NATIONWIDE Zippo 200
Final
for this game
Zippo 200 at the Glen Preview
Aug 7, 2008 - 10:23 AMAugust 9, 2008
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen, New York
Race 24 of 34 on Nationwide series circuit
TV: ABC, 2:30 p.m. EDT
Laps: 82
Track length: 2.45 miles
Race length: 200 miles
Configuration: 11-turn permanent road course
Qualifying record: Kurt Busch, Dodge, 121.526 mph, 2006
Race record: Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 91.468, 1996
DRIVERS TO WATCH
----------------
Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $684,985
Has pulled 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, 168 points ahead of
Carl Edwards after finishing ninth at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
last week; ran 18th at O'Reilly; 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: $734,690
Finished sixth at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; is 168 points
behind Bowyer; won for the second time this year at Gateway, then
followed up with an 11th at O'Reilly; 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 32nd 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: $803,954
Second-year driver followed up his first series win at Nashville
by running fourth at Kentucky and finishing eighth at Milwaukee;
dropped to third in the standings after finishing 19th at O'Reilly
and 12th at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; trails Bowyer by 184 points;
through first 23 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; did not race here last
season.
Joey Logano
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $316,671
Young phenom finished eighth at O'Reilly a week after running
second to Carl Edwards at Gateway; finished 17th last week at
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for only his second finish outside the
top 10 this season; 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 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: $567,870
Another driver who is running both series this year; ran 13th
at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and remains fifth in the standings;
finished ninth at O'Reilly; 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 21st in this event last
season.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $620,095
Has pulled "double-duty" in 2008 after finishing second to Carl Edwards
in the standings last season; sits fourth in the point standings after
running 18th at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve; placed 26th at O'Reilly
after finishing 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 25th in this race last year.
2007 Top 10
-----------
1. Kevin Harvick (21), Chevrolet
2. Jeff Burton (29), Chevrolet
3. Kurt Busch (39), Dodge
4. Paul Menard (15), Chevrolet
5. Brad Coleman (18), Chevrolet
6. Matt kenseth (17), Ford
7. Bobby Labonte (77), Chevrolet
8. Casey Mears (5), Chevrolet
9. Ryan Newman (12), Dodge
10. Andy Lally (47), Ford
Past Winners
------------
2007 Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 90.768 mph
2006 Kurt Busch, Dodge, 89.221 mph
2005 Ryan Newman, Dodge, 71.686 mph
2004 No race
2003 No race
2002 No race
2001 Ron Fellows, Chevrolet, 89.754 mph
2000 Ron Fellows, Chevrolet, 90.568 mph
1999 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 76.034 mph
1998 Ron Fellows, Chevrolet, 70.183 mph
1997 Mike McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 90.225 mph
1996 Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 91.468 mph
1995 Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 84.186 mph
1994 Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 93.717 mph
1993 Bill Elliott, Ford, 89.970 mph
1992 Ernie Irvan, Chevrolet, 93.991 mph
1991 Terry Labonte, Oldsmobile, 94.003 mph
