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Kroger 200 Preview

Jul 22, 2008 - 7:59 PM

July 26, 2008 

O'Reilly Raceway Park 

Indianapolis, Indiana 

Race 22 of 35 on Nationwide series circuit

TV: ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. EDT

Laps: 200 

Track length: 0.686-mile 

Race length: 137 miles

Qualifying record: David Green, Chevrolet, 113.461 mph, 1994

Race record: Jimmy Hensley, Oldsmobile, 96.923 mph, 1985

DRIVERS TO WATCH

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Clint Bowyer

Team: Richard Childress Racing

Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo

2008 Earnings: $635,550

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, 170 points ahead of 
Brad Keselowski after finishing eighth at Gateway last week; 
finished ninth at Kentucky; ran 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 overall 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: $677,640

Won for the second time this year at Gateway and moved up one 
spot to third in the standings, 201 points behind Clint Bowyer; 
also won at Milwaukee, then followed up with a fifth at New 
Hampshire and 11th at Daytona;; 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 fourth 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: $743,443

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 fifth at 
gateway; trails Clint Bowyer by 170 points; through first 20 
races has 13 top-10s and eight 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 10th here last 
season.

Joey Logano

Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry

2008 Earnings: $255,960

Young phenom finished second to Carl Edwards at Gateway in 
return to the No. 20 after skipping the past three races; 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: $518,295

Another driver who is running both series this year; finished 
10th at Gateway and moved up to fifth 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 18th in this event last 
season.

David Reutimann

Team: Michael Waltrip Racing

Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry

2008 Earnings: $573,815

Plans to run full "double-duty" schedule again in 2008 after 
finishing second to Carl Edwards in the standings last season; 
sits fourth in the point standings after running 25th at 
Gateway; 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 third in this race 
last year.

2007 Top 10

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1.  Jason Leffler (38), Toyota

2.  Greg Biffle (16), Ford

3.  David Reutimann (99), Toyota

4.  Carl Edwards (60), Ford

5.  Ron Hornaday (77), Chevrolet

6.  Aric Almirola (20), Chevrolet

7.  Scott Wimmer (29), Chevrolet

8.  Kevin Hamlin (42), Dodge

9.  Mike Bliss (10), Toyota

10. Brad Keselowski (88), Chevrolet

Past Champions

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2007  Jason Leffler

2006  Kevin Harvick

2005  Martin Truex Jr.

2004  Kyle Busch

2003  Brian Vickers

2002  Greg Biffle

2001  Kevin Harvick

2000  Ron Hornaday

1999  Jason Keller

1998  Dale Earnhardt Jr.

1997  Randy LaJoie

1996  Randy LaJoie

1995  Jason Keller

1994  Mike Wallace

1993  Tracy Leslie

1992  Joe Nemechek 

1991  Bobby Labonte 

1990  Steve Grissom 

1989  Michael Waltrip 

1988  Morgan Shepherd 

1987  Larry Pearson 

1986  Butch Miller 

1985  Jimmy Hensley 

1984  Morgan Shepherd 

1983  Tommy Houston 

1982  Morgan Shepherd