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| 2008 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse) | |||
| Previous: | 2007 | Next: | 2009 |
The 2008 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 60th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 37th modern-era Cup season. It was contested over forty-three races, and began on January 27 at Infineon Speedway with the Toyota/Save Mart 350. The season concluded with the Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway on December 7. Carl Edwards of Roush Racing was crowned champion at season's end in a tiebreaker over Casey Atwood due to having nine wins on the season vs. Atwood's seven wins.
Top stories[]
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 Dale Jarrett, Tim Richmond, and Sterling Marlin.
Teams, drivers, and manufacturers[]
Manufacturers[]
| Company | Marquee | Model | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Motors | Chevrolet | Impala | NEW TRIM, full factory support |
| Malibu | RETURNING, full factory support | ||
| Monte Carlo SS | Factory support ended after 2007 | ||
| Ford Motor Company | Ford-Cosworth | Fusion | Full factory support |
| Mustang | Full factory support | ||
| Roush Mustang | In-house variant | ||
| Chrysler Corporation | Dodge | Charger | Full factory support |
| Challenger | NEW, full factory support | ||
| Avenger | Full factory support | ||
| Toyota Motor Corporation | Toyota | Camry | Full factory support |
| Avalon | NEW, full factory support |
Manufacturer notes[]
The discontinuation of the Monte Carlo after 2007 marked the end of the Third Aero Wars. Aerodynamics weren't as big a concern as horsepower was now, and manufacturers began putting more and more power under the hoods. NASCAR had abolished its "as stock as possible" engine rules in 1992 and allowed manufacturers to run whatever they pleased. The war truly escalated in 2008, with Dodge introducing the newly-revived Challenger to NASCAR competition, with its large Hemi 6.4 engine. Ironically, the USAC Gold Crown Series had tried to avoid such a war breaking out in their series in 1994 after Penske's Ilmor Mercedes-Benz 500I engine dominated that year's Indianapolis 500, though the less-aerodynamic nature of NASCAR cars compared to Gold Crown cars meant that NASCAR engine development costs never became bank-breaking, and speeds never rose to dangerous levels, as USAC had feared would happen if the Mercedes engine set a dangerous precedent.
Complete schedule[]
| Key | |
|---|---|
| Letter | Tire |
| G | Goodyear |
| H | Hoosier |
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Tires | Race driver | Crew chief | Model | Primary Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | 98 | H | Jeremy Mayfield | Dave Skog | 2008 Malibu | General Electric |
| Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 01 | G | Mark Martin | Doug Randolph | 2008 Impala | US Army | |
| 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Tony Eury Jr. | National Guard | ||||
| 38 | Kelley Earnhardt | Kevin Manion | Pennzoil | ||||
| 81 | Martin Truex Jr. | Dan Stillman | Bass Pro Shops | ||||
| Furniture Row Racing | 78 | H | Joe Nemechek | Jay Guy | 2008 Impala | Furniture Row | |
| Haas CNC Racing | 66 | H | Scott Riggs | Bootie Barker | 2008 Malibu | State Water Heaters | |
| Max Papis | |||||||
| Hendrick Motorsports | 5 | G | Ricky Hendrick | Alan Gustafson | 2008 Impala | Kellogg's | |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Steve Letarte | DuPont | ||||
| 25 | Shane Hmiel | Tony Gibson | Lowe's | ||||
| 52 | Casey Atwood | Chad Knaus | AMP Energy | ||||
| Richard Childress Racing | 07 | G | Clint Bowyer | Gil Martin | 2008 Impala | Jack Daniel's | |
| 3 | Renee Walters | Todd Berrier | GM Goodwrench | ||||
| 31 | Jeff Burton | Sylvania | |||||
| SFS Racing | 4 | G | Kevin Harvick | 2008 Impala | Budweiser | ||
| 10 | Kyle Busch | Valvoline | |||||
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Home Depot | |||||
| Dodge | AK Racing | 7 | G | David Gilliland | 2008 Avenger | Walmart | |
