NATIONWIDE Ford 300
Final
for this game
Ford 300 Preview
Nov 11, 2008 - 6:35 PMNovember 15, 2008
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
Race 35 of 35 on the Nationwide Series circuit
TV: ESPN2, 4:00 p.m.
Laps: 200
Track length: 1 1/2 miles
Race length: 300 miles
Qualifying record: Casey Mears, Dodge, 177.936 mph, 2004
Race record: Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 132.191 mph, 2001
DRIVERS TO WATCH
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Clint Bowyer
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Car: No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $1,003,795
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 56 points ahead of Carl Edwards after finishing
fourth at Phoenix; needs to finish only eighth or better at
Homestead to win first title; through first 34 races has 13 top
fives and 28 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; ran ninth here last season.
Carl Edwards
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Car: No. 60 Ford Fusion
2008 Earnings: $1,212,165
Remains second in the standings and trails Clint Bowyer by 56
points after winning at Phoenix; has not finished out of top
five through last eight races; 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 six wins this year; won for the second time this
season at Gateway; also won at Milwaukee and ran second at
Dover; 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; posted a fourth
place finish here last year.
Brad Keselowski
Team: JR Motorsports
Car: No. 88 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2008 Earnings: $1,142,372
Second-year driver sits third in the standings, 353 points
behind Clint Bowyer after running 21st at Phoenix; 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 34 races has 19 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 17th
here last season.
Joey Logano
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Car: No. 20 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $640,679
Finished 10th at Phoenix after running fourth at Texas; in 18
starts this season has five top-fives and 13 top-10s; 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: $827,680
Sits fourth in the standings after 14th place finish at Phoenix;
has only three finishes higher than ninth in past 14 races; is
running both series this year; ran 25th at Bristol; through
first 34 races has seven top fives and 21 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
33rd as a rookie here last year.
David Reutimann
Team: Michael Waltrip Racing
Car: No. 99 Toyota Camry
2008 Earnings: $859,140
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 31st at Phoenix; had back-to-back
eighth-place finishes at Bristol and Fontana; is winless this
year with 14 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; ran 15th here last year.
2007 Top 10
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1. Jeff Burton (29), Chevrolet
2. Mark Martin (5), Chevrolet
3. Matt Kenseth (17), Ford
4. Carl Edwards (60), Ford
5. Stephen Leicht (90), Ford
6. Greg Biffle (16), Ford
7. Tony Raines (33), Chevrolet
8. Bobby Hamilton Jr. (35), Ford
9. Clint Bowyer (2), Chevrolet
10. Marcos Ambrose (59), Ford
Past Champions
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2007 Jeff Burton
2006 Matt Kenseth
2005 Ryan Newman
2004 Kevin Harvick
2003 Kasey Kahne
2002 Scott Wimmer
2001 Joe Nemechek
2000 Jeff Gordon
1999 Joe Nemechek
1998 Jeff Burton
1997 Joe Nemechek
1996 Kevin Lepage
1995 Dale Jarrett
