NATIONWIDE Meijer 300
Final
for this game
Meijer 300 Preview
Jun 14, 2008 - 10:23 AMJune 14, 2008
Kentucky Speedway
Sparta, Kentucky
Race 16 of 35 on Nationwide Series circuit
TV: ESPN2, 8 p.m. EDT
Laps: 200
Track length: 1 1/2 miles
Race length: 300 miles
Qualifying record: Carl Edwards, Ford, 181.287 mph, 2005
Race record: Bobby Hamilton Jr., Ford, 136.123 mph, 2003
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $474,400
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, 166 points ahead of
David Reutimann after finishing fourth at Nashville; 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 in Kentucky last
year.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $465,980
Finished 13th at Nashville and dropped to fourth in the
standings, 190 points behind Bowyer; ran second at Dover two
weeks after running dead last at Darlington; was fourth at
Atlanta after being wrecked by Mark Martin at Las Vegas, winding
up 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; ran
33rd here last year; is running "double-duty" slate again this
season to defend his title.
Brad Keselowski
Team: JR Motorsports
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $510,685
Second-year driver won his first race last week at Nashville;
sits fifth in the standings, a mere two points behind reigning
series champion Edwards; through first 15 races has seven
top-10s and four top-fives; finished third at Lowe's and posted
consecutive fourth-place finishes at Bristol and the first
Nashville race; has only three finishes of 20th or worse this
season; finished 25th in points last season and third in Rookie
of the Year standings; joined Dale Earnhardt Jr's JR Motorsports
team in July last season; did not race in Kentucky last season.
Joey Logano
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $52,911
Young phenom captured the pole at Nashville in just his second
series start; was tapped by Greg Biffle early in the race and
wound up a disappointing 31st; finished sixth at Dover in his
highly anticipated debut in one of NASCAR's top series a week
after turning 18; won the 2007 NASCAR Busch East Series
championship as a rookie; won the Carolina 500 during his ARCA
RE/MAX Series debut at Rockingham Speedway; signed a development
deal with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005; was dubbed the "Real Deal"
by Mark Martin when he was 15.
David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $369,720
Another driver who is running both series this year; finished
fifth at Nashville, remaining seventh 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 eighth in this event last season.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $399,710
Plans to run full "double-duty" schedule again in 2008 after
finishing second to Edwards in the standings last season; sits
second in the standings after running third at Nashville;
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 16th in this race last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Stephen Leicht (90), Ford
2. Brad Coleman (18), Chevrolet
3. Scott Wimmer (29), Chevrolet
4. David Stremme (41), Dodge
5. Shane Huffman (88), Chevrolet
6. Aric Almirola (20), Chevrolet
7. Kelly Bires (47), Ford
8. David Ragan (6), Ford
9. Mike Bliss (22), Dodge
10. Greg Biffle (37), Ford
Past Champions
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2007 Stephen Leicht
2006 David Gilliland
2005 Carl Edwards
2004 Kyle Busch
2003 Bobby Hamilton Jr.
2002 Todd Bodine
2001 Kevin Harvick
