NATIONWIDE Bashas' Supermarkets 200
Final
for this game
Bashas' Supermarkets 200 Preview
Apr 11, 2008 - 10:16 AMApril 21, 2008
Phoenix International Raceway
Avondale, Arizona
Race 8 of 35 on Nationwide Series circuit
Laps: 200
Track length: 1 mile
Race length: 200 miles
Qualifying record: Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 132.504 mph, 2007
Race record: Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 87.581 mph, 2007
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $270,505
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, 57 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; won this race last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $217,515
Finished 13th at Texas 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 fifth 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: $227,021
Finished third in the overall standings last season; jumped up
to eighth in the standings after running ninth at Texas;
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
18th in this race last year.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $184,820
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; was eighth at Texas and sits 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 35th 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; sits
third in the standings, 120 points behind Bowyer; 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 12th in this event last
year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet
2. Matt Kenseth, Ford
3. Jeff Burton, Chevrolet
4. Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet
5. Carl Edwards, Ford
6. Greg Biffle, Ford
7. Casey Mears, Chevrolet
8. Regan Smith, Chevrolet
9. Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet
10. Dave Blaney, Toyota
Past Champions
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2007 Clint Bowyer
2006 Kevin Harvick
2005 Greg Biffle
