2008 Samsung 500

The 2008 Samsung 500 was the seventh race for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and run on Sunday, April 6 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. The race was broadcast on television by Fox starting at 1:30 PM US EDT, and broadcast via radio and Sirius Satellite Radio on the Performance Racing Network beginning at 1 PM US EDT.

2008 Samsung 500

Race details
Race 7 of 36 in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2008 Samsung 500 program cover
Date	April 6, 2008 (2008-April-06)
Official name	Samsung 500
Location	Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance	339 laps, 508.5 mi (818.351 km)
Scheduled Distance	334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 81 °F (27 °C); wind speeds up to 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h)[1]
Average speed	144.814 miles per hour (233.056 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	28.344
Most laps led
Driver	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing
Laps	123
Winner
No. 99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

Entry list

Car[2]	Driver	Hometown	Make	Sponsor	Owner	Team	Crew Chief
00	Michael McDowell	Phoenix, AZ	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	Rob Kauffman	Michael Waltrip Racing
01	Regan Smith	Cato, NY	Chevrolet	DEI / Principal Financial Group	Teresa Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
1	Martin Truex Jr.	Mayetta, NJ	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops / Tracker	Teresa Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2	Kurt Busch	Las Vegas, NV	Dodge	Miller Lite	Walter Czarnecki	Penske Racing
5	Casey Mears	Bakersfield, CA	Chevrolet	Cheez-It / CARQUEST	Mary Hendrick	Hendrick Motorsports
6	David Ragan	Unadilla, GA	Ford	AAA Insurance	Mike Dee	Roush Fenway Racing
07	Clint Bowyer	Emporia, KS	Chevrolet	Jack Daniel's	Richard Childress	Richard Childress Racing
7	Robby Gordon	Bellflower, CA	Dodge	Jim Beam	Robby Gordon	Robby Gordon Motorsports
08	Burney Lamar	West Sacramento, CA	Dodge	rhino's energy drink	John Carter	E&M Motorsports
8	Mark Martin	Batesville, AR	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	Teresa Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
9	Kasey Kahne	Enumclaw, WA	Dodge	Budweiser	George Gillett Jr.	Gillett Evernham Motorsports
10	Patrick Carpentier	Ville Lasalle, Quebec, Canada	Dodge	Valvoline	George Gillett Jr.	Gillett Evernham Motorsports
11	Denny Hamlin	Chesterfield, VA	Toyota	FedEx Ground	J.D. Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing
12	Ryan Newman	South Bend, IN	Dodge	Samsung HDTV / Alltel	Roger Penske	Penske Racing
15	Paul Menard	Eau Claire, WI	Chevrolet	Quaker State / Menards	Teresa Earnhardt	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
16	Greg Biffle	Vancouver, WA	Ford	DISH Network / DishDVRs	Jack Roush	Roush Fenway Racing
17	Matt Kenseth	Cambridge, WI	Ford	DEWALT	John Henry	Roush Fenway Racing
18	Kyle Busch	Las Vegas, NV	Toyota	Interstate Batteries	Joe Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing
19	Elliott Sadler	Emporia, VA	Dodge	Best Buy / Garmin	Ray Evernham	Gillett Evernham Motorsports
20	Tony Stewart	Rushville, IN	Toyota	The Home Depot	Joe Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing
21	Bill Elliott	Dawsonville, GA	Ford	Motorcraft	Glen Wood	Wood Brothers Racing
22	Dave Blaney	Hartford, OH	Toyota	Caterpillar	Bill Davis	Bill Davis Racing
24	Jeff Gordon	Vallejo, CA	Chevrolet	DuPont	Rick Hendrick	Hendrick Motorsports
26	Jamie McMurray	Joplin, MO	Ford	Crown Royal Cask No. 16	Geoff Smith	Roush Fenway Racing
28	Travis Kvapil	Janesville, WI	Ford	Yates Racing	Doug Yates	Yates Racing
29	Kevin Harvick	Bakersfield, CA	Chevrolet	Shell / Pennzoil	Richard Childress	Richard Childress Racing
31	Jeff Burton	South Boston, VA	Chevrolet	Prilosec OTC	Richard Childress	Richard Childress Racing
34	John Andretti	Bethlehem, PA	Chevrolet	Front Row Motorsports	Bob Jenkins	Front Row Motorsports
38	David Gilliland	Riverside, CA	Ford	Yates Racing	Max Jones	Yates Racing
40	Dario Franchitti	Bathgate, West Lothian	Dodge	Kennametal	Felix Sabates	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
41	Reed Sorenson	Peachtree City, GA	Dodge	Target	Chip Ganassi	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Bogota, Colombia	Dodge	Texaco / Havoline	Floyd Ganassi	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
43	Bobby Labonte	Corpus Christi, TX	Dodge	Cheerios Racing / Sam's Club	Richard Petty	Petty Enterprises
44	David Reutimann	Zephyrhills, FL	Toyota	UPS	Michael Waltrip	Michael Waltrip Racing
45	Chad McCumbee	Supply, NC	Dodge	Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil	Kyle Petty	Petty Enterprises
48	Jimmie Johnson	El Cajon, CA	Chevrolet	Lowe's	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
55	Michael Waltrip	Owensboro, KY	Toyota	NAPA AUTO PARTS	Michael Waltrip	Michael Waltrip Racing
66	Scott Riggs	Bahama, NC	Chevrolet	State Water Heaters	Joe Custer	Haas CNC Racing
70	Jeremy Mayfield	Owensboro, KY	Chevrolet	Haas Automation	Margaret Haas	Haas CNC Racing
77	Sam Hornish Jr.	Defiance, OH	Dodge	Mobil 1	Roger Penske	Penske Racing
78	Joe Nemechek	Lakeland, FL	Chevrolet	Furniture Row / DenverMattress.com	Barney Visser	Furniture Row Racing
83	Brian Vickers	Thomasville, NC	Toyota	Red Bull	Dietrich Mateschitz	Red Bull Racing Team
84	Mike Skinner	Ontario, CA	Toyota	Red Bull	Dietrich Mateschitz	Red Bull Racing Team
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Kannapolis, NC	Chevrolet	National Guard / AMP Energy	Rick Hendrick	Hendrick Motorsports
96	J.J. Yeley	Phoenix, AZ	Toyota	DLP HDTV	Jeffrey Moorad	Hall of Fame Racing
99	Carl Edwards	Columbia, MO	Ford	Aflac	Jack Roush	Roush Fenway Racing

