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Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Preview

Jul 15, 2008 - 6:50 PM

July 19, 2008
Gateway International Raceway
St. Louis, Missouri
Race 21 of 35 on Nationwide series circuit

TV: ESPN2, 8 p.m. EDT

Laps: 200
Track length: 1 1/4-mile oval
Race length: 250 miles

Qualifying record: Scott Wimmer, Chevrolet, 135.355 mph, 2007
Race record: Carl Edwards, 119.142 mph, Ford, 2006


DRIVERS TO WATCH
----------------

Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $609,550

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, 183 points ahead of 
Brad Keselowski after finishing seventh at Chicago last week; 
finished ninth at Kentucky; 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 race here last year.


Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $613,095

Won for the first time this year at Milwaukee, then followed up
with a fifth at New Hampshire and 11th at Daytona; sits fourth in
the standings, 254 points behind Bowyer after finishing 16th at 
Chicago; 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 sixth 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: $708,075

Second-year driver followed up his first series win at Nashville
by running fourth at Kentucky and finishing eighth at Milwaukee; 
remains second in the standings after finishing third in 
Chicago; through first 20 races has 12 top-10s and seven 
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; finished 26th here last season.


Joey Logano
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $203,717

Young phenom won his first race and second pole at Kentucky in 
his third series start; captured the pole at Nashville in just 
his second series start; was tapped by Greg Biffle early in that 
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; in previous race finished second to Carl 
Edwards at Milwaukee; 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; is rumored to be Tony Stewart's 
Sprint Cup replacement in the No. 20 Toyota next season.


David Ragan
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 6 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $491,145

Another driver who is running both series this year; finished
13th at Chicago and dropped to sixth in the standings; placed 
seventh at Kentucky; 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 19th in this event last 
season.


David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $550,335 

Plans to run full "double-duty" schedule again in 2008 after 
finishing second to Edwards in the standings last season; sits 
third in the point standings after running fifth at Chicago;
finished in 13th at Kentucky; 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 17th in this race last year.


2007 Top 10
-----------
 1. Reed Sorenson (41), Dodge  
 2. Scott Wimmer (29), Chevrolet 
 3. David Reutimann (99), Toyota 
 4. Jason Leffler (38), Toyota 
 5. David Ragan (6), Ford 
 6. Carl Edwards (60), Ford  
 7. Kevin Hamlin (42), Dodge 
 8. Ron Hornaday (77), Chevrolet 
 9. J.J. Yeley (1), Chevrolet 
10. Todd Bodine (03), Toyota

Past Champions
--------------
2007  Reed Sorenson
2006  Carl Edwards 
2005  Reed Sorenson 
2004  Martin Truex Jr.
2003  Scott Riggs 
2002  Greg Biffle 
2001  Kevin Harvick 
2000  Kevin Harvick 
1999  Dale Earnhardt Jr. 
1998  Dale Earnhardt Jr.
1997  Elliott Sadler