| 11 | Jamie McMurray | Microsoft | |||||
| Bill Davis Racing | 22 | H | Dave Blaney | 2008 Charger | Caterpillar | ||
| 23 | Scott Wimmer | ICEE | |||||
| Chip Ganassi Racing | 1 | H | Jimmie Johnson | Brian Pattie | 2008 Challenger | UAW-Delphi | |
| 41 | Emily Senn | Donnie Wingo | Target | ||||
| Elliott-Evernham Motorsports | 9 | G | Kasey Kahne | 2008 Charger | Coors Light | ||
| 13 | Jerry Nadeau | Nickelodeon | |||||
| 94 | Casey Elliott | Dodge Dealers | |||||
| Moroso-Rudd Racing | 82 | G | Rob Moroso | 2008 Avenger | Mountain Dew | ||
| 83 | Michelle Basone | Tide | |||||
| 84 | Kenny Irwin Jr. | RCA | |||||
| Penske Racing South | 02 | G | Ryan Newman | 2008 Charger | Alltel | ||
| 2 | Kurt Busch | Pat Tryson | Miller Lite | ||||
| 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. (R) | Roy McCauley | Mobil 1 | ||||
| Petty Enterprises | 43 | G | Adam Petty | Jeff Meendering | 2008 Challenger | STP | |
| 44 | Bobby Labonte | Billy Wilburn | Cheerios | ||||
| Robby Gordon Motorsports | 70 | H | Robby Gordon | Frank Kerr
Walter Giles Kirk Almquist |
2008 Charger | Jim Beam | |
| Team SABCO | 40 | G | Shawna Robinson | 2008 Charger | Kmart | ||
| 42 | Blaise Alexander | Juicy Fruit | |||||
| 45 | Alana Houston (R) | Barbie | |||||
| Ford-Cosworth | Allison-Yates Racing | 28 | G | Davey Allison | 2008 Fusion | Texaco/Havoline | |
| 88 | Paul Menard | Menards | |||||
| Orr Motorsports | 37 | H | Rodney Orr | 2008 Mustang | Craftsman | ||
| Roush Racing | 6 | G | David Ragan | Jimmy Fennig | 2008 Roush Mustang | UPS | |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Chip Bolin | Ameriquest | ||||
| 60 | Matt Kenseth | Larry Carter | DeWalt Tools | ||||
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Bob Osborne | Office Depot | ||||
| Steele-Favre Racing | 15 | H | Tim Steele | 2008 Fusion | Nike/Sony | ||
| 90 | Katrina Goode | Folgers | |||||
| Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | G | Elliott Sadler | Gene Nead
Mike Smith David Hyder |
2008 Fusion | Little Debbie | |
| Toyota | Hall of Fame Racing | 96 | H | Jason Leffler | Brandon Thomas
Steve Boyer |
2008 Camry | DLP/Circuit City |
| Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | G | Dale Jarrett | 2008 Camry | Interstate Batteries | ||
| 19 | Kelly Watson | Circuit City | |||||
| 20 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx | |||||
| 80 | Michael McDowell (R) | Yahoo | |||||
| Michael Waltrip Racing | 00 | H | David Reutimann | Ryan Pemberton | 2008 Avalon | Aaron's Dream Machine | |
| 17 | Michael Waltrip | NAPA Auto Parts | |||||
| Team Red Bull | 85 | G | Brian Vickers | Kevin Hamlin
Randy Cox |
2008 Avalon | Red Bull | |
| Scott Speed | Jimmy Elledge | ||||||
| 86 | A. J. Allmendinger | Ricky Viers
Jimmy Elledge |
Red Bull | ||||
| Mike Skinner | |||||||
| Scott Speed | |||||||
| Brian Vickers | Randy Cox |
Limited schedule[]
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Tires | Race driver | Crew chief | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Front Row Motorsports | 137 | H | Eric McClure | Cal Boprey | 2008 Impala |
| SKI Motorsports | 150 | G | Stanton Barrett | Ricky Pearson | 2007 Monte Carlo SS | |
| Richard Childress Racing | 03 | G | Dale Earnhardt | Slugger Labbe | 2008 Impala | |
| 33 | Scott Wimmer | Shane Wilson | ||||
| Ken Schrader | ||||||
| Mike Wallace | ||||||
| Phoenix Racing | 04 | G | Rick Mast | Marc Reno | 2008 Malibu | |
| Hendrick Motorsports | 52 | G | Brad Keselowski | Lance McGrew | 2008 Impala | |
| Norm Benning Racing | 57 | H | Norm Benning | Stan Hover | 2007 Monte Carlo SS | |
| Furniture Row Racing | 87 | H | Kenny Wallace | Ed Nathman | 2008 Impala | |
| Dodge | Bill Davis Racing | 27 | H | Jacques Villeneuve (R) | Slugger Labbe | 2008 Charger |
| Mike Skinner | ||||||
| Johnny Benson | ||||||
| Brandon Ash Racing | 102 | G | Brandon Ash | Kenneth Wood | 2006 Charger | |
| Carl Long Racing | 46 | H | Carl Long | Charles Swing | 2007 Charger | |
| Derrike Cope, Inc. | 75 | G | Derrike Cope | Dom Turse | 2006 Stratus | |
