NATIONWIDE Diamond Hill Plywood 200
Final
for this game
Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Preview
May 9, 2008 - 10:24 AMMay 9, 2008
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Race 12 of 35 on Nationwide Series circuit
Laps: 147
Track length: 1.366 miles
Race length: 200 miles
Qualifying record: Ryan Newman, Ford, 170.301 mph, 2001
Race record: Michael Waltrip, Pontiac, 138.140 mph, 1992
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $375,575
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 25th at Talladega and ninth at
Richmond; 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 fifth in this race
last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $371,550
Finished seventh at Richmond after a 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 third 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: $360,768
Finished third in the overall standings last season; remains
eighth in the standings after running 16th at Richmond; 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
sixth in this race last year.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $295,345
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;
finished fourth at Richmond to jump up two spots to fourth in
the standings, 131 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 13th in this event last
season.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $334,135
Plans to run full "double-duty" schedule again in 2008 after
finishing second to Edwards in the standings last season; sits
sixth in the standings after running 18th at Richmond; 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. Denny Hamlin (20), Chevrolet
2. Mark Martin (5), Chevrolet
3. Carl Edwards (60), Ford
4. Jeff Burton (29), Chevrolet
5. Clint Bowyer (2), Chevrolet
6. Jason Leffler (38), Toyota
7. Tony Stewart (33), Chevrolet
8. Greg Biffle (37), Ford
9. Casey Mears (24), Chevrolet
10. Kevin Harvick (21), Chevrolet
Past Champions
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2007 Denny Hamlin
2006 Denny Hamlin
2005 Matt Kenseth
2004 Greg Biffle
2003 Todd Bodine
2002 Jeff Burton
2001 Jeff Green
2000 Mark Martin
1999 Matt Kenseth
1998 Bobby Labonte
1997 Jeff Burton
1996 Mark Martin
1995 Larry Pearson
1994 Mark Martin
1993 Robert Pressley
1992 Robert Pressley
1991 Dale Jarrett
1990 Harry Gant
1989 Geoffrey Bodine
1988 Geoffrey Bodine
1987 Dale Earnhardt
1986 Darrell Waltrip
1985 Jack Ingram
1984 Ron Bouchard
1983 no race
1982 Geoffrey Bodine
