2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Johnson's Third Title in a Tough Year

The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was a year of rising costs and shrinking sponsorship, and Jimmie Johnson still won his third straight championship. The season also produced a 50th Daytona 500 won by Ryan Newman, and a summer in which teams closed or sold their operations.

What was the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series?

The 2008 season was the 60th of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 37th of the modern Cup era. It was contested over thirty-six races, starting at Daytona on February 9 and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami on November 16.

The series was renamed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series after the merger between Sprint and Nextel. The Car of Tomorrow was used for the whole season for the first time, after appearing in select races the year before.

Coors Light replaced Budweiser as the official beer of NASCAR, and it also took over sponsorship of the Pole Award for each race. Budweiser remained the sponsor of the Bud Shootout at Daytona in February, and there were 43 full-time teams.

Johnson's third straight title came in a year when fuel prices, sponsorship and team closures hit the sport hard.

Who won the 2008 championship?

Jimmie Johnson won the championship for a third straight year, making him only the second driver to win three titles in a row, after Cale Yarborough. Carl Edwards closed the season with a win at Homestead, his ninth of the year.

Johnson drove for Hendrick Motorsports, and his title came in a season where the Chase had to be fought race by race. Jeff Gordon went through a winless season for the first time since his rookie year in 1993.

Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 11 wins and 219 points. Ford also had 11 wins but finished on 215 points, while Toyota was third with 207 points.

How did the economy hit NASCAR in 2008?

High gas prices above US $4 a gallon hurt NASCAR's largely blue-collar fan base, and some tracks saw crowds shrink. Daytona sold out the Daytona 500 but not the Coke Zero 400, and some tracks added all-you-can-eat packages and campgrounds to attract fans.

The economy also hit the teams, because high diesel prices made the trucks that carried the race cars more expensive to run. Sponsorship became harder to find, which widened the gap between the big teams and the rest.

Yates Racing had no major sponsor for its No. 28 and No. 38 cars, and half of its one hundred employees were laid off. Its sponsor had moved to Joe Gibbs Racing.

Chip Ganassi Racing shut its No. 40 team on July 1, with Dario Franchitti driving, because of a lack of sponsorship funding. Ganassi Racing lost 70 jobs as a result of the closure.

Caterpillar moved from Bill Davis Racing to Richard Childress Racing's No. 31 car, and Petty Enterprises sold a majority share to Boston Ventures in June 2008.

What changed in the rules for 2008?

NASCAR's competition changes for 2008 included group qualifying for teams not locked in by owner points, a rule dubbed the Boris Said rule. Pit crews could hand-push a car no more than three pit boxes, and an upgraded fuel cell replaced the old 22-gallon cell.

Tyres taken off during a stop now had to be guided by hand to the inner part of the pit box before being let go. NASCAR also decided that fine money would go to the NASCAR Foundation rather than to the season-end points funds.

Teams in the three national series received a set allotment of tyres for tests that were not sanctioned by NASCAR, and the Cup teams had the largest allotment.

How did the season open at Daytona?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Budweiser Shootout after leading 47 of 70 laps, and Denny Hamlin won the second Gatorade Duel in a Toyota, giving the manufacturer its first Cup victory. Ryan Newman then won the 50th Daytona 500 ahead of teammate Kurt Busch.

Kurt Busch drew the pole for the Shootout but started near the back after a crash in final practice. The Shootout set a record for the largest field in its history, which made the opening race feel crowded.

Jimmie Johnson won the pole for the Daytona 500, and Michael Waltrip started second in the race. Newman's win ended his 81-race winless drought.

What happened at Auto Club and Las Vegas?

The Auto Club 500 was run over two days after rain and water seeping onto the track. Edwards got past Johnson late to win his first race at Auto Club Speedway, and then he won at Las Vegas, his second straight race win.

The Las Vegas win came with a penalty. Edwards was docked 100 points after an oil tank lid failed the post-race inspection, and team owner Jack Roush was docked 100 owner points as well.

Mark Martin made a milestone Cup start at Auto Club, and the race was delayed by rain and the water problem for most of the weekend. The race was red-flagged more than once before it finished.

How did the early spring races go?

Kyle Busch won the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta after leading 173 laps. Jeff Burton won at Bristol, and Carl Edwards won the Samsung 500 at Texas after leading 123 laps. Denny Hamlin won at Martinsville, the second Toyota win in Cup history.

