Race
In the beginning of the race, Michael Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson started on the front row. For the first 151 laps, there were only two caution flags thrown for debris. Jeff Gordon went to the garage after leading a few laps due to a broken suspension. On lap 161, David Ragan tried to block Matt Kenseth, but brought out the third caution after Ragan squeezed his teammate into the wall. The next caution happened on lap 176, when polesitter Jimmie Johnson spun onto the Daytona Superstretch, and Martin Truex Jr. was spun because of the shuffle in the field. Clint Bowyer led the next two laps, but was shuffled through the field and was eventually spun by Juan Pablo Montoya, bringing out the fifth caution of the race. Bowyer did not have any damage from the crash. The biggest crash of the race happened on lap 189, when Kevin Harvick sent Dave Blaney into the wall, collecting Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, Casey Mears, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Travis Kvapil and Carl Edwards. Mears did not pit and wound up 4th in the field despite minor damage. On lap 195, Jeff Burton worked his way up to first. Casey Mears tried to block Tony Stewart, who went with Burton, but turned himself into the wall, bringing out another caution. Jeff Burton had a fuel problem on the restart, resulting in Tony Stewart passing him on the outside, bringing Ryan Newman, the Busch brothers and Reed Sorenson. Stewart led the next two laps. On the last lap, Kyle Busch jumped to the inside, bringing teammate Tony Stewart with him. Ryan Newman was on the outside now. It was a shootout going into the final turn between Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, and the Busch Brothers. Kyle Busch jumped to the inside of Tony Stewart, but Kurt Busch pushed Ryan Newman, allowing Newman to win the 50th running of the Daytona 500 with Kurt Busch in tow.
| Results of the 50th Daytona 500 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Start | Car | Driver | Make | Team | Laps | Status | Winnings (in US$) |
| 1 | 7 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Dodge | Penske Racing | 200 | Running | $1,506,040 |
| 2 | 43 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | Penske Racing | 200 | Running | $1,063,870 |
| 3 | 6 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 200 | Running | $871,049 |
| 4 | 24 | 18 | Kyle Busch• | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 200 | Running | $652,938 |
| 5 | 5 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | 200 | Running | $545,959 |
| 6 | 35 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | 200 | Running | $430,015 |
| 7 | 10 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | 200 | Running | $389,204 |
| 8 | 26 | 7 | Robby Gordon* | Dodge | Robby Gordon Motorsports | 200 | Running | $352,921 |
| 9 | 3 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (W) | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 200 | Running | $352,920 |
| 10 | 18 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | 200 | Running | $313,763 |
| 11 | 13 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Petty Enterprises | 200 | Running | $329,756 |
| 12 | 23 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | Red Bull Racing Team | 200 | Running | $285,245 |
| 13 | 36 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 200 | Running | $323,496 |
| 14 | 16 | 29 | Kevin Harvick (W) | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 200 | Running | $322,224 |
| 15 | 19 | 77 | Sam Hornish, Jr. (R) | Dodge | Penske Racing | 200 | Running | $319,845 |
| 16 | 20 | 44 | Dale Jarrett (W) | Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing | 200 | Running | $277,213 |
| 17 | 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 200 | Running | $341,416 |
| 18 | 42 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing | 200 | Running | $291,221 |
| 19 | 11 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | 200 | Running | $321,520 |
| 20 | 25 | 1 | Martin Truex, Jr. | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 200 | Running | $303,978 |
| 21 | 27 | 66 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | Haas CNC Racing | 200 | Running | $287,928 |
| 22 | 21 | 15 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 200 | Running | $279,295 |
| 23 | 33 | 70 | Jeremy Mayfield | Chevrolet | Haas CNC Racing | 200 | Running | $271,220 |
| 24 | 31 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 200 | Running | $284,545 |
| 25 | 37 | 96 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | Hall of Fame Racing | 200 | Running | $277,095 |
| 26 | 38 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | 200 | Running | $276,888 |
| 27 | 1 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson (W) | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 200 | Running | $329,606 |
| 28 | 32 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | Yates Racing | 200 | Running | $278,746 |
| 29 | 2 | 55 | Michael Waltrip (W) | Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing | 200 | Running | $275,135 |
| 30 | 30 | 28 | Travis Kvapil | Ford | Yates Racing | 200 | Running | $291,202 |
| 31 | 12 | 8 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 200 | Running | $301,846 |
| 32 | 15 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | 200 | Running | $290,753 |
| 33 | 40 | 40 | Dario Franchitti (R) | Dodge | Chip Ganassi Racing | −1 | Running | $270,613 |
| 34 | 39 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Dodge | Petty Enterprises | −3 | Running | $260,320 |
| 35 | 9 | 5 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | −6 | Accident | $284,945 |
| 36 | 28 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | −6 | Running | $308,129 |
| 37 | 29 | 01 | Regan Smith (R) | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | −6 | Running | $267,095 |
| 38 | 34 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Toyota | Bill Davis Racing | −11 | Accident | $259,563 |
| 39 | 8 | 24 | Jeff Gordon (W) | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | −14 | Suspension | $319,599 |
| 40 | 22 | 34 | John Andretti | Chevrolet | Front Row Motorsports | −16 | Running | $258,613 |
| 41 | 41 | 78 | Joe Nemechek | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | −29 | Running | $258,470 |
| 42 | 14 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | −39 | Accident | $267,763 |
| 43 | 17 | 87 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Racing | −59 | Engine | $256,735 |
(W) – Denotes former race winner. (R) – Denotes rookie.
• – Led most laps
Average Speed: 152.672 mph (245.702 km/h)
Margin of Victory: .092 seconds
Time of Race: Three hours, 16 minutes and 30 seconds
Lead Changes: 42 among 17 drivers
Cautions: Seven for 23 laps
* — On Wednesday, February 20, NASCAR docked Robby Gordon and his self-owned team both 100 owner and driver points for violations during the first day of inspections back on February 8, including an illegal nose cover. His crew chief, Frank Kerr, was fined $100,000, suspended for the next six races starting at California, and was placed on probation until 12/31/08 as a result. An appeal, heard on March 5, the points penalties and the Kerr suspension were overturned, however, the fine was increased to $150,000,
Read more about this topic: 2008 Daytona 500
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