| E&M Motorsports | 08 | H | Carl Long | Tony Furr
Charles Swing |
2008 Challenger | |
| Burney Lamar | ||||||
| Tony Raines | ||||||
| Johnny Sauter | ||||||
| Ford-Cosworth | No Fear Racing | 160 | G | Boris Said | Frank Stoddard | 2007 Mustang |
| JTG Racing | 47 | H | Marcos Ambrose | Frank Kerr | 2008 Fusion | |
| Toyota | Team Red Bull | 182 | G | Scott Speed | Slugger Labbe | 2008 Avalon |
| Joe Gibbs Racing | 02 | G | Joey Logano | Wally Brown | 2008 Camry | |
| Germain Racing | 13 | H | Max Papis | Randy Goss | 2007 Camry | |
| DodgeToyota | BAM Racing | 49 | G | Ken Schrader | David Hyder | 2008 Challenger
2008 Camry |
| ChevroletFord Cosworth | Front Row Motorsports | 34 | H | Jeff Green | Scott Eggleston | 2008 Impala
2008 Fusion |
| Tony Raines | ||||||
| Chad Chaffin | ||||||
| Brian Simo |
Schedule[]
| No. | Race title | Track | Date | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | Infineon Raceway, Sonoma | January 27 | WBC |
| Budweiser Shootout | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | February 9 | WBC | |
| Gatorade 125's | February 14 | WBC | ||
| 2 | Daytona 500 | February 17 | WBC | |
| 3 | Subway 400 | Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham | February 24 | WBC |
| 4 | UAW-Dodge 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas | March 2 | ESPN |
| 5 | Kobalt Tools 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton | March 9 | ESPN |
| 6 | Food City 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol | March 15 | TNN |
| 7 | San Jose 500 | San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy | March 23 | WBC |
| 8 | Goody's Cool Orange 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway | March 30 | TNN |
| 9 | Texas 400 | Texas World Speedway, College Station | April 6 | WBC |
| 10 | TranSouth Financial 400 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | April 13 | ESPN |
| 11 | Diet Coke 500 | Denver International Speedway, Denver | April 20 | WBC |
| 12 | Aaron's 499 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln | April 27 | WBC |
| 13 | Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 | Richmond International Speedway, Richmond | May 3 | TNN |
| 14 | Auto Club 500 | Auto Club Speedway, Fontana | May 10 | WBC |
| RCA Open | Memphis International Raceway, Millington | May 17 | TNN | |
| RCA All-Star Challenge XXIV | TNN | |||
| 15 | Coca-Cola 600 | Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord | May 25 | WBC |
| 16 | Best Buy 400 | Dover International Speedway, Dover | June 1 | TNN |
| 17 | Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 | The Milwaukee Mile, West Alliss | June 8 | ESPN |
| 18 | Dodge Challenger 400 | Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth | June 15 | WBC |
| 19 | Budweiser 400 | Riverside International Speedway, Riverside | June 22 | WBC |
| 20 | Lenox Industrial Tools 301 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon | June 29 | WBC |
| 21 | Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | July 5 | WBC |
| 22 | LifeLock.com 400 | Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero | July 13 | ESPN |
| 23 | Music City USA 420 | Music City Motorplex, Nashville | July 20 | TNN |
| 24 | Allstate 400 at The Brickyard | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway | July 27 | WBC |
| 25 | Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 | Pocono Raceway, Long Pond | August 3 | ESPN |
| 26 | Centurion Boats at The Glen | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen | August 10 | ESPN |
| 27 | 3M Performance 400 Presented by Bondo | Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn | August 17 | TNN |
| 28 | Sharpie 500 | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol | August 23 | TNN |
| 29 | Southern 500 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | August 31 | WBC |
| 30 | Chevy Rock & Roll 400 | Richmond International Speedway, Richmond | September 7 | TNN |
| 31 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro | September 14 | WBC |
