| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 35 in the2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season | |||
.svg) Circuit Gilles Villeneuve | |||
| Date | August 2, 2008 (2008-08-02) | ||
| Location | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve,Montreal,Quebec | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.709 miles (4.360 km) | ||
| Distance | 48 laps, 130.032 mi (209.266 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 74 laps, 200.466 mi (322.619 km) | ||
| Weather | Mild with temperatures of 26.6 °C (79.9 °F); wind speeds of 4.9 kilometres per hour (3.0 mph) | ||
| Average speed | 50.149 mph (80.707 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 60,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Chip Ganassi Racing | ||
| Time | 102.568 sec | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Marcos Ambrose | JTG Daugherty Racing | |
| Laps | 27 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 5 | Ron Fellows | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN2[2] | ||
| Announcers | Marty Reid,Rusty Wallace,Randy LaJoie | ||
The2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge[3] race was the second running of theNAPA Auto Parts 200, a discontinuedNASCARNationwide Series race held on August 2, 2008, atCircuit Gilles Villeneuve inMontreal,Quebec. The race was the 23rd of the2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.
Thepole position was won byScott Pruett ofChip Ganassi Racing, while the race was won byJR Motorsports'Ron Fellows. The race was the first points race in NASCAR history to be run with groovedrain tires.[4]
The race was the second running of theNAPA Auto Parts 200, withKevin Harvick winning the inaugural event in 2007.[2] The track,Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, was one of two international tracks on the 2008 Nationwide schedule, along withAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez inMexico City.[5]
Variousroad course ringers ran in the race, includingPatrick Carpentier,Ron Fellows,Max Papis,Scott Pruett,Boris Said,Scott Gaylord andJacques Villeneuve.[2]
Scott Pruett ofEarnhardt Ganassi Racing won thepole position with a lap time of 102.568 seconds and a speed of 95.082 miles per hour (153.020 km/h). Max Papis started second with a lap speed of 94.835 mph (152.622 km/h),[6] followed byMarcos Ambrose, Patrick Carpentier,Jacques Villeneuve.[7] The remaining top ten comprised Ron Fellows, Boris Said,Steve Wallace,Brad Coleman andJoey Logano. The lone driver to not qualify for the race wasKevin O'Connell.[2]
The race started at 3:30 EST,[8] with pole-sitterScott Pruett leading until lap 7, in which thecaution flag flew for rain, followed by thered flag on the following lap.[2] As a result, most teams added windshield wipers to the cars, while grooved rain tires were installed.[4] Rain tires had been previously used in practice and qualifying for the 1997NASCAR Thunder 100 exhibition race atSuzuka Circuit, and also in1999 by theCamping World Truck Series during a practice atWatkins Glen International.[4] At one point,Carl Edwards was seen trying to use what appeared to be aSwiffer mop to try cleaning his windshield, possibly during the first caution.[9]
The race was paused for about an hour before restarting.[2] As a result of the rain, speeds dropped from 90 mph (140 km/h) to 75 mph (121 km/h).[4] On lap 14,Marcos Ambrose took the lead, leading for a race high 27 laps until he was penalized for speeding inpit road.[4]Jacques Villeneuve took the lead on lap 41, which he subsequently relinquished toRon Fellows on the following lap.[3] 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 withoutbrake lights.[4]Patrick Carpentier finished second, followed by Ambrose,Ron Hornaday Jr., andBoris Said. The top ten was rounded out with Edwards,Jason Leffler,Greg Biffle,Clint Bowyer andSteve Wallace.[3]
| Pos | Driver | Points[3] | 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 |
Another lasting image – Carl Edwards (#60 CitiFinancial Ford) using a Swiffer while driving to clear the raindrops from his windshield.