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.
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.
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.
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.