SPRINT Dickies 500
Final
for this game
Dickies 500 Preview
Oct 29, 2008 - 10:37 AMNovember 2, 2008
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas
Race 34 of 36 on Sprint Cup circuit
(8th of 10 in "Chase for the Championship")
TV: ABC, 3 p.m. EDT
Laps: 334
Track length: 1 1/2 miles
Race length: 500 miles
Qualifying record: Bill Elliott, Dodge, 194.224 mph, 2002
Race record: Carl Edwards, Ford, 151.055 mph, 2005
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Greg Biffle
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 16 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $4,562,814
Chase Points: 6,063 (3rd)
Snapped 33-race winless skid by winning at New Hampshire to
start the Chase, then won again at Dover; winning streak ended
with a third at Kansas, then was wrecked by teammate Carl Edwards
at Talladega and finished 24th; dropped to third in the
standings, 185 points behind Jimmie Johnson after finishing 10th
at Atlanta; through first 33 starts has 11 top fives and 16
top 10s; claimed two poles this season at Darlington and Dover;
also has a pair of DNFs on the year, at Darlington and the
second Daytona race; has been in the top-12 in the standings
since the season-opening Daytona 500, where he finished 10th;
finished second in the 2005 series standings, earning six
victories; he is the only driver to win Nationwide and Craftsman
Truck series titles; did not qualify for the Chase last season
and wound up 14th in the standings; finished 33rd in this race
last season.
Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
2008 Earnings: $4,071,445
Chase Points: 5,934 (7th)
Finished 12th at Richmond to lock up final Chase berth, then ran
12th at New Hampshire, eighth at Dover and 12th at Kansas; sits
seventh in the standings after running 20th at Atlanta; pulled
off a shocking victory in the Chase opener last season from the
pole en route to finishing a surprising third in the standings
on the strength of five top-10 finishes over the Chase; has one
win on the year, coming at the first Richmond race in May; in 33
starts this season has five top fives and 14 top 10s; has not
earned a pole, but also has no DNFs on the Nationwide year; is
running double duty this season and currently tops the Series
standings by 116 points; finished 19th in this race last year.
Jeff Burton
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 31 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $5,153,607
Chase Points: 6,030 (4th)
Won at Lowe's to jump up to second in the standings, 69 points
behind Jimmie Johnson, but ran 17th at Martinsville and 18th at
Atlanta to fall back to fourth; opened the Chase by running
fourth at New Hampshire, ninth at Dover, seventh at Kansas and
fourth at Talladega; one of the circuit's most consistent
drivers struggled entering the Chase; ran in the top 15 through
the first 17 races, but had an average finish of 20th over last
nine starts before the Chase - including just two top 10s which
came at the Brickyard and Richmond; won first Bristol race for
other victory of the season; has no poles this season and a pair
of DNFs; finished eighth in last season's standings, one year
after placing seventh; finished in the top 10 in half of the
races last season, including nine top fives; best overall finish
was third in the 2000 standings; ran sixth in this race last
season.
Kyle Busch
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 18 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $6,269,645
Chase Points: 5,783 (12th)
Championship hopes evaporated after engine troubles at Kansas
relegated him to a 28th-place finish; blew an engine at Dover
and finished 43rd to fall to last place in the Chase; began the
Chase with a broken sway bar at New Hampshire that dropped him
to a 34th-place finish; first season at Joe Gibbs Racing has
seen him win eight races and post 16 top fives and 18 top 10s;
had held on to the top spot for 17 consecutive weeks; win at
Watkins Glen gave him a sweep of the road courses following
victory at Sonoma in June; prior to win at the Glen had
"slumped" with a 15th at the Brickyard and 36th at Pocono; also
ran dead last at the first Pocono race; has wins at Atlanta,
Talladega, Darlington, Dover and the second Daytona race;
runner-up finish at Richmond was marred by a late-race incident
with Dale Earnhardt Jr.; had the dominant car and led the most
laps at the Daytona 500; ran fourth in this race last season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $4,326,270
Chase Points: 5,829 (10th)
The circuit's most popular driver started the Chase by running
fifth at New Hampshire; fell to 24th at Dover and 13th at
Kansas; was collected in the big one at Talladega and wound up
28th; is now 10th after running 11th at Atlanta; has been more
consistent than spectacular with nine top fives and 14 top 10s,
posting just a single DNF and claiming one pole; snapped a
76-race winless stretch by winning first Michigan race on fumes;
in 11 remaining races before the Chase had an average finish of
16 and just two top 10s; was involved in a late-race incident
with Kyle Busch at Richmond while racing for the win and wound
up 15th; was the top finishing Hendrick car at the Daytona 500
with a ninth-place showing; made the move from his father's
Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he won 17 Cup events, to Hendrick
Motorsports; got off to a good start with his new team by
winning the Bud Shootout; finished 14th in this race last
season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 99 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $7,068,675
Chase Points: 6,065 (2nd)
Jumped up to second in the standings after win at Atlanta, but
still sits 183 points behind Jimmie Johnson; dropped from the
top spot in the Chase after running second at Kansas; opened the
Chase with thirds at New Hampshire and Dover; caused the big one
at Talladega and finished 29th, then dropped to fourth in the
standings after 33rd-place finish at Lowe's; has 16 top fives
and 24 top 10s; finished second to Johnson at the Brickyard and
has five runner-ups this season; was also second to Kyle Busch
at Darlington, Dover and the second Daytona race; was docked 100
points and fell from the top spot in the standings after being
penalized after his win at Las Vegas; victory at Texas was his
10th career Cup win; qualified for the Chase last year and won
at Dover after placing 12th at New Hampshire, but failed
post-race inspection and was docked 25 points; penalty dropped
him from third to sixth in the standings and he never recovered,
eventually winding up ninth; won the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series
championship and is in contention to win the title again this
year; ran 26th here last year.