| 32 | Camping World RV 400 Presented by AAA | Dover International Speedway, Dover | September 21 | TNN |
| 33 | Camping World RV 400 Presented by Coleman | Kansas Speedway, Kansas City | September 28 | ESPN |
| 34 | Monster Energy 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln | October 5 | WBC |
| 35 | Bank of America 500 | Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord | October 11 | WBC |
| 36 | TUMS QuikPak 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway | October 19 | WBC |
| 37 | Pep Boys Auto 500 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton | October 26 | ESPN |
| 38 | ACDelco 400 | Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham | November 2 | TNN |
| 39 | Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil | Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale | November 9 | TNN |
| 40 | Ford 400 | Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead | November 16 | WBC |
| 41 | Apple iPhone 500 | San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy | November 23 | WBC |
| 42 | Sprite 500 | Denver International Speedway, Denver | November 30 | WBC |
| 43 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario | December 7 | WBC |
Television[]
United States[]
One innovation was WBC's "Gopher Cam", placed below the track near the inside of the turns for a unique perspective. Another innovation was "RaceBuddy", an internet application that showed multiple views of the race and radio feeds from drivers (using NASCAR.com's RaceDay Scanner).
Canada and Mexico[]
In Canada NASCAR races were seen on WBC and RDS in English and French, while TNN Latin America held the rights in Mexico and all of Latin America, including the Bud Shootout, the Gatorade Duels and the RCA All-Star Challenge XXIV.
Outside North America[]
Sky Sports held the rights in Great Britain, while Five US aired a one-hour highlights package preceding each race. In Australia the 2008 RCA Cup Series season was covered by Fox SPORTS as usual however, Free-to-air TV's TEN HD presented marquee events live along with one hour highlights packages from all other rounds the Saturday after the event. TenHD also presented the entire Nationwide series season, marking the first time that a full NASCAR Championship was shown on Free-to-Air TV in Australia, mostly due to Marcos Ambrose's involvement in the series. NTV held the rights in Japan, while Sky Italia held rights in Italy (only NNS) and Premiere Sport held the German rights. In Spain, Teledeporte broadcast six live races and hour-long summaries of the remaining thirty.
2008 competition changes[]
On January 21, 2008, NASCAR announced various competition changes for the 2008 season.
Qualifying procedures[]
- In all three national series, teams that were not locked into the starting field via the Owners Points exemption qualified together as a group at the end of their respective qualifying sessions.
Revisions to pit road rules[]
- Over-the-wall pit crews in NASCAR's three national series were able to hand push their car no more than three pit boxes away from their assigned pit box—limiting the crews to the same three-box length for pushing as the vehicles could drive through getting onto pit road.
- Outside tires that had been removed from a vehicle during a pit stop could no longer be free-rolled from the outside of the pit box to the wall. The tires were required to be hand-directed to the inner half of the pit box before being released.
Tire usage at non-sanctioned tests[]
- Teams in all three national series received an allotment of tires to use for non-NASCAR sanctioned tests. Cup Series teams had access to 200 tires over the course of the year (except for tests that were sanctioned by Goodyear or Hoosier); Nationwide teams got 160 tires and Truck teams got 120 tires.
NASCAR fines[]
- Money collected from fines issued to drivers and others was remitted to the NASCAR Foundation, which supported a variety of charitable initiatives. Previously, fine money had been added to the season-ending point funds paid to drivers based on their finish in the point standings.