Pre race notes

• Chad McCumbee replaced Kyle Petty in the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge ride this week; however, for the second straight race, the #45 car failed to qualify.
• BAM Racing will skip both this week's race and the following race at Phoenix as their transition to Toyota has been harder than they thought.

Qualifying

Michael McDowell's destroyed racecar being taken away after a horrifying crash going into Turn One of the track during a qualifying round

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first pole as a member of Hendrick Motorsports, with a speed of just under 191 mph.

However, the major story to come out of this was the spectacular crash of Michael McDowell into Turn One during his second qualifying lap in the #00 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. Going into Turn 1, McDowell said on the radio "Way too tight!" The car proceeded to turn sharply left, then when McDowell tried to correct it, the car sharply steered hardly to the right, plowing head-first into the SAFER barrier at over 180 mph, causing his car to barrel-roll 8 times with fire coming from the engine compartment. McDowell was shown to be moving around in the car when the car landed on its wheels in the middle of Turns 1 and 2, and seconds later was able to get out of the car under his own power, uninjured. Due to the fact that his primary car was destroyed, he was forced into the rear of the field in a backup. The crash would prove the safety of the Car of Tomorrow, which had been criticized for its looks. For most of McDowell's career, this would be his legacy; proving the safety of the Car of Tomorrow until the 2021 season, when in a stunning upset McDowell would pass Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano on the final lap to win the 2021 Daytona 500.

