NATIONWIDE Aaron's 312
Final
for this game
Aaron's 312 Preview
Apr 26, 2008 - 10:24 AMApril 26, 2008
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega, Alabama
Race 10 of 35 on Nationwide Series circuit
Laps: 117
Track length: 2.66 miles
Race length: 312 miles
Qualifying record: Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 193.517 mph, 1997
Race record: Mark Martin, Ford, 168.937 mph, 1997
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $339,350
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, just nine points ahead
of Carl Edwards after finishing sixth at Mexico; 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; finished 13th here last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $332,890
Finished fourth at Mexico 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 10th 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: $298,807
Finished third in the overall standings last season; moved up to
eighth in the standings after running 21st at Mexico; 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 35th
in this race last year.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $254,145
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 fifth at Phoenix;
sits fifth in the standings, 174 points behind Bowyer; 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 fourth
in this event last season.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $298,135
Plans to run full "double-duty" schedule again in 2008 after
finishing second to Edwards in the standings last season; sits
fourth in the standings, 144 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 24th in this
event last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Bobby Labonte (77), Chevrolet
2. Tony Stewart (33), Chevrolet
3. Casey Mears (24), Chevrolet
4. David Ragan (6), Ford
5. Kyle Krisiloff (14), Ford
6. Kevin Harvick (21), Chevrolet
7. Juan Pablo Montoya (42), Dodge
8. Ward Burton (27), Ford
9. Brad Coleman (18), Chevrolet
10. Carl Edwards (60), Ford
Past Champions
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2007 Bobby Labonte
2006 Martin Truex Jr.
2005 Martin Truex Jr.
2004 Martin Truex Jr.
2003 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2002 Jason Keller
2001 Mike McLaughlin
2000 Joe Nemechek
1999 Terry Labonte
1998 Joe Nemechek
1997 Mark Martin
1996 Greg Sacks
1995 Chad Little
1994 Ken Schrader
1993 Dale Earnhardt
1992 Ernie Irvan