Jeff Gordon
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 24 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $5,249,232
Chase Points: 5,936 (6th)
Ran ninth at Atlanta to move up to seventh in the standings; has
yet to win this season but has 11 top-fives and 17 top 10s; has
five DNFs this season after posting just one last year;
opened the 2008 season with a disappointing 39th in the Daytona
500; only a dominant finish by teammate Jimmie Johnson kept him
from capturing a fifth championship last season; finished with
10 top-10 finishes in the final 11 races - the other finish in
that span was an 11th at Dover; totaled a remarkable 30 top-10
finishes and 21 top fives in 36 races last year; had six
checkered flags last season and 81 career, just two shy of tying
Cale Yarborough for fifth place all-time; ran seventh in this
race last year.
Denny Hamlin
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 11 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $5,105,441
Chase Points: 5,823 (11th)
Spent a night in the hospital after hard crash at Talladega
which relegated him to a 39th-place finish; bounced back with a
16th at Lowe's, fifth at Martinsville and third at Atlanta; won
once this season at Martinsville in March; through 33 starts
has 11 top fives and 17 top 10s along with one pole at the first
Richmond race; has only three DNFs on the year; has been in the
top-12 in the standings since win at first Martinsville race;
struggled to a 12th-place finish in the Chase last season with
only three top-10s; in 2006 became the first - and thus far -
only rookie to make the Chase, going on to finish third in the
standings; posted seven top-10s in the 10 races that make up the
Chase; ran 29th in this race last season.
Kevin Harvick
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 29 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $5,001,671
Chase Points: 5,941 (5th)
Had finished in the top-10 in nine straight races until running
20th at Talladega; finished 13th at Atlanta and is fifth in the
standings; started the Chase by finishing 10th at New Hampshire,
sixth at Dover and sixth at Kansas; posted six top fives and 15
top 10s this season; has no poles and no DNFs on the year;
entered the top-12 in the standings after Pocono in the
beginning of August; last year finished 10th in the Chase with
four top-10 finishes; in 2006 finished fourth in the Chase with
six top-10 finishes including wins at New Hampshire and Phoenix;
took an early lead in the 2006 Chase after winning at New
Hampshire from the pole, but a 32nd-place finish at Dover
knocked him out of the top spot; ran 10th in this race last
year.
Jimmie Johnson
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Car: No. 48 Chevrolet Impala
2008 Earnings: $6,807,278
Chase Points: 6,248 (1st)
Two-time reigning series champion has a 183-point lead atop the
standings after running second at Atlanta after winning at
Martinsville; barely missed out on third straight win after
being passed by Greg Biffle in the closing laps at New
Hampshire, settling for second; followed with fifth at Dover and
a win at Kansas to take over first place in the Chase; played it
safe at Talladega and finished ninth, then ran sixth at Lowe's;
entered the Chase with momentum after winning the past two races
at California and Richmond; also has wins at Phoenix and the
Brickyard; in 33 starts has 14 top fives and 25 top 10s to go
along with four poles and just a single DNF; battled teammate
Jeff Gordon for the top spot in the Chase early last season,
then took off by winning four straight races over the second
half of the Chase; in 2006 he came back from ninth early in the
Chase to win the championship with six top 10s, which included a
win at Martinsville and four second-place finishes; finished
fifth in the 2005 standings and second in 2004, eight points
behind Kurt Busch; won this race last year.
Matt Kenseth
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 17 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $5,120,296
Chase Points: 5,835 (9th)
Does not have a win this season but finished fifth at Kansas
after a second at Dover; was collected in the big one at
Talladega and finished 26th, then placed 41st at Lowe's; ran
seventh at Martinsville and fourth at Atlanta; started the Chase
by running 40th at New Hampshire; has nine top fives and 18 top
10s with no poles and one DNF on the year; last season had a
late-Chase surge with a win at the season-ending race at
Homestead, following a third at Phoenix and second at Texas;
finished fourth in the final standings; won the series
championship in 2003 despite capturing only one checkered flag,
prompting NASCAR to change to its current Chase format; is
running this season without long-time crew chief Robbie Reiser,
who has been replaced atop the box by Chip Bolin; ran second in
this race last year.
Tony Stewart
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $5,880,549
Chase Points: 5,847 (8th)
Snapped a 42-race winless streak by winning at Talladega;
followed that up by running 11th at Lowe's and 26th at
Martinsville; remained eighth in the standings after finishing
17th at Atlanta; has 10 top fives and 15 top 10s, along with no
poles and three DNFs on the year; finished fifth at Chicago in
first race since announcing he will leave JGR at the end of the
season to drive for his own Stewart-Haas Racing team next
season; finished second to teammate Kyle Busch at Atlanta, but
was vocal about the poor Goodyear tire quality; suffered a hard
crash at Las Vegas, injured his ankle and finished last; had
another disappointment in the Daytona 500, finishing third
despite having the lead with one lap to go; also clashed with
his team after finishing second to Jimmie Johnson at Richmond;
finished sixth in the Chase last season, one year after not
qualifying; won the 2005 championship for his second career
title; finished 11th in this race last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Jimmie Johnson (48), Chevrolet
2. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
3. Martin Truex Jr. (1), Chevrolet
4. Kyle Busch (5), Chevrolet
5. Ryan Newman (12), Dodge
6. Jeff Burton (31), Chevrolet
7. Jeff Gordon (24), Chevrolet
8. Kurt Busch (2), Dodge
9. Jamie McMurray (26), Ford
10. Kevin Harvick (29), Chevrolet
Past Champions
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2007 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 131.219 mph
2006 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 134.891
2005 Carl Edwards, Ford, 151.055 mph
