Season In Review – Week 9: A Look At The 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Season

There have been six different race winners in 2008 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series: Tony Stewart (Daytona and California), Kyle Busch (Texas and Phoenix), Mark Martin (Las Vegas), Matt Kenseth (Atlanta), Clint Bowyer (Bristol) and Scott Wimmer (Nashville). Kevin Harvick, who had finished 21st at Daytona, scored four consecutive top 10s and led the point standings going into Nashville. Bowyer took the lead at Nashville (Harvick did not compete) and has retained the lead through Phoenix. Bowyer is 24 points ahead of second-place Carl Edwards.

2008 Season Highlights

Tony Stewart won the first two races of the season, at Daytona and California. It was only the third time in NASCAR Nationwide Series history that a driver had won the first two races of the season (Dale Earnhardt in 1986 and Chad Little in 1995).
Mark Martin won the third race of the season (Las Vegas) – ending Stewart’s bid to become the first driver to win the first three races of a NASCAR Nationwide Series season.
Matt Kenseth posted the first victory for Ford in 2008, at Atlanta – giving three different manufacturers wins in the first four races.
Clint Bowyer won at Bristol, becoming the 10th consecutive different race winner at the Tennessee short track.
Kyle Busch posted his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory of 2008 with his win at Texas. Busch has won in all three of NASCAR’s national series this season, the fourth consecutive season he has done so. Only two other drivers have accomplished the feat – Kevin Harvick in 2003 and Terry Labonte in 1995.
Kyle Busch became the second repeat winner with his victory at Phoenix. Like Tony Stewart, Busch’s wins came in consecutive races.
Qualifying

81 drivers have qualified for at least one NASCAR Nationwide Series race this season.
Brian Vickers posted his second career pole, at Las Vegas.
Qualifying was canceled at California, Atlanta, Bristol and Texas.
31 drivers have posted at least one top-10 start this season, led by Clint Bowyer with eight.
The Races

76 drivers have qualified for at least one NASCAR Nationwide Series race this season.
31 drivers have registered at least one top-10 finish in 2008, led by Clint Bowyer with six.
First-Timers
Start Pole Win
James Buescher None None
Top-10 Finish Laps Led
Bryan Clauson (Daytona) Dario Franchitti (Texas)
Dario Franchitti (Las Vegas)
Cale Gale (Nashville)

The Pole Winner/Race Winner

The Coors Light Pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying) finishing position:
First 1
2nd-5th 1
6th-10th 0
11th-30th 2
31st or beyond 2

The lap-leader performance of the pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying):
Led First Lap 3
Led at All 8
Led Most Laps 2

The race winner’s starting positions:
Pole 1
2nd-5th 1
6th-10th 1
11th-30th 2
31st or beyond 1

The lap-leader performance-of-the-race winner:
Led First Lap 2
Led Most Laps 5
Led Mid-Race Lap 3
Led With 10 to Go 6
Led With One to Go 8
Note: Mid-Race lap is as scheduled regardless of shortened or extended race length.

Laps Led

29 drivers have led at least one lap this season.
Kyle Busch has led 604 laps in 2008 – more than any other driver.
Kyle Busch (five), Clint Bowyer (one), Mark Martin (one) and Tony Stewart (one) have each led the most laps in a race this season.
Rookie Performance

One rookie finished in the top 10 at Daytona: Bryan Clauson. It was also his first career top-10 finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Dario Franchitti finished sixth at Las Vegas – posting his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series top 10. He has been the highest-finishing rookie five times.
Cale Gale has been the highest-finishing rookie twice.
Penalties

There have been 124 on-track penalties issued this season.
Penalty Recap:
Pitting Before Pit Road is Open 45
Too Fast Entering Pit Road 15
Too Fast Exiting Pit Road 4
Others 60

Manufacturer

Chevrolet leads the manufacturer point standings with 55 points. Toyota is second with 50. Ford has 42 points while Dodge has 29.
Chevrolet and Toyota each have two victories and Ford one.
Behind the Numbers

Speed MOV Leaders Changes Cautions Laps Lead Lap DNFs
Daytona 154.154 0.259 8 16 4 12 24 9
California 141.769 2.408 9 11 5 19 21 13
Las Vegas 108.118 0.586 11 15 13 55 14 17
Atlanta 131.290 0.159 11 22 8 30 16 10
Bristol * 78.874 UC 3 6 7 37 17 10
Nashville 134.095 0.578 5 10 3 20 8 8
Texas 151.707 1.041 8 12 4 13 14 9
Phoenix 98.764 0.241 5 14 9 36 15 12
Average 124.846 0.753 7.500 13.250 6.625 27.750 16.125 11.000
* - Shortened Race