2008 Auto Club 500 - Pre-Race News

Pre-Race News

• Boris Said was an early entry, but withdrew. Mike Skinner was to have replaced Jacques Villeneuve in the #27 Bill Davis Racing Toyota, while Nationwide Series regular Burney Lamar was to replace Carl Long in the #08 Dodge, however, with the cancellation of qualifying due to rain, neither made the field. Villeneuve will look for a ride (and sponsorship) in both Sprint Cup and Nationwide series.
• At first, it was not the best week for Robby Gordon. After finishing eighth at Daytona, NASCAR stripped 100 owner and driver points from him, slapped his crew chief, Frank Kerr, with a $100,000 fine (as a donation to the NASCAR Foundation), sent him home for a six-race suspension and was also placed on probation until the end of the year for an illegal nose cover on his new Dodge on the first day of inspection at Daytona. The team appealed the suspension, citing that it was excessive, and other teams were hit with lesser penalties one year earlier. On March 9, the National Stock Car Racing Commission restored the 100 owner and driver point penalty, and Kerr was restored full crew chief privilieges, but the fine was increased to a $150,000 donation to The NASCAR Foundation.
• Kurt Busch was docked 25 points and fined $25,000 after saying a profanity on live television during qualifying. This was the same penalty handed out when Tony Stewart uttered the same profanity after winning the 2007 Allstate 400 at The Brickyard the previous year.