2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200

2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200
Race details[1]
Race 23 of 35 in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Date August 2, 2008; 16 years ago (2008-08-02)
Location Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec
Course Permanent racing facility
2.709 mi (4.361 km)
Distance 74 laps, 200.466 mi (322.618 km)
Weather Mild with temperatures of 26.6 °C (79.9 °F); wind speeds of 4.9 kilometres per hour (3.0 mph)
Average speed 50.149 mph (80.707 km/h)
Attendance 60,000
Pole position
Driver Chip Ganassi Racing
Time 102.569 sec
Most laps led
Driver Marcos Ambrose JTG Daugherty Racing
Laps 27
Winner
No. 5 Ron Fellows JR Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ESPN2[2]
Announcers Marty Reid, Rusty Wallace, Randy LaJoie

The 2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge[3] race was the second running of the NAPA Auto Parts 200, a discontinued NASCAR Nationwide Series race held on August 2, 2008, at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec. The race was the 23rd of the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.

The pole position was won by Scott Pruett of Chip Ganassi Racing, while the race was won by JR Motorsports' Ron Fellows. The race was the first points race in NASCAR history to be run with grooved rain tires.[4]

Background

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The race was the second running of the NAPA Auto Parts 200, with Kevin Harvick winning the inaugural event in 2007.[2] The track, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, was one of two international tracks on the 2008 Nationwide schedule, along with Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City.[5]

Various road course ringers ran in the race, including Patrick Carpentier, Ron Fellows, Max Papis, Scott Pruett, Boris Said, Scott Gaylord and Jacques Villeneuve.[2]

Qualifying

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Scott Pruett of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing won the pole position with a lap time of 102.569 seconds and a speed of 95.082 miles per hour (153.020 km/h). Max Papis started second with a lap speed of 94.834 mph (152.621 km/h),[6] followed by Marcos Ambrose, Patrick Carpentier, Jacques Villeneuve.[7] The remaining top ten comprised Ron Fellows, Boris Said, Steve Wallace, Brad Coleman and Joey Logano. The lone driver to not qualify for the race was Kevin O'Connell.[2]

Race

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The race started at 3:30 EST,[8] with pole-sitter Scott Pruett leading until lap 7, in which the caution flag flew for rain, followed by the red flag on the following lap.[2] As a result, most teams added windshield wipers to the cars, while grooved rain tires were installed.[4] Rain tires had been previously used in practice and qualifying for the 1997 NASCAR Thunder 100 exhibition race at Suzuka Circuit, and also in 1999 by the Camping World Truck Series during a practice at Watkins Glen International.[4] At one point, Carl Edwards was seen trying to use what appeared to be a Swiffer mop to try cleaning his windshield, possibly during the first caution.[9]

The race was paused for about an hour before restarting.[2] As a result of the rain, speeds dropped from 90 mph (140 km/h) to 75 mph (121 km/h).[4] On lap 14, Marcos Ambrose took the lead, leading for a race high 27 laps until he was penalized for speeding in pit road.[4] Jacques Villeneuve took the lead on lap 41, which he subsequently relinquished to Ron Fellows on the following lap.[3] Fellows held the lead for seven laps until the race was called due to severe rain on lap 48. On the same lap, Villeneuve, who did not have a wiper installed, collided with another car's rear; Joey Logano also crashed on the lap, hitting a car without brake lights.[4] Patrick Carpentier finished second, followed by Ambrose, Ron Hornaday Jr., and Boris Said. The top ten was rounded out with Edwards, Jason Leffler, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Steve Wallace.[3]

