2008 Kobalt Tools 500

Last updated
2008 Kobalt Tools 500
Race details [1]
Race 4 of 36 in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
2008 Kobalt Tools 500 program cover.png
2008 Kobalt Tools 500 program
Date March 9, 2008 (2008-March-09)
Official name Kobalt Tools 500
Location Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
1.54 mi (2.48 km)
Distance 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 57.9 °F (14.4 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)
Average speed 140.975 miles per hour (226.877 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 29.927
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 173
Winner
No. 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2008 Kobalt Tools 500 was the fourth race in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and was held on March 9, 2008 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, located outside the Georgia state capital. The race was televised on Fox starting at 1:30 PM US EDT, and broadcast on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio starting at 1 PM US EDT.

Contents

Pre-Race News

Qualifying

Qualifying suffered from a short rain delay in the beginning stages but was finally reopened with Jeff Gordon winning the pole followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards and Bobby Labonte rounding out the top five. Forty-eight cars attempted to make the race but only 43 are able to start a Sprint Cup Race.

Failed to qualify: John Andretti (#34), Johnny Benson (#27), Bill Elliott (#21), Burney Lamar (#08), Ken Schrader (#49).

Race

For the first time since June 1954 (when Al Keller won in a Jaguar on the road course at Linden Airport), a foreign nameplate found its way to the winners' circle as Kyle Busch dominated the field to win his fifth Cup race of his career, and his first win driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. The victory also gave Toyota their first Sprint Cup victory after 40 races. Carl Edwards, still smarting from last week's win that found a loose oil tank, costing him 100 points in the drivers chase, his owner Jack Roush 100 owners' points and suspended crew chief Bob Osborne for six races until April 30 as well as a $100,000 fine, was in the lead until there were 50 laps to go and Edwards' transmission in the #99 Ford blew up, finishing 42nd, and falling deeper out of the top 12.

Much of the pre and post-race talk was about the tires Goodyear supplied to the teams. Tony Stewart claimed that the tires were shoddy in a post-race commentary. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also said that the tires did not work well on the subject of its grip, while Jeff Gordon claimed that in light of Stewart's gripes that "I think he went a little overboard". The tiremaker commented the day after that in a press release "if the drivers aren't happy, Goodyear's not happy."

