NATIONWIDE Lipton Tea 250
Final
for this game
Lipton Tea 250 Preview
May 2, 2008 - 10:23 AMMay 2, 2008
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond, Virginia
Race 11 of 35 on Nationwide Series circuit
Laps: 250
Track length: 0.75 miles
Race length: 187.5 miles
Qualifying record: Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 129.348 mph, 2004
Race record: Dale Jarrett, Ford, 104.928 mph, 1995
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $358,825
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 27 points ahead of
Carl Edwards after finishing 25th at Talladega; 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: $352,215
Finished 31st at Talladega 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 13th here in May 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: $337,700
Finished third in the overall standings last season; remains
eighth in the standings after running fourth at Talladega;
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
37th in this race last year.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $274,270
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 sixth in the standings, 153 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 14th in
this event last season.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $318,460
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, 129 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 ninth in this
event last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Clint Bowyer (2), Chevrolet
2. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
3. Jeff Burton (29), Chevrolet
4. Kevin Harvick (77), Chevrolet
5. Kyle Busch (5), Chevrolet
6. Greg Biffle (16), Ford
7. Casey Mears (24), Chevrolet
8. Reed Sorenson (41), Dodge
9. David Reutimann (99), Toyota
10. Scott Wimmer (21), Chevrolet
Past Champions
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2007 Clint Bowyer
2006 Kevin Harvick
2005 Carl Edwards
2004 Kyle Busch
2003 Kevin Harvick
2002 Jason Keller
2001 Jimmy Spencer
2000 Jeff Green
1999 Mark Martin
1998 Jeff Burton
1997 Mark Martin
1996 Jeff Purvis
1995 Kenny Wallace
1994 Joe Nemechek
1993 Mark Martin
1992 Harry Gant
1991 Harry Gant
1990 Michael Waltrip