Results

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Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 6 5 Ron Fellows JR Motorsports Chevrolet 48 190
2 4 9 Patrick Carpentier # Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 48 170
3 3 59 Marcos Ambrose JTG Daugherty Racing Ford 48 175
4 12 33 Ron Hornaday Jr. Kevin Harvick, Inc. Chevrolet 48 160
5 7 25 Boris Said Rensi - No Fear Ford 48 155
6 18 60 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48 150
7 14 38 Jason Leffler Braun Racing Toyota 48 146
8 16 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48 142
9 29 2 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 138
10 8 66 Steve Wallace Rusty Wallace Racing Chevrolet 48 134
11 17 29 Scott Wimmer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48 130
12 28 88 Brad Keselowski JR Motorsports Chevrolet 48 127
13 30 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48 124
14 19 4 Landon Cassill # Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 48 121
15 11 7 Mike Wallace Germain Racing Toyota 48 118
16 5 32 Jacques Villeneuve Braun Racing Toyota 48 120
17 10 20 Joey Logano # Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47 112
18 32 99 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 47 109
19 25 1 Mike Bliss Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 47 106
20 2 64 Max Papis Rusty Wallace Racing Chevrolet 47 103
21 9 27 Brad Coleman Curb Agajanian Performance Group Ford 47 105
22 1 40 Scott Pruett Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 47 102
23 23 11 Jason Keller CJM Racing Chevrolet 47 94
24 26 47 Kelly Bires JTG Daugherty Racing Ford 47 91
25 21 30 Stanton Barrett SKI Motorsports Chevrolet 47 88
26 24 98 Alex Garcia Transnet Racing Chevrolet 47 85
27 22 81 D. J. Kennington MacDonald Motorsports Dodge 47 82
28 15 22 Andrew Ranger Fitz Motorsports Dodge 47 79
29 37 52 Scott Gaylord Jimmy Means Racing Ford 46 76
30 20 24 Brian Simo Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 44 73
31 27 28 Kenny Wallace Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 42 70
32 38 0 Wheeler Boys JD Motorsports Chevrolet 37 67
33 13 10 Justin Marks Braun Racing Toyota 19 64
34 42 01 Trevor Boys JD Motorsports Chevrolet 13 61
35 31 05 Burney Lamar Day Enterprises Ford 8 58
36 35 31 Jeff Fuller SKI Motorsports Chevrolet 7 55
37 43 89 Morgan Shepherd Faith Motorsports Chevrolet 7 52
38 34 62 Brandon Whitt Specialty Racing Ford 7 49
39 41 61 Stan Barrett Specialty Racing Chevrolet 7 46
40 39 90 Don Thomson Jr. MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 2 43
41 36 91 Scott Steckly MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 2 40
42 40 84 Dale Quarterley Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet 2 37
43 33 49 Derrike Cope Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 1 34

Standings after the race

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Clint Bowyer led the points standings after the race.
Pos Driver Points[3] Differential
1 Clint Bowyer 3354 0
2 Carl Edwards 3186 -168
3 Brad Keselowski 3170 -184
4 David Reutimann 3035 -319
5 David Ragan 3009 -345
6 Mike Bliss 2944 -410
7 Kyle Busch 2828 -526
8 Mike Wallace 2736 -618
9 Jason Leffler 2637 -717
10 Jason Keller 2628 -726

References

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  1. ^ Weather information for the 2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b c d e f "THE RACE: 2008 NAPA AUTO PARTS 200 - CIRCUIT GILLES VILLENEUVE". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e "2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Associated Press (August 2, 2008). "Fellows wins historic, rainy Nationwide race in Montreal". USA Today. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  5. ^ "2008 Nationwide Series Schedule". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  6. ^ "Road Racers Dominate Qualifying: Pruett Takes the Pole". Hardcore Race Fans. August 2, 2008. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  7. ^ "Another Montreal Pole For Pruett". Motor Racing Network. August 2, 2008. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  8. ^ The Canadian Press (August 2, 2008). "PRUETT CAPTURES NASCAR NATIONWIDE NAPA AUTO PARTS POLE". The Sports Network. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  9. ^ "THE RACE: 2009 NAPA AUTO PARTS 200 - CIRCUIT GILLES VILLENEUVE". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved January 22, 2017. Another lasting image – Carl Edwards (#60 CitiFinancial Ford) using a Swiffer while driving to clear the raindrops from his windshield.