Results

POS [2] ST#DRIVERSPONSOR / OWNERCARLAPSMONEYSTATUSLEDPTS
1618  Kyle BuschSnickers   (Joe Gibbs)Toyota325175575running173195
23220  Tony StewartHome Depot 10 Years Service Award   (Joe Gibbs)Toyota325162886running0170
3288  Dale Earnhardt Jr.AMP Energy / National Guard   (Rick Hendrick)Chevrolet325125050running62170
41316  Greg BiffleJackson Hewitt   (Jack Roush)Ford325106875running1165
5124  Jeff GordonDuPont   (Rick Hendrick)Chevrolet325136686running1160
6707  Clint BowyerDirecTV   (Richard Childress)Chevrolet32594850running52155
7829  Kevin HarvickShell / Pennzoil   (Richard Childress)Chevrolet325124086running0146
83817  Matt KensethDeWalt   (Jack Roush)Ford325124341running0142
93583  Brian VickersRed Bull   (Dietrich Mateschitz)Toyota32579200running1143
101531  Jeff BurtonAT&T Mobility   (Richard Childress)Chevrolet325123958running0134
11292  Kurt BuschMiller Lite   (Roger Penske)Dodge32579325running0130
12543  Bobby LabonteCheerios / Betty Crocker   (Petty Enterprises)Dodge325114436running1132
131148  Jimmie JohnsonLowe's / Kobalt Tools   (Rick Hendrick)Chevrolet325127786running0124
141212  Ryan NewmanAlltel   (Roger Penske)Dodge324115075running0121
152211  Denny HamlinFedEx Ground   (Joe Gibbs)Toyota324112691running0118
161942  Juan Pablo MontoyaWrigley's Big Red   (Chip Ganassi)Dodge324104058running0115
17395  Casey MearsKellogg's / Carquest   (Rick Hendrick)Chevrolet32489850running0112
182866  Scott RiggsState Water Heaters   (Gene Haas)Chevrolet32493808running0109
192015  Paul MenardMenards / Energizer   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.)Chevrolet32483225running0106
203000  David ReutimannAaron's Dream Machine   (Michael Waltrip)Toyota32392808running0103
2131  Martin Truex Jr.Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.)Chevrolet323105633running0100
22108  Mark MartinU.S. Army   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.)Chevrolet323108458running097
23146  David RaganAAA   (Jack Roush)Ford32383850running094
24267  Robby GordonValvoline / Jim Beam   (Robby Gordon)Dodge32395858running091
253377  Sam Hornish Jr.Penske Truck Rental   (Roger Penske)Dodge323117550running088
264344  Dale JarrettUPS   (Michael Waltrip)Toyota32273725running085
273484  Mike SkinnerRed Bull   (Dietrich Mateschitz)Toyota32269800running082
2899  Kasey KahneBudweiser   (Gillett Evernham Motorsports)Dodge322107041running184
294228  Travis KvapilZaxby's   (Yates Racing)Ford32299689running076
302755  Michael WaltripNAPA Auto Parts   (Michael Waltrip)Toyota32181508running073
312541  Reed SorensonTarget / Polaroid   (Chip Ganassi)Dodge32199489running070
323138  David GillilandFreeCreditReport.com   (Yates Racing)Ford32181222running067
332340  Dario FranchittiFastenal   (Chip Ganassi)Dodge32178050running064
341622  Dave BlaneyCaterpillar   (Bill Davis)Toyota32169025running061
352110  Patrick CarpentierCintas   (Gillett Evernham Motorsports)Dodge32068990running058
361778  Joe NemechekFurniture Row Racing   (Barney Visser)Chevrolet32068955running055
373796  J.J. YeleyDLP HDTV / H.H. Gregg   (Jeff Moorad)Toyota32076920running052
384101  Regan SmithDEI / Principal Financial Group   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.)Chevrolet32076885running049
393670  Jeremy MayfieldHaas Automation   (Gene Haas)Chevrolet31868850running046
402426  Jamie McMurrayIrwin Industrial Tools   (Jack Roush)Ford31776810running043
414045  Kyle PettyParalyzed Veterans of America   (Petty Enterprises)Dodge31368765running040
42499  Carl EdwardsAflac   (Jack Roush)Ford274116145engine3342
431819  Elliott SadlerBest Buy / Garmin   (Gillett Evernham Motorsports)Dodge25794518crash034
Failed to qualify
POSNAMENBRSPONSOROWNERCAR
44Ken Schrader49Qtrax.comBeth Ann MorgenthauDodge
45Bill Elliott21Little Debbie Nutty BarsWood BrothersFord
46Johnny Benson Jr.27Toyota Certified Used VehiclesBill DavisToyota
47Burney Lamar08Rhino's Energy DrinkJohn CarterDodge
48John Andretti34Front Row MotorsportsBob JenkinsChevrolet

Related Research Articles

2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series 57th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 57th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 34th modern-era Cup series. The season began on Saturday, February 12. The ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup started with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 18, and ended on Sunday, November 20, with the Ford 400.

Johnny Benson Jr. American racing driver

Jonathan Benson Jr. is an American retired stock car racing driver and the son of former Michigan modified driver John Benson Sr. Benson has raced across NASCAR's three national series, and his career highlights include the 1993 American Speed Association AC-Delco Challenge series championship, the 1995 NASCAR Busch Series championship, the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award, and the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship.

2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series 59th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 59th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 36th modern-era Cup series. Beginning on February 10 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout, the season ended on November 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 400. The Chase for the Nextel Cup started with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway and was contested over the final ten races.

2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 60th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

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 season. It was contested over thirty-six races, and began on February 9 at Daytona International Speedway with the Budweiser Shootout exhibition race, followed by the 50th Daytona 500 on February 17. The season continued with the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup beginning on September 14 with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and concluded with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16.

2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series NASCAR season

The 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series began on February 16 at Daytona International Speedway with the Camping World 300, and ended on November 15 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford 300. This was the first season in which NASCAR's second-tier series was known as the Nationwide Series, ending the 26-year sponsorship by Anheuser-Busch's Busch Beer. The seven-year agreement gives Nationwide Insurance the exclusive rights to tie its brand to NASCAR's second most popular racing series.

