NATIONWIDE Food City 250
Final
for this game
Food City 250 Preview
Aug 22, 2008 - 10:26 AMAugust 22, 2008
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tennessee
Race 26 of 35 on the Nationwide Series circuit
TV: ESPN2, 8 p.m. EDT
Laps: 250
Track length: .533 mile
Qualifying record: Greg Biffle, 127.132 mph (March 2004)
Race record: Harry Gant, Buick, 92.929 mph (April 1992)
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $721,135
Series leader has just one victory this season - when he gambled
and stayed out during a rain delay to win at Bristol; followed
with second at Nashville and third at Texas; sits atop the
standings, 113 points ahead of Carl Edwards after finishing 10th
at Michigan last weekend; through first 25 races has eight
top fives and 20 top 10s; 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; finished eighth here last year.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $751,615
Won at Michigan to move up to second in the standings, 113
points behind leader Clint 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 11th here last year.
Brad Keselowski
Team: JR Motorsports
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $853,690
Second-year driver dropped to third in the standings after
running 11th at Michigan; sits 132 points behind series leader
Clint Bowyer; followed up his first series win at Nashville
by running fourth at Kentucky and eighth at Milwaukee; through
first 25 races has 14 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 seventh here last season.
Joey Logano
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $366,417
Young phenom finished seventh at Michigan and Watkins Glen in
previous two races; his car failed post-race inspection at
Michigan when a magnet was found underneath the gas pedal in
order to influence dyno test; finished 17th 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 Carl
Edwards at Milwaukee; won the 2007 NASCAR Busch East Series
championship as a rookie; 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: $602,140
Another driver who is running both series this year; ran 36th at
Michigan and dropped to sixth in the standings; through first 25
races has four top fives and 15 top 10s; 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; 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 sixth in this event last
season.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $653,600
Has pulled "double-duty" in 2008 after finishing second to Carl
Edwards in the standings last season; sits fifth in the
standings after running 36th at Michigan; 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 third in this race
last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Kasey Kahne (9), Dodge
2. Jason Leffler (38), Toyota
3. David Reutimann (99), Toyota
4. Kyle Busch (5), Chevrolet
5. Scott Wimmer (21), Chevrolet
6. David Ragan (6), Ford
7. Brad Keselowski (88), Chevrolet
8. Clint Bowyer (2), Chevrolet
9. Jamie McMurray (26), Ford
10. Aric Almirola (20), Chevrolet
Past Champions
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2007 Kasey Kahne
2006 Matt Kenseth
2005 Ryan Newman
2004 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2003 Michael Waltrip
2002 Jimmy Spencer
2001 Kevin Harvick
2000 Kevin Harvick
1999 Matt Kenseth
1998 Kevin Lepage
1997 Jimmy Spencer
1996 Jeff Fuller
1995 Steve Grissom
1994 Kenny Wallace
1993 Todd Bodine
1992 Todd Bodine
1991 Dale Jarrett
1990 Rick Mast
1989 Mark Martin
1988 Larry Pearson
1987 Larry Pearson
1986 Brett Bodine
1985 Brett Bodine
1984 Morgan Shepherd
1983 Sam Ard
1982 Jack Ingram
