NATIONWIDE Kroger On Track for the Cure 250
Final
Kroger On Track For The Cure 250 Preview
Oct 25, 2008 - 10:21 AMOctober 25, 2008
Memphis Motorsports Park
Memphis, Tennessee
Race 32 of 35 on the Nationwide Series circuit
Laps: 250
Track length: 3/4 mile
Race length: 187 miles
TV: ESPN Classic, 3:00 p.m.
Qualifying record: Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 120.267 mph, 2000
Race record: Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 92.352 mph, 2000
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $930,245
Remains the series leader though he 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; is 196 points ahead of Carl Edwards after finishing
fourth at Lowe's; through first 31 races has 12 top fives and 26
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; did not race
here last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $1,031,325
Followed up win at Richmond by running fifth at Dover and fourth
at Kansas; remains second in the standings and trails Clint
Bowyer by 196 points; had a disappointing 37th-place finish at
Bristol - his worst showing of the year excluding Darlington,
where a wreck left him in 43rd; defending series champion has
four wins this year; won for the second time this season at
Gateway; also won at Milwaukee, then followed up with a fifth at
New Hampshire and 11th at Daytona; ran second at Dover; 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; posted a 25th-place finish here last year.
Brad Keselowski
Team: JR Motorsports
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $1,030,800
Second-year driver sits third in the standings, 286 points
behind Clint Bowyer after running eighth at Lowe's; had moved up
to second in the standings after winning at Bristol, but
followed that effort with his worst performance of the year -
placing 33rd in Fontana; followed up his first series win at
Nashville by running fourth at Kentucky and eighth at Milwaukee;
through first 31 races has 18 top 10s and 10 top fives; finished
third at Lowe's and posted consecutive fourth-place finishes at
Bristol and the first Nashville race; has only five 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 ninth
here last season.
Joey Logano
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $537,900
Finished 14th at Lowe's after running ninth at Kansas; young
phenom had his car fail 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; 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; 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 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: $758,190
Sits fifth in the standings after 12th-place finish at Lowe's;
has only one finish higher than ninth in past 11 races; is
running both series this year; ran 25th at Bristol; through
first 31 races has six top fives and 19 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 third as
a rookie here last year.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $773,850
Has pulled "double-duty" in 2008 after finishing second to Carl
Edwards in the standings last season; dropped to seventh in the
standings after running 24th at Lowe's; had back-to-back
eighth-place finishes at Bristol and Fontana; is winless this
year with 13 top 10 finishes and seven top fives; ran 15th 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
in the Sharpie Mini 300; last year had better finishes than
Carl 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; won this race last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. David Reutimann (99), Toyota
2. Mike Bliss (22), Dodge
3. David Ragan (6), Ford
4. Marcos Ambrose (59), Ford
5. Jason Leffler (38), Toyota
6. Scott Wimmer (29), Chevrolet
7. Jamie McMurray (26), Ford
8. Jason Keller (11), Chevrolet
9. Brad Keselowski (88), Chevrolet
10. Brian Keselowski (49), Dodge
Past Champions
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2007 David Reutimann
2006 Kevin Harvick
2005 Clint Bowyer
2004 Martin Truex Jr.
2003 Bobby Hamilton Jr.
2002 Scott Wimmer
2001 Randy LaJoie
2000 Kevin Harvick
1999 Jeff Green