The 2008 Budweiser Shootout was the first official, non-points paying event of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The race was run on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida and was restricted to those who were the fastest qualifiers in the 2007 season as well as past winners of the event. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the event, his second shootout, and his first win with Hendrick Motorsports. Fox televised the race starting at 8 PM US EST.

2008 Brickyard 400 Motor car race

The 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the 15th running of the event, was the twentieth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the fifteenth NASCAR race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). It was also the first race under the ESPN/ABC section of the TV coverage for the 2008 season. The 160-lap, 400 miles (640 km) event was raced on July 27 at the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) Indianapolis Motor Speedway located in Speedway, Indiana. Along with ESPN, the IMS Radio Network, working with Performance Racing Network, provided radio coverage with both broadcasts starting at 1 PM US EDT.

2008 Aarons 499 Motor car race

The 2008 Aaron's 499 was the ninth race in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. It was held on April 27, 2008, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.

2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 Motor car race

The 2008 Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 was the tenth stock car race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The event was held on May 3, 2008, before a crowd of 112,000, at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Originally scheduled for 400 laps, Clint Bowyer won the race after a late caution and subsequent green–white–checker finish extended the race to 410 laps.

2008 Dodge Challenger 500 Motor car race

The 2008 Dodge Challenger 500, the 52nd running of the event, was the eleventh race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. It was held on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at the fabled Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.

2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Motor car race

The 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was the sixteenth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and the first of two scheduled road course races on the 2008 schedule. The event was held on Sunday, June 22, 2008, at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California, televised on TNT starting at 3:30 PM US EDT, and broadcast on radio via Sirius Satellite Radio and Performance Racing Network starting at 4 PM US EDT.

2008 Coke Zero 400 Motor car race

The 2008 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola was the eighteenth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, marking the official halfway point of the season.

2008 Sharpie 500 Motor car race

The 2008 Sharpie 500 was the twenty-fourth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and was raced on Saturday night, August 23 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The event has been considered one of the toughest tickets in all of sports, tougher than the Super Bowl or the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, and is annually a sellout, of which this was the 53rd in a row for NSCS racing at the .533 miles (0.858 km) track. ESPN telecast the race beginning at 7 pm US EDT and Performance Racing Network along with Sirius Satellite Radio had radio coverage starting at that same time.

2008 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Motor car race

The 2008 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 was the twenty-sixth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and served as the final "regular season" race before the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup, where the top twelve drivers were "locked into" the ten-race playoff.

2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 61st season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 61st season of professional stock car racing in the United States, the 38th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup season of the 21st century's first decade, the 2000s. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races with the regular season beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final ten races were known as 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Rick Hendrick won the Owners' Championship, while Jimmie Johnson won the Drivers' Championship with a fifth-place finish at the final race of the season. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 248 points.

2010 Kobalt Tools 500 (Atlanta) Motor car race

The 2010 Kobalt Tools 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia on March 7, 2010. The race had 13 different leaders, 33 lead changes, and 10 cautions. During the race, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski collided, sending Keselowski airborne, subsequently crashing on his side door. Following his collision with Keselowski, Edwards was put under a three-race probation beginning in the 2010 Food City 500. Kurt Busch won the race, finishing ahead of Matt Kenseth and Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished second and third respectively.

2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 63rd season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 63rd season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 40th modern-era Cup series season. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races, beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final ten races were known as 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

This article documents historical records, statistics, and race recaps of the Daytona 500, held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

2011 Kobalt Tools 400 Motor car race

The 2011 Kobalt Tools 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on March 6, 2011 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Clark County, Nevada. Contested over 267 laps, it was the third race of the 2011 season. Carl Edwards, driving for Roush Fenway Racing, won the race. Tony Stewart finished second and Juan Pablo Montoya finished third.

2013 Kobalt Tools 400 Motor car race

The 2013 Kobalt Tools 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on March 10, 2013, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Clark County, Nevada. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the third race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race, his first of the season. Kasey Kahne finished second while Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five.

References

  1. Weather information for the 2008 Kobalt Tools 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac. Accessed 2013-06-18. Archived 2013-06-21.
  2. "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
Previous race:
2008 UAW-Dodge 400
Sprint Cup Series
2008 season
Next race:
2008 Food City 500