33 Robby Gordon 36 0 0 3 0 2770 -3,914
34 Regan Smith 34 0 0 0 0 2672 -4,012
35 Sam Hornish, Jr. 34 0 0 0 0 2523 -4,161
36 A.J. Allmendinger 27 0 0 2 0 2436 -4,248
37 Joe Nemechek 32 0 0 0 1 1989 -4,695
38 Patrick Carpentier 24 0 0 0 1 1794 -4,890
39 Bill Elliott 20 0 0 0 0 1528 -5,156
40 Michael McDowell 20 0 0 0 0 1466 -5,218
41 J.J. Yeley 17 0 1 1 0 1263 -5,421
42 Aric Almirola 12 0 0 1 0 1075 -5,609
43 Ken Schrader 15 0 0 0 0 1040 -5,644
44 Kyle Petty 15 0 0 0 0 879 -5,805
45 Marcos Ambrose 11 0 1 1 0 844 -5,840
46 Terry Labonte 10 0 0 0 0 811 -5,873
47 Tony Raines 11 0 0 0 0 800 -5,884
48 Mike Skinner 11 0 0 0 0 734 -5,950
49 Dario Franchitti 10 0 0 0 0 606 -6,078
50 Jeremy Mayfield 8 0 0 0 0 578 -6,106

Drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup are highlighted in yellow. Complete statistics can be found at Racing-Reference.info.

Rookie of the Year Award[]

Regan Smith won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in 2008.[1]

Rookie of the Year Standings
Position Driver Points Race Wins
1 Regan Smith 236 0
2 Sam Hornish, Jr. 229 0
3 Patrick Carpentier 210 0
4 Michael McDowell 193 0
5 Dario Franchitti 119 0

Manufacturer's Championship[]

With 11 wins, Chevrolet narrowly won the 2008 Manufacturer's Championship.[2]

Position Make Points Race Wins
1 Chevrolet 219 11
2 Ford 215 11
3 Toyota 207 10
4 Dodge 151 4

Other Season Awards[]

  • Chex National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
  • USG Improving the Finish Award: Jeff Burton
  • Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award: Hendrick Motorsports
  • Sunoco Diamond Performance Award: Jimmie Johnson
  • Wix Filters Lap Leader Award: Jimmie Johnson
  • Dow Strategic Call Award: Carl Edwards
  • Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Season Award: Ryan Newman
  • Coors Light Pole Award: Jimmie Johnson
  • Goodyear Gatorback Belts Fastest Lap Award: Jimmie Johnson
  • Goodyear Tires Award: Jimmie Johnson
  • Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race Award: Bob Osborne (Crew Chief for Carl Edwards)
  • Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award (voted by fellow crew chiefs): #48 Hendrick Motorsports Crew, led by Chad Knaus
  • DirecTV Crew Chief of the Year: Steve Addington (Crew Chief for Kyle Busch)[3]

References[]

NASCAR Cup Series seasons
1949
1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959
1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969
1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979
1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989
1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
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