2008 Sprint Cup Series

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Jimmie Johnson won his third Cup Series Championship.
Duration	February 17, 2008 through November 16, 2008
TV	Fox; TNT; ESPN/ABC
Season statistics
No. of races	36
First race	2008 Daytona 500
Last race	2008 Ford 400
Drivers' champion	Jimmie Johnson
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Regan Smith
Most popular driver	Dale Earnhardt, Jr
Previous	2007
Next	2009

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

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.

Position	Make	Points	Race Wins
1		219	11
2		215	11
3		207	10
4		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)