Jul 2, 2008 - 9:40 AM
0 shoutsJuly 4, 2008 Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida Race 19 of 34 on Nationwide series circuit
Laps: 100 Track length: 2 1/2 miles Race length: 250 miles
TV: ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Qualifying record: Tommy Houston, 194.389 mph (February 1987) Race record: Geoffrey Bodine, 157.137 mph (February 1985)
DRIVERS TO WATCH ----------------
Clint Bowyer Team: Richard Childress Racing Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 2008 Earnings: $544,625
Scheduled to pull double duty in both the Sprint and Nationwide series this season; took a gamble and stayed out during a rain delay to win at Bristol; followed with second at Nashville and third at Texas; sits atop the standings, 182 points ahead of David Reutimann after finishing ninth at Loudon last week; finished ninth at Kentucky; finished 19th at Atlanta after a third at Las Vegas; started the year with a 25th at Daytona, then rebounded with a ninth at California; ran a full Busch series slate in 2005 and 2006, finishing second and third, respectively, in the final standings; finished 12th last year after running just 22 races, winning at Phoenix and Richmond; ran fifth here last year.
Carl Edwards Team: Roush Fenway Racing Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion 2008 Earnings: $563,050
Won for the first time this year at Milwaukee, then followed up with a fifth at New Hampshire; sits third in the standings, 188 points behind Bowyer; finished 20th at Kentucky; ran second at Dover two weeks after running dead last at Darlington; was fourth at Atlanta after being wrecked by Mark Martin at Las Vegas, winding up 14th; opened defense of his series title with a 10th at Daytona and fifth at California; clinched last season's title at Texas, three races before the end of the season; was the runner-up to Kevin Harvick two seasons ago; despite late struggles still had a series-best 21 top-10 finishes and 15 top fives last season; led in the series standings for 33 consecutive weeks prior to Daytona this year; in 35 starts last season had four wins, trailing only Harvick, who had six; ran 11th here last year; is running "double-duty" slate again this season to defend his title.
Brad Keselowski Team: JR Motorsports Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 2008 Earnings: $607,889
Second-year driver followed up his first series win at Nashville by running fourth at Kentucky and finishing eighth at Milwaukee; dropped to third place in the standings after finishing 10th in New Hampshire; through first 18 races has 10 top-10s and five top-fives; finished third at Lowe's and posted consecutive fourth-place finishes at Bristol and the first Nashville race; has only three finishes of 20th or worse this season; finished 25th in points last season and third in Rookie of the Year standings; joined Dale Earnhardt Jr's JR Motorsports team in July last season; did not race in New Hampshire last season.
David Ragan Team: Roush Fenway Racing Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion 2008 Earnings: $438,745
Another driver who is running both series this year; finished fifth at New Hampshire and remains fifth in the standings; finished seventh at Kentucky; ran ninth at Daytona and 12th at California to start the season, then posted a 10th at Las Vegas, ran 16th at Atlanta and was eighth at Bristol; was eighth at Texas and fifth at Phoenix; finished fourth at Richmond to jump up two spots to fourth in the standings; had an impressive rookie season, finishing fifth overall and winning the Raybestos Rookie of the Year by 27 points over Marcos Ambrose; scored four top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 2007, but also had eight finishes of 30th or worse; finished 34th in this event last season.
David Reutimann Team: Michael Waltrip Racing Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry 2008 Earnings: $490,110
Plans to run full "double-duty" schedule again in 2008 after finishing second to Edwards in the standings last season; sits second in the standings after running seventh at New Hampshire; finished in 13th at Kentucky; started season with a 14th at Daytona and ran fourth at California; ran 25th at Las Vegas, 10th at Atlanta and third at Bristol; last year had better finishes than Edwards in 10 of the last 15 races and scored the most points in the series after the midseason point; earned his first series win at the second Atlanta race; finished with five top-fives and 12 top-10s; finished 40th in this race last year.
2007 Top 10 ----------- 1. Kyle Busch (5), Chevrolet 2. Kevin Harvick (21), Chevrolet 3. Dave Blaney (10), Toyota 4. Tony Stewart (18), Chevrolet 5. Clint Bowyer (2), Chevrolet 6. Kasey Kahne (9), Dodge 7. Reed Sorenson (41), Dodge 8. Casey Mears (24), Chevrolet 9. Jason Leffler (38), Toyota 10. David Gilliland (25), Ford
Past Champions -------------- 2007 Kyle Busch 2006 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2005 Martin Truex Jr. 2004 Mike Wallace 2003 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2002 Joe Nemechek