At Atlanta, Carl Edwards had the car to beat until his engine expired late. Kyle Busch took over and led the race to the finish.

At Bristol, the field was set by the rulebook after qualifying was canceled by rain. The race was extended six laps under the green-white-checkered rule, and Hamlin lost the chance to finish when his fuel pump failed on the final restart.

At Texas, Michael McDowell crashed in qualifying and his car rolled several times. He was not hurt, and the qualifying session was delayed while the barrier was repaired.

At Martinsville the race had 20 caution periods, the second most in a Sprint Cup race. Hamlin won it for Toyota.

What happened at Phoenix, Talladega and Richmond?

Jimmie Johnson won at Phoenix without pitting for fuel in the closing laps. Kyle Busch won the Aaron's 499 at Talladega, and Clint Bowyer won the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond after contact between Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

At Talladega, Busch led only a few laps but was in front when the race finished. The race had only eight cautions, and most of them came from one or two car incidents.

At Richmond, Denny Hamlin led almost every lap until a leaking tyre dropped him back late in the race. Busch then drove after Earnhardt Jr., and the two made contact, which caused Earnhardt to crash with three laps left.

Fans were angry with Busch even though Earnhardt said on the radio that Busch was not at fault. NASCAR parked Michael Waltrip after he hit Casey Mears, causing Waltrip to face his first disqualification of his career.

Who won the summer races?

Kasey Kahne won the All-Star race and then the Coca-Cola 600, the first driver to win both in the same year since Jimmie Johnson. Kyle Busch won at Dover, Sonoma and Chicagoland in the same stretch.

At Pocono, Kasey Kahne started from pole and won the 500, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Michigan for his first points win in 76 attempts.

At Sonoma, Kyle Busch won after starting 30th, and Kurt Busch won at Loudon in a race that was cut short by thunderstorms. Busch's sixth win came at the Coke Zero 400 and his seventh came at Chicagoland.

Jimmie Johnson won the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard after taking the pole, and Carl Edwards won the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono the following weekend.

How did the late summer races go?

Carl Edwards won the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono and then the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan, while Kyle Busch swept both road course races at Watkins Glen. Edwards also won the Sharpie 500 at Bristol, where Busch bumped him on the cooldown lap.

At Michigan, Brian Vickers earned Team Red Bull's first pole, but Roush Fenway Racing took most of the top places. Four of the top five came from the team, and all five made the top ten.

At Bristol, Edwards started on the pole and wrapped up a place in the Chase as he won. After the race Busch bumped him on the cooldown lap, and Edwards turned him in return.

Jimmie Johnson took the pole at Fontana for the Pepsi 500 and dominated the race to win it.

How did the Chase begin?

The Chase opened at New Hampshire with the Sylvania 300 on September 14, where Greg Biffle won his first race since October. Biffle then won at Dover, his second straight race, and Jimmie Johnson won at Kansas after Juan Pablo Montoya was disqualified.

At New Hampshire, Kyle Busch suffered mechanical problems with a bad sway bar. Joey Logano made his NASCAR debut in the same race and finished near the back.

At Kansas, Montoya had taken pole for the race but was disqualified and sent to the back of the field for illegal shock absorbers. Johnson, second on the grid, was awarded the pole and then won the race.

What happened at Talladega, Charlotte and Martinsville in the Chase?

Tony Stewart won the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega, ending a 43-race winless streak. Jeff Burton won the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte, and Jimmie Johnson won the Tums QuikPak 500 at Martinsville.

The Talladega race set a record with 64 lead changes among 28 drivers. Regan Smith crossed the line first, but he was dropped to the last spot on the lead lap for an illegal pass below the yellow line, and Stewart was declared the winner.

At Martinsville, Brian Vickers' Toyota was found after the race to have sheet metal thinner than the rules allowed. Crew chief Kevin Hamlin was suspended indefinitely and fined $100,000, and the team lost points.

How did the final Chase races decide the title?

Carl Edwards won the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta, his seventh race of the season, and then the Dickies 500 at Texas, his eighth. Johnson won at Phoenix to extend his championship lead, and Edwards won the final race at Homestead for his ninth victory of the year.

The final Chase races had a number of rain delays and rescheduled starts. Qualifying was canceled at several events, and NASCAR's rulebook set the field.

Gordon's best finishes of the season were two second places, at Martinsville in March and Texas in November.

Which races and titles were the headline results?