| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 11 of 36 in the2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season | |||
 Layout of Darlington Raceway | |||
| Date | May 10, 2008 (2008-05-10) | ||
| Official name | Dodge Challenger 500 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway,Darlington County, South Carolina | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.366 miles (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 367 laps, 501.322 mi (806.799 km) | ||
| Weather | Chilly with temperatures plummeting as low as 64 °F (18 °C); wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 140.35 miles per hour (225.87 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Fenway Racing | ||
| Time | 27.405 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 169 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Company | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy,Darrell Waltrip andLarry McReynolds | ||
The2008 Dodge Challenger 500, the 59th running of theevent, was the eleventh race on theNASCAR Sprint Cup season. It was held on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at the fabledDarlington Raceway inDarlington, South Carolina.
The race was televised in the USA onFox starting at 7 PMUS EDT with radio being handled onMRN on terrestrial radio andSirius Satellite Radio. It was the first race on the newly repaved 1.366 mile track as "The Lady in Black" has gone under an extreme makeover akin toplastic surgery, with speeds atGoodyear tire testing in March having cars clocked at or over 200 MPH.
The race also served as the last chance to qualify forSprint All-Star Race XXIV to be held the following week atLowe's Motor Speedway inConcord, North Carolina. Otherwise, those who have not won a race, a series championship or a previous All-Star race would have to qualify via the Sprint Showdown race as one of the top two finishers or through fan voting by being on the lead lap in the Showdown.
Greg Biffle edged outDale Earnhardt Jr. for the pole position.
After getting a rousing chorus of booing from Earnhardt fans for what he did the previous weekat Richmond, Kyle Busch quieted them down with his third win of the 2008 campaign.
Other finishers in the top ten wereCarl Edwards,Jeff Gordon,Dale Earnhardt Jr.,David Ragan,Matt Kenseth,Denny Hamlin,Travis Kvapil,Dave Blaney andJeff Burton.[2]
Failed to Qualify:Johnny Sauter (#70), Jeff Green (#34).
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