NATIONWIDE O'Reilly 300
Final
for this game
O'Reilly 300 Preview
Apr 5, 2008 - 10:29 AMApril 5, 2008
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas
Race 7 of 35 on Nationwide Series circuit
Laps: 200
Track length: 1 1/2 miles
Race length: 300 miles
Qualifying record: Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 193.493 mph, April 2002
Race record: Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 145.710 mph, November 2006
Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $226,230
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
now sits atop the standings, 11 points ahead of Carl Edwards;
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; did not compete in this race
last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $192,515
Finished third at Nashville and sits second in the standings;
ran fourth at Atlanta after being wrecked by Mark Martin at Las
Vegas and finished 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; in 35 starts
last season had four wins, trailing only Harvick who had six;
finished third here in April last season; plans to run
"double-duty" slate again this season to defend his title.
Jason Leffler
Team: Braun Racing
Car: No. 38 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $195,593
Finished third in the overall standings last season; jumped up
to ninth in the standings after running sixth at Bristol after
an eighth at Atlanta; finished 13th at Nashville and now is
10th; opened the season with a 19th at Daytona and 11th at
California; took a hit in Las Vegas, finishing 39th; earned his
first career Nationwide victory at Indianapolis last year, which
gave Toyota its first series victory; started the season with
four DNFs in the first six races, but had none after that;
finished with seven top fives and 11 top 10s; was inconsistent
though with eight finishes of 30th or worse in 35 races last
year; finished 13th in this race last year.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $159,070
Another driver who is running both series this year; finished
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; 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 fifth in this event last season.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $210,545
Plans to run full "double-duty" schedule again in 2008 after
finishing second to Edwards in the standings last season;
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; ran
sixth in this event last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
2. Denny Hamlin (20), Chevrolet
3. Carl Edwards (60), Dodge
4. Casey Mears (24), Chevrolet
5. David Ragan (6), Ford
6. David Reutimann, (99) Toyota
7. Kyle Busch (5), Chevrolet
8. Kurt Busch (12), Dodge
9. Paul Menard (15), Chevrolet
10. Jeff Burton, (29), Chevrolet
Past Champions
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2007 Matt Kenseth
2006 Kurt Busch
2005 Kasey Kahne
2004 Matt Kenseth
2003 Joe Nemechek
2002 Jeff Purvis
2001 Kevin Harvick
2000 Mark Martin
1999 Mark Martin
1998 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
1997 Mark Martin
