2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

The 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was the fourteenth season of the Craftsman Truck Series, the pickup truck racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. It was contested over twenty-five races, beginning with the Chevy Silverado HD 250 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 200 at Homestead–Miami Speedway. Johnny Benson of Bill Davis Racing was crowned champion. The season was also the last under the Craftsman sponsorship banner until the 2023 season. Sears Holdings Corporation, the owners of the Craftsman brand name of tools, withdrew sponsorship at the end of the season. On October 23, NASCAR officials confirmed that Camping World would become the title sponsor beginning with the 2009 season.Kansascity.com: Craftsman Dropping Sponsorship of NASCAR Truck Series

2008 teams and drivers Full-time teams Manufacturer Team Driver(s) Crew chief Chevrolet Kevin Harvick, Inc. 2 Jack Sprague Ernie Cope Kevin Harvick Ryan Newman Cale Gale 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Rick Ren Key Motorsports 40 Chad Chaffin Gary Showalter Paul Poulter Jeff Green Mike Bliss Morgan-Dollar Motorsports Randy Moss Motorsports Erin Crocker Eric Phillips Scott Speed (R) Landon Cassill Aric Almirola Regan Smith Willie Allen Jimmie Johnson Marc Davis Donny Lia (R) MRD Motorsports 8 Chad McCumbee Steve Genenbacher Dave Wachtel Randy Dean ThorSport Racing 13 Shelby Howard Lance Hooper 88 Matt Crafton Bud Haefele TRG Motorsports 7 Andy Lally (R) Butch Hylton T. J. Bell Dodge Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia 18 Dennis Setzer Marcus Richmond SS-Green Light Racing 08 Jason White Doug Howe Bobby Dotter Bobby Dotter Ryan Lawler Ford Circle Bar Racing 10 Brendan Gaughan Bryan Berry 14 Rick Crawford Kevin Starland Roush Fenway Racing 09 Joey Clanton John Quinn Chad Norris Travis Kvapil Bobby East John Wes Townley Jamie McMurray 6 Colin Braun (R) Mike Beam 99 Erik Darnell Matt Puccia Wood Brothers Racing 21 Jon Wood John Monsam Mike Smith Gere Kennon Jr. Keven Wood Toyota Bill Davis Racing 5 Mike Skinner Jeff Hensley Joe Lax Doug Richert 22 Phillip McGilton (R) Doug Wolcott Scott Speed (R) Michael Annett (R) 23 Johnny Benson Tripp Bruce Billy Ballew Motorsports 51 Kyle Busch Richie Wauters Shane Sieg Mike Bliss Germain Racing 9 Justin Marks (R) Jason Overstreet David Reutimann Mike Wallace Sean Caisse Chrissy Wallace Paul Tracy Michael Annett (R) 30 Todd Bodine Mike Hillman Jr. HT Motorsports 59 Ted Musgrave Danny Rollins Stacy Compton Joey Logano Terry Cook Red Horse Racing 11 David Starr Jamie Jones Wyler Racing 60 Terry Cook George Church John Quinn Jack Sprague Chevrolet Toyota Billy Ballew Motorsports 15 Marc Mitchell (R) Doug George Denny Hamlin Shane Sieg David Stremme Jason White John Andretti Ryan Lawler Kenny Wallace James Buescher SS-Green Light Racing 07 Shane Sieg Bobby Dotter Mike Davis Doug Howe Butch Miller Mike Abner Mike Bliss Ryan Lawler John Mickel Sean Murphy J. C. Stout Brandon Knupp Chris Jones Butch Miller Johnny Sauter Max Papis Johnny Chapman Xpress Motorsports 16 Brian Scott (R) Dave Fuge Dave McCarty Jeff Hensley