Pos.[3][4]	Car	Driver	Make	Avg. Speed (mph)	Time	Behind
1	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Chevrolet	190.907	28.286	0.000
2	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	189.487	28.498	00.212
3	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	189.069	28.561	00.275
4	12	Ryan Newman	Dodge	189.042	28.565	00.279
5	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	188.772	28.606	00.320
6	44	David Reutimann	Toyota	188.732	28.612	00.326
7	6	David Ragan	Ford	188.534	28.642	00.356
8	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	188.475	28.651	00.365
9	84	Mike Skinner	Toyota	188.390	28.664	00.378
10	9	Kasey Kahne	Dodge	188.245	28.686	00.400
11	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Dodge	188.160	28.699	00.413
12	1	Martin Truex Jr	Chevrolet	188.140	28.702	00.416
13	66	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet	188.009	28.722	00.436
14	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	187.990	28.725	00.439
15	7	Robby Gordon	Dodge	187.931	28.734	00.448
16	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	187.865	28.744	00.458
17	77	Sam Hornish Jr	Dodge	187.741	28.763	00.477
18	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	187.611	28.783	00.497
19	15	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	187.598	28.785	00.499
20	55	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	187.591	28.786	00.500
21	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	187.493	28.801	00.515
22	5	Casey Mears	Chevrolet	187.474	28.804	00.518
23	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	187.311	28.829	00.543
24	20	Tony Stewart	Toyota	187.195	28.847	00.561
25	07	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	187.156	28.853	00.567
26	19	Elliott Sadler	Dodge	187.007	28.876	00.590
27	10	Patrick Carpentier	Dodge	186.981	28.880	00.594
28	21	Bill Elliott	Ford	186.974	28.881	00.595
29	22	Dave Blaney	Toyota	186.948	28.885	00.599
30	43	Bobby Labonte	Dodge	186.935	28.887	00.601
31	8	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	186.793	28.909	00.623
32	26	Jamie McMurray	Ford	186.645	28.932	00.646
33	96	JJ Yeley	Toyota	186.220	28.998	00.712
34	01	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	186.046	29.025	00.739
35	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	185.995	29.033	00.747
36	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	185.752	29.071	00.785
37	34	John Andretti	Chevrolet	185.669	29.084	00.798
38	28	Travis Kvapil	Ford	185.631	29.090	00.804
39	70	Jeremy Mayfield	Chevrolet	185.350	29.134	00.848
40	00	Michael McDowell	Toyota	182.933	29.519	01.233
41	38	David Gilliland	Ford	0.000	00.000	0.000
42	41	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	0.000	00.000	0.000
43	78	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet	185.191	29.159	00.873
Failed to qualify
44	40	Dario Franchitti	Dodge	185.122	29.170
45	45	Chad McCumbee	Dodge	183.736	29.390
46	08	Burney Lamar	Dodge	181.996	29.671
WD	49	Ken Schrader	Toyota	0.000	00.000	0.000

Failed to qualify: Burney Lamar (#08), Dario Franchitti (#40), Chad McCumbee (#45).

Race recap

The race was won by Carl Edwards. Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin would round out the top five while Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer would be the remaining finishers in the top ten finishing order.^[5]

