2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (Start Your Engines!)
The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 60th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 37th modern-era Cup series season.
As a result of the merger between Sprint Corporation and Nextel Communications, NASCAR's premier series was renamed as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning with the 2008 season. Coors Light also replaced Budweiser as the Official Beer of NASCAR, thereby becoming the new sponsor of the Pole Award given to pole winner in each Sprint Cup Series race. However, Budweiser was still the official sponsor for Bud Shootout at Daytona in February, and continued sponsoring Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s #8 Chevrolet.
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Car of Tomorrow
In 2003, NASCAR began developing a new body for the SAFER Car chassis introduced in 1997. The new body, colloquially known as the "Car of Tomorrow", was first tested in 2005, and received unanimous criticism, from its boxy shape and lack of differences between manufacturers beyond stickers, to its rear wing that, wind tunnel tests revealed, could render the roof flaps completely useless and cause cars to go airborne, and seeming inability to make a good run. The body was originally meant to debut in 2008, but Dale Earnhardt's damning testimony ("It's a glorified IROC car!") caused massive fan backlash against the proposed change, causing NASCAR to scrap the car entirely and continue using the carbody design introduced in 2003. Ultimately, this design would continue seeing use in the Sprint Cup Series until the New Body Program was initiated in 2011 to create more stock-looking cars, culminating in the debut of a new body for the SAFER Car in 2013.
Economic problems affect NASCAR
The Economic crisis of 2008, with high gas prices over US $4 a gallon, caused NASCAR's largely blue-collar fan base to feel the pinch.
While Bristol was one of a few tracks that still sold out, others saw crowds shrink. Daytona International Speedway sold out the Daytona 500, but not the Coke Zero 400. Some track ticket packages now included all-you-can-eat deals, and tracks also offered nearby campgrounds to entice those who come for several days to see Nationwide and Craftsman Truck races. For their fall race, Lowe's Motor Speedway offered discounts on local hotel rooms, novelties and food and drink.
The economy also affected the teams themselves with high diesel fuel prices, with that fuel needed to power the semi-trailer trucks which transport the race cars to and from racetracks. Sponsorships also grew increasingly harder to come by, further increasing the gap between teams. Before the season began, Morgan-McClure Motorsports ceased operations for their single-car team.
Teams attempted to stave off the effects of the "Great Recession" by merging, the biggest example being Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) and Richard Childress Racing (RCR) merging in 2009 to form Earnhardt Childress Racing (ECR).
New Round of Retirements
Several longtime fixtures of the NASCAR circuit retired around 2007-08, including Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett, Tim Richmond, Sterling Marlin, and Ernie Irvan.
Teams and drivers
Complete schedule
Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chevrolet | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | 98 | Jeremy Mayfield | Dave Skog |
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 01 | Jerry Nadeau | ||
1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Kevin Manion | ||
8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Tony Eury Jr. | ||
14 | Sterling Marlin | Dan Stillman | ||
17 | Paul Menard | Doug Randolph | ||
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chad Knaus | ||
Furniture Row Racing | 78 | Joe Nemechek | Jay Guy | |