Part-time teams Manufacturer Team Driver(s) Crew chief Rounds Chevrolet Black Bull Racing 53 Justin Hobgood Robert Bentley Brad Keselowski Racing 19 Robb Brent Wayne Setterington Jr. Brad Keselowski DGM Racing 12 Mario Gosselin Germain Gosselin William Davis Scotty Crockett Mario Gosselin J. R. Fitzpatrick Fast Track Racing Enterprises 48 Bryan Silas Jeff McClure Hermie Sadler FDNY Racing 28 Wayne Edwards Dick Rahilly Key Motorsports 44 Morgan Shepherd Tommy Morgan Lafferty Motorsports 89 Ryan Seaman Chris Lafferty Nick Tucker Richard Johns Russ Dugger Mike Harmon LCS Motorsports 87 Chris Jones Mark Parks Morgan-Dollar Motorsports 47 A. J. Allmendinger Kurt Binkley Timothy Peters Danny Gill Norm Benning Racing 57 Norm Benning Stan Hover Reary Racing 54 Brian Sockwell Steven Barfield Jerry Reary Bradley Riethmeyer Jerry Markle SS-Green Light Racing 0 Butch Miller Jim Schneider Mike Davis Wayne Edwards Chris Jones Johnny Chapman Mike Olsen Norm Benning Kevin Lepage Stellar-Quest Racing Team 91 J. C. Stout Steve Mollnow Don Roberts Tatman Motorsports 37 Gary St. Amant ??? TRG Motorsports 71 Mike Bliss Jason Miller Donny Lia (R) Andy Lally Ben Stancill J. R. Fitzpatrick Dodge Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia 04 Patrick Carpentier Mike Shiplett 4 Stacy Compton Bryant Frazier Sam Hornish Jr. Chris Carrier Brevak Racing 31 Larry Foyt Tony Mitchell CHS Motorsports 41 Tayler Malsam Tom Sokoloski Ryan Mathews Derrike Cope, Inc. 73 Michelle Theriault Rick Markle ??? Nick Tucker Rick Markle Larry Gunselman Robert Bruce 74 Jennifer Jo Cobb Del Markle Rick Markle Derrike Cope Larry Gunselman Nick Tucker Thompson Motorsports 61 Brett Thompson Lonnie Rush Windward Racing Enterprises 29 Scott Lynch Larry Pryor Ford Brent Raymer Racing 85 Brent Raymer Pete Raymer Tony Furr Charles Buchanan Racing 50 Craig Wood Tony Oscar Cowen Racing 42 Tim Cowen Stan Hover East Coast Motorsports 66 Benny Gordon Dan Glauz JTG Racing 20 Scott Lagasse Jr. Gary Cogswell Greg Conner MB Motorsports 36 J. C. Stout ??? Ray Hackett Racing 76 Ryan Hackett Bryant Frazier Toyota Bill Davis Racing 24 Tayler Malsam Gene Nead Germain Racing 03 Chrissy Wallace Mike Abner Dustin Skinner Ken Schrader Racing 52 Ken Schrader Donnie Richeson Chevrolet Ford MB Motorsports 63 P. J. Jones Mike Mittler Jack Smith Justin Allgaier Dodge Toyota Premier Racing 17 Timothy Peters Chad Kendrick

Schedule No Race title Track Location Date 1 Chevy Silverado 250 Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida February 15 2 San Bernardino County 200 Auto Club Speedway Fontana, California February 23 3 American Commercial Lines 200 Atlanta Motor Speedway Hampton, Georgia March 7 4 Kroger 250 Martinsville Speedway Ridgeway, Virginia March 29 5 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, Kansas April 26 6 NC Education Lottery 200 Lowe's Motor Speedway Concord, North Carolina May 16 7 Ohio 250 Mansfield Motorsports Park Mansfield, Ohio May 24 8 AAA Insurance 200 Dover International Speedway Dover, Delaware May 30 9 Sam's Town 400 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas June 6 10 Cool City Customs 200 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan June 14 11 Camping World RV Sales 200 Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin June 20 12 O'Reilly 200 Memphis Motorsports Park Millington, Tennessee June 28 13 Built Ford Tough 225 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky July 19 14 Power Stroke Diesel 200 O'Reilly Raceway Park Brownsburg, Indiana July 25 15 Toyota Tundra 200 Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee August 9 16 O'Reilly 200 Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, Tennessee August 20 17 Camping World 200 Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois September 6 18 Camping World RV Rental 200 New Hampshire Motor Speedway Loudon, New Hampshire September 13 19 Qwik Liner Las Vegas 350 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada September 20 20 Mountain Dew 250 Talladega Superspeedway Lincoln, Alabama October 4 21 Kroger 200 Martinsville Speedway Ridgeway, Virginia October 18 22 E-Z-GO 200 Atlanta Motor Speedway Henry County, Georgia October 25 23 Chevy Silverado 350K Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas October 31 24 Lucas Oil 150 Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Arizona November 7 25 Ford 200 Homestead–Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida November 14

