The 2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge race was the second running of the NAPA Auto Parts 200, a discontinued NASCAR Nationwide Series race held on August 2, 2008, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec. The race was the 23rd of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.
The pole position was won by Scott Pruett of Chip Ganassi Racing, while the race was won by JR Motorsports' Ron Fellows. The race was the first points race in NASCAR history to be run with grooved rain tires.
Background The race was the second running of the NAPA Auto Parts 200, with Kevin Harvick winning the inaugural event in 2007. The track, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, was one of two international tracks on the 2008 Nationwide schedule, along with Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.
Various road course ringers ran in the race, including Patrick Carpentier, Ron Fellows, Max Papis, Scott Pruett, Boris Said, Scott Gaylord and Jacques Villeneuve.
Qualifying Scott Pruett of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing won the pole position with a lap time of 102.568 seconds and a speed of . Max Papis started second with a lap speed of , followed by Marcos Ambrose, Patrick Carpentier, Jacques Villeneuve. The remaining top ten comprised Ron Fellows, Boris Said, Steve Wallace, Brad Coleman and Joey Logano. The lone driver to not qualify for the race was Kevin O'Connell.
Race The race started at 3:30 EST, with pole-sitter Scott Pruett leading until lap 7, in which the caution flag flew for rain, followed by the red flag on the following lap. As a result, most teams added windshield wipers to the cars, while grooved rain tires were installed. Rain tires had been previously used in practice and qualifying for the 1997 NASCAR Thunder 100 exhibition race at Suzuka Circuit, and also in 1999 by the Camping World Truck Series during a practice at Watkins Glen International. At one point, Carl Edwards was seen trying to use what appeared to be a Swiffer mop to try cleaning his windshield, possibly during the first caution.
The race was paused for about an hour before restarting. As a result of the rain, speeds dropped from to . On lap 14, Marcos Ambrose took the lead, leading for a race high 27 laps until he was penalized for speeding in pit road. Jacques Villeneuve took the lead on lap 41, which he subsequently relinquished to Ron Fellows on the following lap. Fellows held the lead for seven laps until the race was called due to severe rain on lap 48. On the same lap, Villeneuve, who did not have a wiper installed, collided with another car's rear; Joey Logano also crashed on the lap, hitting a car without brake lights. Patrick Carpentier finished second, followed by Ambrose, Ron Hornaday Jr., and Boris Said. The top ten was rounded out with Edwards, Jason Leffler, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Steve Wallace.
Results Driver Team Manufacturer Points 16 5 Ron Fellows JR Motorsports Chevrolet 48 190 24 9 Patrick Carpentier # Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 48 170 33 59 Marcos Ambrose JTG Daugherty Racing Ford 48 175 412 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Kevin Harvick, Inc. Chevrolet 48 160 57 25 Boris Said Rensi - No Fear Ford 48 155 618 60 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48 150 714 38 Jason Leffler Braun Racing Toyota 48 146 816 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48 142 929 2 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 138 108 66 Steve Wallace Rusty Wallace Racing Chevrolet 48 134 1117 29 Scott Wimmer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 130 1228 88 Brad Keselowski JR Motorsports Chevrolet 48 127 1330 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48 124 1419 4 Landon Cassill # Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 48 121 1511 7 Mike Wallace Germain Racing Toyota 48 118 165 32 Jacques Villeneuve Braun Racing Toyota 48 120 1710 20 Joey Logano # Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47 112 1832 99 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 47 109 1925 1 Mike Bliss Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 47 106 202 64 Max Papis Rusty Wallace Racing Chevrolet 47 103 219 27 Brad Coleman Curb Agajanian Performance Group Ford 47 105 221 40 Scott Pruett Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 47 102 2323 11 Jason Keller CJM Racing Chevrolet 47 94 2426 47 Kelly Bires JTG Daugherty Racing Ford 47 91 2521 30 Stanton Barrett SKI Motorsports Chevrolet 47 88 2624 98 Alex Garcia Transnet Racing Chevrolet 47 85 2722 81 D. J. Kennington MacDonald Motorsports Dodge 47 82 2815 22 Andrew Ranger Fitz Motorsports Dodge 47 79 2937 52 Scott Gaylord Jimmy Means Racing Ford 46 76 3020 24 Brian Simo Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 44 73 3127 28 Kenny Wallace Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 42 70 3238 0 Wheeler Boys JD Motorsports Chevrolet 37 67 3313 10 Justin Marks Braun Racing Toyota 19 64 3442 01 Trevor Boys JD Motorsports Chevrolet 13 61 3531 05 Burney Lamar Day Enterprises Ford 8 58 3635 31 Jeff Fuller SKI Motorsports Chevrolet 7 55 3743 89 Morgan Shepherd Faith Motorsports Chevrolet 7 52 3834 62 Brandon Whitt Specialty Racing Ford 7 49 3941 61 Stan Barrett Specialty Racing Chevrolet 7 46 4039 90 Don Thomson Jr. MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 2 43 4136 91 Scott Steckly MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 2 40 4240 84 Dale Quarterley Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 2 37 4333 49 Derrike Cope Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 1 34
Standings after the race
Pos Driver Points Differential 1 Clint Bowyer 3354 0 2 Carl Edwards 3186 -168 3 Brad Keselowski 3170 -184 4 David Reutimann 3035 -319 5 David Ragan 3009 -345 6 Mike Bliss 2944 -410 7 Kyle Busch 2828 -526 8 Mike Wallace 2736 -618 9 Jason Leffler 2637 -717 10 Jason Keller 2628 -726
References