NATIONWIDE Heluva Good 200
Final
for this game
Heluva Good! 200 Preview
May 31, 2008 - 10:18 AMMay 31, 2008
Dover International Speedway
Dover, Delaware
Race 14 of 35 on Nationwide Series circuit
Laps: 200
Track length: 1 mile
Race length: 200 miles
Qualifying record: David Green, Chevrolet, 157.916 mph, 2004
Race record: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 130.152 mph, 1998
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $431,000
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, 67 points ahead of
Kyle Busch after finishing sixth at Lowe's; 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 run this race last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $431,000
Finished 13th at Lowe's a week after running dead last at
Darlington; sits third in the standings, 176 points behind
Bowyer; 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 this year;
in 35 starts last season had four wins, trailing only Harvick, who
had six; won this race 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: $405,704
Finished third in the overall standings last season; remains
eighth in the standings despite running 32nd at Lowe's; 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
11th in this race last year.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $331,045
Another driver who is running both series this year; finished
ninth at Lowe's to remain sixth in the standings; ran 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; 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 32nd in this event last season.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $377,635
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 after running 11th at Lowe's; 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; finished 15th in
this race last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Carl Edwards (60), Ford
2. Denny Hamlin (20), Chevrolet
3. Scott Wimmer (21), Chevrolet
4. Casey Mears (24), Chevrolet
5. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
6. Marcos Ambrose (59), Ford
7. Kevin Harvick (77), Chevrolet
8. Tony Raines (33), Chevrolet
9. Mike Bliss (22), Dodge
10. Bobby Hamilton Jr., (35), Ford
Past Champions
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2007 Carl Edwards
2006 Jeff Burton
2005 Martin Truex Jr.
2004 Greg Biffle
2003 Joe Nemechek
2002 Greg Biffle
2001 Jimmy Spencer
2000 Jason Keller
1999 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
1998 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
1997 Bobby Labonte
1996 Randy LaJoie
1995 Mike McLaughlin
1994 Mike Wallace
1993 Todd Bodine
1992 Robert Pressley
1991 Todd Bodine
1990 Michael Waltrip
1989 Rick Wilson
1988 Bobby Hillin
1987 Mark Martin
1986 Darrell Waltrip
1985 Darrell Waltrip
1984 Ron Bouchard
1983 Ricky Rudd
1982 Joe Ruttman