Races

Chevy Silverado HD 250 The Chevy Silverado HD 250 was held February 15 at Daytona International Speedway. Erik Darnell won the pole. Anticipating another three wide finish such as the ones in 2003 and 2007, Darnell hoped to squash those hopes, and nearly did so by dominating the early portions of the race. During the early stages, multiple wrecks came about, including "The Big One" on lap 20, which was started when Brendan Gaughan made contact with an extremely tight Mike Skinner, forcing him up the racetrack and into the path of Matt Crafton, who also collected Ted Musgrave, Jon Wood, Chad Chaffin, and most notably P. J. Jones whose No. 63 truck caught fire trying to avoid the wreck, forcing a red flag. Only three laps later did the next wreck strike, with Joey Clanton getting loose and spinning, collecting outside polesitter Terry Cook, Mike Bliss, and ROTY contenders Colin Braun and Justin Marks. Darnell had the race in hand until green flag pitstops began at lap 84. Todd Bodine grabbed the lead from the dominant Darnell, who thought he had a loose wheel. While slowing to enter pit road, Marks was unaware that Darnell was pitting and the two made contact, ending Darnell's night. After the pit stop, Bodine would not look back, holding off a hard charging Kyle Busch and Johnny Benson for his first ever win at Daytona.

Top ten results:

Pos. Driver Make Team 1 30 Todd Bodine Toyota Germain Racing 2 51 Kyle Busch Toyota Billy Ballew Motorsports 3 23 Johnny Benson Toyota Bill Davis Racing 4 11 David Starr Toyota Red Horse Racing 5 14 Rick Crawford Ford Circle Bar Racing 6 4 Stacy Compton Dodge Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia 7 8 Chad McCumbee Chevrolet MRD Motorsports 8 9 Justin Marks (R) Toyota Germain Racing 9 16 Brian Scott (R) Chevrolet Xpress Motorsports 10 18 Dennis Setzer Dodge Bobby Hamilton Racing-Virginia

Did not qualify: Brian Sockwell (#54).

NOTE: Todd Bodine suffered a 25-point penalty when an illegal part was found on his truck during pre-qualifying inspection.

San Bernardino County 200 The San Bernardino County 200 was held February 23 at the newly renamed Auto Club Speedway. As all of Friday's activities were cancelled due to rain, Truck qualifying and the race were both cancelled, with the race being pushed back to Saturday morning. Based on the 2007 owners points, defending champion Ron Hornaday Jr. was on pole. However, the race would mostly be dominated by Kyle Busch, coming out of a frustrating Speedweeks. Busch would dominate, leading the first 51 laps. However, Daytona winner Todd Bodine ran down Busch and passed him on the backstretch just after the halfway point. After the final round of green flag pit stops, Busch regained the lead by 3.5 seconds over Bodine and never looked back, cruising to his first Truck Series win of the season.

Top ten results:

Pos. Driver Make Team 1 51 Kyle Busch Toyota Billy Ballew Motorsports 2 30 Todd Bodine Toyota Germain Racing 3 23 Johnny Benson Toyota Bill Davis Racing 4 60 Terry Cook Toyota Wyler Racing 5 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Chevrolet Kevin Harvick, Inc. 6 59 Ted Musgrave Toyota HT Motorsports 7 09 Travis Kvapil Ford Roush Fenway Racing 8 5 Mike Skinner Toyota Bill Davis Racing 9 16 Brian Scott (R) Chevrolet Xpress Motorsports 10 22 Phillip McGilton (R) Toyota Bill Davis Racing

Did not qualify: None, only 35 entries.

American Commercial Lines 200

The American Commercial Lines 200 was held on March 7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Defending series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. won the pole. Hornaday would also dominate the race on long runs, leading for 81 laps. However, the critical moment of the race was on lap 112 when Kyle Busch's crew chief, Richie Wauters brought his driver into the pits after a ten-minute rain delay on lap 111. The stop forced leader Hornaday to pit a lap later. Busch took the lead from Hornaday within 10 laps to go, and held of Hornaday over a four lap sprint to the finish to take his second consecutive victory.

Top ten results:

Pos. Driver Make Team 1 51 Kyle Busch Toyota Billy Ballew Motorsports 2 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Chevrolet Kevin Harvick, Inc. 3 5 Mike Skinner Toyota Bill Davis Racing 4 88 Matt Crafton Chevrolet ThorSport Racing 5 8 Chad McCumbee Chevrolet MRD Motorsports 6 2 Jack Sprague Chevrolet Kevin Harvick, Inc. 7 59 Ted Musgrave Toyota HT Motorsports 8 60 Terry Cook Toyota Wyler Racing 9 30 Todd Bodine Toyota Germain Racing 10 21 Jon Wood Ford Wood Brothers Racing

Did not qualify: None, only 32 entries.

Kroger 250