NASCAR Point Standings as of 3/17/08
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
Now is the time when the NASCAR Point Standings kick in for the 2008 race season. Up until now, the field has been set on qualifying day as a result of the top 35 from the 2007 season. Bristol was the fifth race of the season, so all races from here on out will use the 2008 point standings to determine the top 35 cars.
To see where the drivers stand in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series (there was no Craftsman Truck race this week), keep reading after the jump.
NASCAR, Sprint Cup Point Standings, Nationwide Series Point Standings
Richard Childress Racing sure had a great weekend. First, Clint Bowyer wins a rain shortened Nationwide Series race on Saturday and then his cars finish 1, 2, 3 in the Sprint Cup race on Sunday. Looks like that team has the Bristol race track figured out. This time, veteran Jeff Burton took the checkered flag with his teammates Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer close behind. It just wouldn’t have been Bristol without a big crash, and sure enough there was one about midway through the race, taking out 6 cars in the process. Yes, it was indeed a typical Bristol race with a unique ending.
Sometimes I don’t think Mother Nature is a NASCAR fan. Last week it was snowing, this week it’s rain. In fact, qualifying for the Sprint Cup race this weekend in Bristol was rained out. According to the NASCAR rule book, the starting grid will be set by the point standings. However, since this is only the fifth race of the season, that means last years’ point standings will be used to set the starting line up. That’s good news for Jimmie Johnson considering his 2008 has been off to a less than spectacular start. Since he’s the reigning Sprint Cup Champion, he gets to sit on the pole for the race.
Ah, Bristol. Short track racing, or even short track banging, at its finest. “The World’s Fastest Half Mile” will try to take out both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series drivers this week as they bump and run to the finish line. The Craftsman Truck Series has a couple of weeks off, so let’s take a look at what to watch for this weekend in Bristol. Keep reading after the jump.
Well, Toyota has finally won their first Sprint Cup race. In fact, it’s the first time in more than 40 years that a foreign manufacturer has won a Cup Series race. Kyle Busch piloted his Joe Gibbs Racing Snickers Toyota to the checkered flag on Sunday. Carl Edwards, who was looking for his third win in a row, looked very strong until he had an engine leak and ended up 42nd overall. Kyle’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart managed to hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr. for a 2nd place finish.
Hendrick Motorsports haven’t been as dominant this year as they were last year. However, it looks like that could be starting to come to an end. After Sprint Cup qualifying, two of the Hendrick Teams will be starting on the front row. Jeff Gordon landed on the pole just one week after his seriously hard crash into the inside wall in Las Vegas. His new teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start next to him in the front row. Could they use that great qualifying effort to propel the team to their first win this season? Carl Edwards will start in the second row, though, and he’s on a roll with two consecutive wins. He did get a large penalty and lost his crew chief for six races as of this week, but veteran crew chief Robbie Reiser will be sitting on top of his pit box come Sunday, so you can’t count him out.
Carl Edwards and the #99 Roush Fenway team got quite a smackdown from NASCAR officials today. The announcement comes three days after Edwards piloted his Ford to the win at Las Vegas and then did not pass post race inspection.
Carl Edwards fans must be flipping out. After two wins in a row, Carl Edwards and the #99 Roush Fenway racing team is on fire. After a record number of caution flags, including a red flag after a hard and nasty crash on the inside wall by Jeff Gordon, Edwards was able to come back from a pit road controversy to take the checkered flag over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Carl was able to escape a pit road penalty for a loose tire after it was reviewed by the NASCAR officials and they saw that a cameraman got in the way of the crew who was trying to grab the tire.
Hometown boy Kyle Busch will start on the pole of this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup UAW-Dodge 400 at the Las Vegas Motorspeedway. Hot on his heels in qualifying was last week’s winner at California, Carl Edwards. Kyle’s brother Kurt will also start in the top ten, as will Edwards’ Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle.
Whew! Now THAT was a long race! It took two days to finish, after all. Okay, so there was a break in between, but still, that rain caused havoc on the Sprint Cup Series Race in California. The damp track on Sunday caused quite a few accidents (including Casey Mears on his side and Sam Hornish Jr. on fire), which didn’t help the situation. Every time they seemed to have the track cleared up again, the rain would come. They eventually postponed the race and the drivers got to finish in the warm sun on Monday.
Rain, rain, go away! Geesh! Last year at the beginning of the racing season was definitely rainy. Are we destined for a repeat? Let’s hope not so we can see some great racing. It’s not been very good luck so far in southern California for the weekend races. Sprint Cup Series qualifying was rained out, so the starting grid will be set by 2007 Owner’s Points. There are a few driver and team changes, however, so it’s probably a good refresher to all of us to see where the cars will start in the race. 
