The 2008 Daytona 500, the 50th annual running of the event, was held on February 17, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was the 50th to be run since the first in 1959, won by Lee Petty. To commemorate the event, the Harley J. Earl Trophy, which goes to the winner of the race, was plated in gold instead of silver. In addition, the winning car was placed on display for one year at the Daytona 500 Experience attraction just outside Turn Four. Ryan Newman won the race, his only win in the 2008 season and his final win for team owner Roger Penske. The race was the first Daytona 500 win for Penske Racing, the first run using NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, and the first official race under the new Sprint Cup banner.
A number of firsts The race was the first Daytona 500 win for Penske Racing and the first run using NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, which was introduced in 2007 and became standard in 2008. Additionally, this was the first official race under the new Sprint Cup banner as the telecommunications giant replaces Nextel as the series sponsor after their 2005 merger. Ryan Newman's victory with the number 12 car in the Daytona 500 was the first time since Bobby Allison's #12 won the race in 1988, 20 years prior.
Television and radio coverage The race was televised on FOX in the USA, with the telecast scheduled beginning at 2 p.m. EST. 1960 Daytona 500 winner Junior Johnson drove the pace car and the green flag was waved the honorary starter, seven-time race winner Richard Petty around 3:30 p.m. Radio coverage was handled by MRN Radio and started at about 2:30 EST. Trisha Yearwood performed the national anthem, followed by a flyover from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying team. As many as 31 past champions of this race served as Grand Marshals for this historic event to deliver the command to start the engines.
Celebrity tickets for charity To commemorate the golden running of "The Great American Race", Daytona International Speedway held a “Celebrity Tickets for Charity” competition. Those designs were whittled on daytona500.com by internet users down to the top ten choices. Celebrities including Daytona 500 winners Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip, Jimmie Johnson and Mario Andretti, sitcom stars Jason Lee and Leah Remini, TV hosts Kelly Ripa (Live with Regis and Kelly), Jeff Foxworthy (Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?) and Carson Daly (Last Call with Carson Daly), NASCAR announcers Mike Joy from FOX and Dr. Jerry Punch from ESPN, wrestler Goldberg and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk submitted ticket designs. A blue-ribbon panel made up of NASCAR's family selected the winner and announced it prior to the running of the Pepsi 400, with the ten finalists among Harvick (defending 2007 champion), Earnhardt Jr. (2004 winner), Andretti (1967 winner) and Marvin Panch (1961 winner), Hawk, Joy, Katie Cole (the second of two designs), Foxworthy, and two children – 17-year-old Patrick McRae (for Jimmie Johnson, the 2006 winner) and seven-year-old Derek Wynne (for owner Rick Hendrick). Foxworthy was later declared the winner of the contest and his winning ticket artwork along with the others of all the celebrities were auctioned off to benefit the Jeff Gordon Foundation.
Purse As befitting the official start of the NASCAR season, the posted awards (announced on January 28, 2008) was a record $18,689,238 (US), with the winning team and their driver taking home a minimum of $1,445,250.Jayski.com
Entry list (W) denotes past 500 winner. (R) denotes rookie driver.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 01 Regan Smith (R) Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet 1 Martin Truex Jr. Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet 2 Kurt Busch Penske Racing South Dodge 5 Casey Mears Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 07 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 08 Carl Long E&M Motorsports Dodge 8 Mark Martin Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet 09 Sterling Marlin (W) Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 9 Kasey Kahne Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 10 Patrick Carpentier (R) Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Newman Penske Racing South Dodge 15 Paul Menard Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Elliott Sadler Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Bill Elliott (W) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Dave Blaney Bill Davis Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jamie McMurray Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27 Jacques Villeneuve (R) Bill Davis Racing Toyota 28 Travis Kvapil Robert Yates Racing Ford 29 Kevin Harvick (W) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 34 John Andretti Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 37 Eric McClure Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 38 David Gilliland Robert Yates Racing Ford 40 Dario Franchitti (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 41 Reed Sorenson Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 43 Bobby Labonte Petty Enterprises Dodge 44 Dale Jarrett (W) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 48 Jimmie Johnson (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49 Ken Schrader BAM Racing Dodge 50 Stanton Barrett SKI Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Michael Waltrip (W) Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 60 Boris Said No Fear Racing Ford 66 Scott Riggs Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet 70 Jeremy Mayfield Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet 77 Sam Hornish Jr. (R) Penske Racing South Dodge 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 84 A. J. Allmendinger Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 87 Kenny Wallace Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 96 J. J. Yeley Hall of Fame Racing Toyota 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing FordOfficial Entry list
Qualifying
Pole As is the unique approach that is The Great American Race, qualifying, which was held on February 10, only the top two drivers (which will be the front row) were locked in, with Jimmie Johnson taking position one and Michael Waltrip sitting next to him. Also qualifying via the fastest speeds among the "Go or Go Home" entries were Joe Nemechek and David Reutimann.
