| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 36 in the2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | February 17, 2008 (2008-02-17) | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 82 °F (28 °C); wind speeds approaching 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 152.672 miles per hour (245.702 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 86 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy,Darrell Waltrip, andLarry McReynolds | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 10.2/20 | ||
The2008 Daytona 500, the 50th annual running of theevent, was held on February 17, 2008 atDaytona International Speedway inDaytona Beach, Florida. The race was the 50th to be run since the first in 1959, won byLee Petty. To commemorate the event, theHarley 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 theDaytona 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 ownerRoger Penske.
The race was the first Daytona 500 win forPenske Racing and the first run usingNASCAR'sCar of Tomorrow, which was introduced in 2007 and became standard in 2008. Additionally, this was the first official race under the newSprint Cup banner as the telecommunications giant replaces Nextel as the series sponsor aftertheir 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.
The race was televised onFOX in theUSA, with the telecast scheduled beginning at 2 p.m.EST.1960 Daytona 500 winnerJunior Johnson drove the pace car and the green flag was waved the honorary starter, seven-time race winnerRichard Petty around 3:30 p.m. Radio coverage was handled byMRN Radio and started at about 2:30 EST.Trisha Yearwood performed thenational anthem, followed by a flyover from theU.S. Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying team. As many as 31 past champions of this race served asGrand Marshals for this historic event to deliver the command to start the engines.
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 winnersKevin Harvick,Dale Earnhardt Jr.,Michael Waltrip,Jimmie Johnson andMario Andretti, sitcom starsJason Lee andLeah Remini, TV hostsKelly Ripa(Live with Regis and Kelly),Jeff Foxworthy(Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?) andCarson Daly(Last Call with Carson Daly), NASCAR announcersMike Joy fromFOX andDr. Jerry Punch fromESPN, wrestlerGoldberg and skateboarding legendTony 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 thePepsi 400, with the ten finalists among Harvick (defending 2007 champion), Earnhardt Jr. (2004 winner), Andretti (1967 winner) andMarvin Panch (1961 winner), Hawk, Joy, Katie Cole (the second of two designs), Foxworthy, and two children – 17-year-old Patrick McRae (forJimmie Johnson, the 2006 winner) and seven-year-old Derek Wynne (for ownerRick 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 theJeff Gordon Foundation.
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.[2]
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.
The remaining spots were determined by the top finishers excluding the front row drivers in two 150-mile (240 km) races called theGatorade 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.
Drivers inboldface qualified to the Daytona 500.
Also advancing to Daytona 500:83-Brian Vickers
NOTE: Race #2 was extended four laps due togreen-white-checker finish rule.
Failed to qualify:
In the beginning of the race,Jimmie Johnson andMichael 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 blockMatt 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, andMartin 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 byJuan Pablo Montoya, bringing out the 5th caution. However, he did not have any damage from the crash. The biggest crash occurred on lap 189 whenKevin Harvick knockedDave Blaney into the wall, collectingMark Martin,Michael Waltrip,Casey Mears,Denny Hamlin,Travis Kvapil, andCarl 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 blockTony 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, bringingRyan Newman,Kurt andKyle Busch andReed 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.
(W) – Denotes former race winner.(R) – Denotes rookie.
• – Led most laps
Average Speed: 152.672 mph (245.702 km/h)
Margin of Victory: .092 seconds
Time of Race: Three hours, 16 minutes and 30 seconds
Lead Changes: 42 among 17 drivers
Cautions: Seven for 23 laps[3]
* — On Wednesday, February 20, NASCAR docked Robby Gordon and his self-owned team both 100 owner and driver points for violations during the first day of inspections back on February 8, including an illegal nose cover. His crew chief, Frank Kerr, was fined $100,000, suspended for the next six races starting at California, and was placed on probation until 12/31/08 as a result. An appeal, heard on March 5, the points penalties and the Kerr suspension were overturned, however, the fine was increased to $150,000,
| Previous race: 2007 Ford 400 | Sprint Cup Series 2008 season | Next race: 2008 Auto Club 500 |