Results

Fin[6][7]	St	#	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Team	Laps	Led	Status	Pts	PTS	Winnings (USD)
1	2	99	Carl Edwards	Aflac	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	339	123	running	195	195	541150
2	5	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's	Chevy	Hendrick Motorsports	339	65	running	175	175	364286
3	3	18	Kyle Busch	Interstate Batteries	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	339	50	running	170	170	250750
4	4	12	Ryan Newman	Alltel, Samsung	Dodge	Penske Racing	339	0	running	135	135	236725
5	14	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Ground	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	339	0	running	155	155	206841
6	35	31	Jeff Burton	Prilosec OTC	Chevy	Richard Childress Racing	339	0	running	150	150	197033
7	24	20	Tony Stewart	Home Depot	Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	339	0	running	146	146	184236
8	31	8	Mark Martin	U.S. Army	Chevy	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	339	0	running	142	142	174358
9	8	17	Matt Kenseth	DeWalt	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	339	68	running	143	143	173891
10	25	07	Clint Bowyer	Jack Daniel's	Chevy	Richard Childress Racing	339	0	running	134	134	145025
11	21	29	Kevin Harvick	Shell, Pennzoil	Chevy	Richard Childress Racing	338	0	running	130	130	167411
12	1	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard, AMP Energy	Chevy	Hendrick Motorsports	338	31	running	132	132	151275
13	7	6	David Ragan	AAA Insurance	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	338	0	running	124	124	131125
14	32	26	Jamie McMurray	Crown Royal Cask No 16	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	338	0	running	121	121	128375
15	41	38	David Gilliland	Yates Racing	Ford	Yates Racing	338	0	running	118	118	138083
16	36	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull	Toyota	Red Bull Racing Team	338	0	running	115	115	116725
17	19	15	Paul Menard	Menards, Quaker State	Chevy	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	338	0	running	112	112	123125
18	38	28	Travis Kvapil	Yates Racing	Ford	Yates Racing	338	0	running	109	109	140639
19	11	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Texaco, Havoline	Dodge	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates	337	0	running	106	106	139733
20	30	43	Bobby Labonte	Cheerios, Sam's Club	Dodge	Petty Enterprises	337	0	running	103	103	149511
21	29	22	Dave Blaney	Caterpillar	Toyota	Bill Davis Racing	337	0	running	100	100	124783
22	22	5	Casey Mears	Cheez-It, CARQUEST Auto Parts	Chevy	Hendrick Motorsports	337	0	running	97	97	121625
23	23	2	Kurt Busch	Miller Lite	Dodge	Penske Racing	337	0	running	94	94	102125
24	42	41	Reed Sorenson	Target	Dodge	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates	337	0	running	91	91	132189
25	10	9	Kasey Kahne	Budweiser	Dodge	Gillett Evernham Motorsports	336	0	running	88	88	132916
26	26	19	Elliott Sadler	Best Buy	Dodge	Gillett Evernham Motorsports	336	0	running	85	85	127170
27	13	66	Scott Riggs	State Water Heaters	Chevy	Haas CNC Racing	336	0	running	82	82	113383
28	27	10	Patrick Carpentier	Valvoline	Dodge	Gillett Evernham Motorsports	335	0	running	79	79	99125
29	9	84	Mike Skinner	Red Bull	Toyota	Red Bull Racing Team	334	0	running	76	76	93525
30	15	7	Robby Gordon	Jim Beam	Dodge	Robby Gordon Motorsports	334	0	running	73	73	115533
31	20	55	Michael Waltrip	NAPA Auto Parts	Toyota	Michael Waltrip Racing	333	0	running	70	70	99997
32	17	77	Sam Hornish Jr.	Mobil 1	Dodge	Penske Racing	333	0	running	67	67	134925
33	40	00	Michael McDowell	Aaron's Dream Machine	Toyota	Michael Waltrip Racing	332	0	running	64	64	91700
34	28	21	Bill Elliott	Motorcraft	Ford	Wood Brothers Racing	332	0	running	61	61	105495
35	34	01	Regan Smith	DEI	Chevy	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	331	0	running	58	58	94025
36	12	1	Martin Truex Jr.	Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats	Chevy	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	330	2	engine	60	60	115908
37	43	78	Joe Nemechek	Furniture Row	Chevy	Furniture Row Racing	330	0	running	52	52	83775
38	39	70	Jeremy Mayfield	Haas Automation	Chevy	Haas CNC Racing	329	0	running	49	49	82625
39	16	16	Greg Biffle	Dish Network	Ford	Roush Fenway Racing	312	0	running	46	46	90500
40	37	34	John Andretti	Front Row Motorsports	Chevy	Front Row Motorsports	263	0	suspension	43	43	82375
41	6	44	David Reutimann	UPS	Toyota	Michael Waltrip Racing	253	0	engine	40	40	82260
42	33	96	J.J. Yeley	DLP HDTV	Toyota	Hall of Fame Racing	173	0	crash	37	37	90165
43	18	24	Jeff Gordon	DuPont	Chevy	Hendrick Motorsports	124	0	crash	34	34	131327
Failed to qualify or withdrew
44		40	Dario Franchitti	Kennametal	Dodge	Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
45		45	Chad McCumbee	Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil	Dodge	Petty Enterprises
46		08	Burney Lamar	Rhino's Energy Drink	Dodge	E&M Motorsports
WD		49	Ken Schrader		Toyota	BAM Racing

References

1. "2008 Samsung 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Archived from the original on 2024-05-26. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
2. "2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Samsung 500 Entry List - Texas Motor Speedway". frcs.pro. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
3. "2008 Samsung 500 Qualifying Results and Race Lineup - Texas Motor Speedway". frcs.pro. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
4. "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
5. "2008 Samsung 500 finishing order information". Racing Reference. Archived from the original on 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
6. "2008 Samsung 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
7. "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-06-18.

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Sprint Cup Series 2008 season

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