Haas CNC Racing | 166 | Scott Riggs | Bootie Barker | |
Max Papis | ||||
170 | Johnny Sauter | Steve Genenbacher | ||
Ken Schrader | ||||
Jason Leffler | ||||
Scott Riggs | ||||
Tony Raines | ||||
Max Papis | ||||
Hendrick Motorsports | 5 | Kyle Busch | Alan Gustafson | |
25 | Ricky Hendrick | Steve Letarte | ||
35 | Casey Atwood | Tony Gibson | ||
50 | Mark Martin | Darian Grubb | ||
Richard Childress Racing | 07 | Clint Bowyer | Gil Martin | |
3 | Kevin Harvick | |||
30 | Dave Blaney | Todd Berrier | ||
31 | Jeff Burton | Scott Miller | ||
Dodge | AK Racing | 7 | Alan Kulwicki | |
Bill Davis Racing | 22 | Jeff Gordon | Tommy Baldwin Jr. | |
23 | Bobby Labonte | |||
24 | Scott Wimmer (R) | |||
Chip Ganassi Racing
with Felix Sabates |
40 | David Stremme | Brian Pattie | |
41 | Reed Sorenson | Jimmy Elledge | ||
Scott Pruett | ||||
42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Donnie Wingo | ||
Gillett Evernham Motorsports | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Kenny Francis | |
10 | Patrick Carpentier (R) | Rodney Childers | ||
Terry Labonte | ||||
Mike Wallace | ||||
A. J. Allmendinger | ||||
19 | Casey Elliott | Ernie Elliott | ||
Kelman Racing | 86 | Ryan Kelman | Scott Searle | |
McDuffie Racing | 170 | Crissy Hillsworth | ||
Moroso-Rudd Racing | 82 | Rob Moroso | ||
83 | Brendan Gaughan | |||
84 | Shawna Robinson | |||
Pacific Coast Racing | 60 | Chloe Johnson | Jed Luke | |
69 | Jenny Smith | Barry Baker | ||
80 | Tim Johnson | Charlie Davis | ||
85 | Belle Armstrong | Scott Smith | ||
Penske Racing South | 2 | Kurt Busch | Pat Tryson | |
12 | Sam Hornish Jr. (R) | Roy McCauley | ||
39 | Ryan Newman | Chris Carrier | ||
77 | Blaise Alexander | |||
Petty Enterprises | 43 | John Andretti | Jeff Meendering | |
44 | Kyle Petty | Billy Wilburn | ||
45 | Adam Petty | Stewart Cooper | ||
46 | Austin Petty | |||
Robby Gordon Motorsports | 107 | Robby Gordon | Frank Kerr
Walter Giles Kirk Almquist | |
Ford | Roush Racing | 6 | David Ragan | Jimmy Fennig |
16 | Greg Biffle | Greg Erwin | ||
26 | Jamie McMurray | Larry Carter | ||
66 | Matt Kenseth | Chip Bolin | ||
99 | Carl Edwards | Bob Osborne | ||
Steele Racing with Brett Favre | 15 | Tim Steele | ||
90 | Davey Allison | |||
Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Bill Elliott | Gene Nead
Mike Smith David Hyder | |
Pontiac | Kennedy Racing | 03 | Melvin Kennedy | Mark Cutter |
04 | Louise Kennedy | |||
Toyota | Hall of Fame Racing | 96 | J. J. Yeley | Brandon Thomas
Steve Boyer |
P. J. Jones | ||||
Brad Coleman | ||||
Ken Schrader | ||||
Joey Logano | ||||
Joe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Mike Ford | |
18 | Dale Jarrett | Steve Addington | ||
20 | Tony Stewart | Greg Zipadelli | ||
Michael Waltrip Racing | 00 | David Reutimann | Ryan Pemberton | |
Michael McDowell (R) | Bill Pappas
Peter Sospenzo | |||
Mike Skinner | ||||
Kenny Wallace | ||||
A. J. Allmendinger | ||||
Mike Bliss | ||||
Marcos Ambrose | Frank Kerr | |||
55 | Michael Waltrip | |||
144 | Kenny Irwin Jr. | |||
Team Red Bull | 183 | Brian Vickers | Kevin Hamlin
Randy Cox | |
Scott Speed | Jimmy Elledge | |||
184 | A. J. Allmendinger | Ricky Viers
Jimmy Elledge | ||
Mike Skinner | ||||
Scott Speed | ||||
Brian Vickers | Randy Cox |
Technical changes
Changes from 2007 to 2008 were minor. Toyota made minor adjustments to the Camry, while Ford and Dodge made no changes to the Fusion or Charger.
The biggest change was what didn't change. Chevrolet had discontinued the Monte Carlo again, this time for good. However, unlike when the Ford Thunderbird was discontinued after 1997, Chevrolet did not introduce a new model for NASCAR competition. For 2008, all Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series teams continued running the Monte Carlo SS. For 2009, Chevrolet introduced the Impala SS into competition for both series.