Gatorade Duels
The remaining spots were determined by the top finishers excluding the front row drivers in two races called the Gatorade Duels, which were raced February 14, which filled the next 36 positions. The remaining spots were determined by exemptions and the fastest speeds and a champions provisional.
Results of the Duels Drivers in boldface qualified to the Daytona 500.
Race 1 Results Top 10 Finishers (Race #1)Pos.Car #DriverCar MakeTeam188Dale Earnhardt Jr.ChevroletHendrick Motorsports241Reed SorensonDodgeChip Ganassi Racing312Ryan NewmanDodgePenske Racing45Casey MearsChevroletHendrick Motorsports599Carl EdwardsFordRoush Fenway Racing643Bobby LabonteDodgePetty Enterprises742Juan Pablo MontoyaDodgeChip Ganassi Racing887Kenny WallaceChevroletFurniture Row Racing977Sam Hornish Jr.DodgePenske Racing1015Paul MenardChevroletDale Earnhardt, Inc.
Also advancing to Daytona 500: 83-Brian Vickers
Race 2 Results Top 10 Finishers (Race #2)Pos.Car #DriverCar MakeTeam111Denny HamlinToyotaJoe Gibbs Racing220Tony StewartToyotaJoe Gibbs Racing324Jeff GordonChevroletHendrick Motorsports49Kasey KahneDodgeGillett Evernham Motorsports58Mark MartinChevroletDale Earnhardt, Inc.66David RaganFordRoush Fenway Racing729Kevin HarvickChevroletRichard Childress Racing816Greg BiffleFordRoush Fenway Racing944Dale JarrettToyotaMichael Waltrip Racing1034John AndrettiChevroletFront Row Motorsports
NOTE: Race #2 was extended four laps due to green-white-checker finish rule.
Failed to qualify: Race One: 84-A. J. Allmendinger, 21-Bill Elliott, 60-Boris Said, 09-Sterling Marlin, and 08-Carl Long. Race Two: 49-Ken Schrader, 10-Patrick Carpentier, 37-Eric McClure, 27-Jacques Villeneuve, 50-Stanton Barrett Jr.
Race In the beginning of the race, Jimmie Johnson and Michael Waltrip started on the front row. For the first 151 laps, there were only two caution flags, both thrown for debris. Jeff Gordon went to the garage after leading a few laps due to a broken suspension. On lap 161, David Ragan tried to block Matt Kenseth but brought out the 3rd caution when Ragan squeezed Kenseth into the wall. The next caution flew on lap 176, when Johnson spun out on the backstretch, and Martin Truex Jr. spun because of the shuffle in the field. Clint Bowyer led the next two laps, but was shuffled through the field and was eventually spun by Juan Pablo Montoya, bringing out the 5th caution. However, he did not have any damage from the crash. The biggest crash occurred on lap 189 when Kevin Harvick knocked Dave Blaney into the wall, collecting Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, Casey Mears, Denny Hamlin, Travis Kvapil, and Carl Edwards. Mears did not pit and wound up 4th in the field despite minor damage. On lap 195, Jeff Burton worked his way up to first. Mears tried to block Tony Stewart, who went with Burton, but turned himself into the wall, bringing out another caution. Burton had a fuel problem on the restart, resulting in Stewart passing him on the outside, bringing Ryan Newman, Kurt and Kyle Busch and Reed Sorenson. Stewart led the next two laps. On the last lap, Ky. Busch jumped to the inside, bringing Stewart with him. Newman was on the outside now. It was a shootout going into the final turn between Newman, Stewart, and the Busch Brothers. Ky. Busch jumped to the inside of Stewart, but Ku. Busch pushed Newman, allowing him to win the 50th running of the Daytona 500.
Results