Season summary[]
Results[]
| No. | Race | Pole Position | Most Laps Led | Winner | Make/Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | Adam Petty | Adam Petty | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| Budweiser Shootout | Kurt Busch | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Impala | |
| Gatorade 125 1 | Jimmie Johnson | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Impala | |
| Gatorade 125 2 | Michael Waltrip | Michael Waltrip | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet Impala | |
| 2 | Daytona 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Kyle Busch | Tony Stewart | Toyota Camry |
| 3 | Subway 400 | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | Carl Edwards | Roush Mustang |
| 4 | UAW-Dodge 400 | Kyle Busch | Carl Edwards | Carl Edwards | Roush Mustang |
| 5 | Kobalt Tools 500 | Jeff Gordon | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet Impala |
| 6 | Food City 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Tony Stewart | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet Impala |
| 7 | San Jose 500 | Davey Allison | Jeff Burton | Mark Martin | Chevrolet Impala |
| 8 | Goody's Cool Orange 500 | Jeff Gordon | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Denny Hamlin | Toyota Camry |
| 9 | Texas 400 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Carl Edwards | Carl Edwards | Roush Mustang |
| 10 | TranSouth Financial 400 | Ryan Newman | Jimmie Johnson | David Gilliland | Dodge Avenger |
| 11 | Diet Coke 500 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Impala |
| 12 | Aaron's 499 | Joe Nemechek | Tony Stewart | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet Impala |
| 13 | Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400 | Denny Hamlin | Denny Hamlin | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet Impala |
| 14 | Auto Club 500 | Greg Biffle | Kyle Busch | Bobby Labonte | Dodge Challenger |
| RCA Open | Elliott Sadler | A.J. Allmendinger | A.J. Allmendinger | Toyota Avalon | |
| RCA All-Star Challenge XXIV | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch | Kasey Kahne | Dodge Charger | |
| 15 | Coca-Cola 600 | Kyle Busch | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Kasey Kahne | Dodge Charger |
| 16 | Best Buy 400 | Greg Biffle | Greg Biffle | Dale Jarrett | Toyota Camry |
| 17 | Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 | Kasey Kahne | Kasey Kahne | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 18 | Dodge Challenger 400 | Kyle Busch | Jimmie Johnson | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Impala |
| 19 | Budweiser 400 | Kasey Kahne | Kyle Busch | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 20 | Lenox Industrial Tools 301 | Patrick Carpentier | Tony Stewart | Kurt Busch | Dodge Charger |
| 21 | Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola | Paul Menard | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Impala |
| 22 | LifeLock.com 400 | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet Impala |
| 23 | Music City USA 420 | Rob Moroso | Carl Edwards | Jeremy Mayfield | Chevrolet Malibu |
| 24 | Allstate 400 at the Brickyard | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 25 | Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Mark Martin | Mark Martin | Chevrolet Impala |
| 26 | Centurion Boats at The Glen | Kyle Busch | Kyle Busch | Bobby Labonte | Dodge Challenger |
| 27 | 3M Performance 400 Presented by Bondo | Brian Vickers | Carl Edwards | Carl Edwards | Roush Mustang |
| 28 | Sharpie 500 | Carl Edwards | Kyle Busch | Carl Edwards | Roush Mustang |
| 29 | Southern 500 | Adam Petty | Adam Petty | Kenny Irwin Jr. | Toyota Avalon |
| 30 | Chevy Rock & Roll 400 | Kyle Busch | David Reutimann | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet Impala |
| 31 | Tyson Holly Farms 400 | Kyle Busch | Jimmie Johnson | Greg Biffle | Roush Mustang |
| 32 | Camping World RV 400 Presented by AAA | Jeff Gordon | Matt Kenseth | Greg Biffle | Roush Mustang |
| 33 | Camping World RV 400 Presented by Coleman | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 34 | Monster Energy 500 | Clifford Allison | Tony Stewart | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 35 | Bank of America 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet Impala |
| 36 | TUMS QuikPak 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson | Tim Steele | Ford Fusion |
| 37 | Pep Boys Auto 500 | Jimmie Johnson | Matt Kenseth | Carl Edwards | Roush Mustang |
| 38 | ACDelco 400 | Jeff Gordon | Carl Edwards | Carl Edwards | Roush Mustang |
| 39 | Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil | Jimmie Johnson | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet Impala |
| 40 | Ford 400 | David Reutimann | Carl Edwards | Carl Edwards | Roush Mustang |
| 41 | Apple iPhone 500 | Rob Moroso | Davey Allison | Davey Allison | Ford Fusion |
| 42 | Sprite 500 | Tony Stewart | Carl Edwards | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet Impala |
| 43 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Jeff Gordon | Adam Petty | Casey Elliott | Dodge Charger |
Cars Used in 2008 (incomplete)[]
