The 2008 Food City 500 was the fifth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and it was held on Sunday, March 16, 2008 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This race aired on Fox starting at 1:30 PM EDT with radio coverage handled by Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio with programming starting at 1 PM US EDT. The race marked the last race utilizing the 2007 Top 35 owners points exemption. Starting with the Goody's Cool Orange 500 on March 30 each week's Top 35 teams will be exempt.
The race marked the 676th and final career points start for Dale Jarrett, who made one final start in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Dale's father, Ned, himself a former series champion and television commentator, waved the green flag for his son's final race. Starting on March 30 David Reutimann became the new driver of the #44 car, while Michael McDowell made his debut in the #00 car.
Report
Background
The track, Bristol Motor Speedway, is a four-turn short track oval that is long. The track's turns are banked from twenty-four to thirty degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked from six to ten degrees. The back stretch also has banking from six to ten degrees. The track has a seating capacity of 160,000 people. The race consisted of 500 laps, equivalent to a race distance of . The 2007 winner was Kyle Busch.
Qualifying Qualifying was canceled due to rain on March 14 so the field was set by the rulebook for the second (and final) time this year using the 2007 Owners' points. As a result, Jimmie Johnson was on the pole.
Race Jarrett started deep in the field and fell one lap down to the leader just before the first competition caution on lap 50. That caution was brought out because the track surface had been washed clean by a rain the previous night. He finished 37th.
Drivers that spun out include Kyle Busch (while in the lead) and Robby Gordon. The only car in the 43 car field that wasn't running at the end was driven by Brian Vickers.
With two laps left, Kevin Harvick bobbled entering a turn and pushed up into second place Tony Stewart. Stewart hit the wall, bringing out a caution, and finished as the last car on the lead lap in 14th. Denny Hamlin was leading at the time but he suddenly slowed after he had fuel pickup problems and quickly faded to finish eighth. The race went six laps past its scheduled length due to the green-white-checker finish rule, and was won by Jeff Burton. Richard Childress Racing finished 1-2-3 for the first time in team history, with Harvick finishing second and Clint Bowyer third.
Results PosStNo.DriverCarLapsStatusLedPoints1831Jeff BurtonChevrolet506running219021029Kevin HarvickChevrolet506running321753307Clint BowyerChevrolet506running8117041416Greg BiffleFord506running016051588Dale Earnhardt Jr.Chevrolet506running015561211Denny HamlinToyota506running981557209Kasey KahneDodge506running01468168Aric AlmirolaChevrolet506running014293238David GillilandFord506running013810417Matt KensethFord506running013411224Jeff GordonChevrolet506running013012362Kurt BuschDodge506running012713111Martin Truex Jr.Chevrolet506running012414620Tony StewartToyota506running267131152142Juan Pablo MontoyaDodge505running011816999Carl EdwardsFord504running0115172218Kyle BuschToyota504running711718148Jimmie JohnsonChevrolet504running14114192719Elliott SadlerDodge504running0106203900David ReutimannToyota504running010321246David RaganFord504running0100223166Scott RiggsChevrolet503running097234055Michael WaltripToyota503running59924287Robby GordonDodge503running091252596J. J. YeleyToyota503running088261701Regan SmithChevrolet503running085273028Travis KvapilFord503running082283545Kyle PettyDodge501running07929777Sam Hornish Jr.Dodge501running076303370Jeremy MayfieldChevrolet500running073312341Reed SorensonDodge500running070322915Paul MenardChevrolet499running067331312Ryan NewmanDodge499running064343422Dave BlaneyToyota498running061354278Joe NemechekChevrolet498running058362640Dario FranchittiDodge497running055373744Dale JarrettToyota496running052381943Bobby LabonteDodge489running049393883Brian VickersToyota486crash046404384Mike SkinnerToyota441running043414149Ken SchraderDodge420running0404255Casey MearsChevrolet417running037431826Jamie McMurrayFord373running034 Failed to make race due to cancellation of qualifying: Patrick Carpentier (#10), Jeff Green (#21), John Andretti (#34).
References