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2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350

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2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350
Race details
Race 16 of 36 in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 program cover
2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 program cover
Date June 22, 2008 (2008-June-22)
Official name Toyota/Save Mart 350
Location Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California
Course Permanent racing facility
1.99 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 112 laps, 222.88 mi (358.69 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 89.1 °F (31.7 °C); wind speeds up to 18.1 miles per hour (29.1 km/h)[1]
Average speed 76.445 miles per hour (123.026 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Richard Petty Motorsports
Time 1:17.40
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 78
Winner
No. 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network Turner Network Television
Announcers Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach Jr. and Kyle Petty

The 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 was the sixteenth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and the first of two scheduled road course races on the 2008 schedule. The event was held on Sunday, June 22, 2008, at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California, televised on TNT starting at 3:30 PM US EDT, and broadcast on radio via Sirius Satellite Radio and Performance Racing Network starting at 4 PM US EDT.

Pre-Race News

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The drivers on the parade lap

Race notes

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The Australian rookie Marcos Ambrose had his first NASCAR Cup race/start in this race. He started 7th and the NASCAR Cup world noticed him. When Marcos Ambrose came to Sonoma to race, the fans and drivers remembered him for him being crashed by Robby Gordon in 2007 at Montreal with 2 laps left. Marcos Ambrose because of his road course talent & good finishes in the Busch series in his past, qualified seventh; and was contending to win in his Wood Bros. #21 Chevy. However, with 25 laps left, NASCAR veteran Elliott Sadler tapped Marcos Ambrose who crashed and was damaged enough that he could not race anymore that day. Marcos Ambrose was really unhappy about the end of his good run and in post-race ceremonies he argued with Elliott Sadler in the garages. Ambrose said to reporters that he felt like beating Elliott Sadler for the tap but he got over it the next week after a call/apology from Sadler. Marcos finished in 42nd spot as a heartbreak for his first NASCAR Cup run.

Italian driver Max Papis also had one of his first NASCAR Cup races at Sonoma. He drove for Gene Haas' (Now Stewart-Haas) #66 Automation chevy and ended up in 35th spot.

The 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 also had one of NASCAR's largest numbers of road course drivers competing in the races with 8 drivers (Ron Fellows, Marcos Ambrose, Patrick Carpentier, Boris Said, Scott Pruett, Sam Hornish, Brian Simo, Robby Gordon).

Qualifying

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Kasey Kahne, who went out third in qualifying won the session, his second this season. Kahne, driver of the #9 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Budweiser Dodge had bettered Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s time, and then sweated out 44 other attempts to sit on P-1. Jimmie Johnson started next to Kahne on the front row, with Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte in the second row, followed by Jeff Gordon and Elliott Sadler in the third row.

RANK[2] DRIVER NBR CAR TIME SPEED
1  Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge 1:17.740   92.153  
2  Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 1:17.836   92.040  
3  Kurt Busch 2 Dodge 1:17.865   92.005  
4  Bobby Labonte 43 Dodge 1:17.918   91.943  
5  Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 1:17.935   91.923  
6  Elliott Sadler 19 Dodge 1:18.003   91.843  
7  Marcos Ambrose 21 Ford 1:18.023   91.819   *
8  Robby Gordon 7 Dodge 1:18.097   91.732  
9  Ryan Newman 12 Dodge 1:18.279   91.519  
10  Greg Biffle 16 Ford 1:18.340   91.448  
11  Terry Labonte 45 Dodge 1:18.340   91.448   *
12  Carl Edwards 99 Ford 1:18.487   91.276  
13  Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 1:18.547   91.207  
14  Boris Said 60 Ford 1:18.568   91.182   *
15  Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 1:18.585   91.162  
16  Dave Blaney 22 Toyota 1:18.589   91.158  
17  Sam Hornish Jr. 77 Dodge 1:18.598   91.147  
18  Jamie McMurray 26 Ford 1:18.604   91.140  
19  Clint Bowyer 07 Chevrolet 1:18.606   91.138  
20  Jeff Burton 31 Chevrolet 1:18.676   91.057  
21  Juan Pablo Montoya 42 Dodge 1:18.704   91.025  
22  Ron Fellows 01 Chevrolet 1:18.715   91.012  
23  Casey Mears 5 Chevrolet 1:18.739   90.984  
24  Joe Nemechek 78 Chevrolet 1:18.764   90.955   *
25  Martin Truex Jr. 1 Chevrolet 1:18.768   90.951  
26  Brian Vickers 83 Toyota 1:18.784   90.932  
27  Scott Pruett 41 Dodge 1:18.808   90.904  
28  Max Papis 66 Chevrolet 1:18.838   90.870   *
29  Paul Menard 15 Chevrolet 1:18.895   90.804  
30  Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 1:18.904   90.794  
31  David Gilliland 38 Ford 1:18.906   90.792  
32  Kevin Harvick 29 Chevrolet 1:18.922   90.773  
33  Matt Kenseth 17 Ford 1:18.931   90.763  
34  Michael McDowell 00 Toyota 1:18.991   90.694  
35  Michael Waltrip 55 Toyota 1:19.032   90.647  
36  A.J. Allmendinger 84 Toyota 1:19.152   90.509   *
37  Patrick Carpentier 10 Dodge 1:19.270   90.375   *
38  David Ragan 6 Ford 1:19.286   90.356  
39  Tony Stewart 20 Toyota 1:19.337   90.298  
40  Aric Almirola 8 Chevrolet 1:19.399   90.228  
41  Brian Simo 34 Ford 1:19.481   90.135   *
42  J. J. Yeley 96 Toyota 1:19.535   90.074   *
43  Travis Kvapil 28 Ford 1:19.688   89.901   OP
44  Scott Riggs 70 Chevrolet 1:19.740   89.842   *
45  Dario Franchitti 40 Dodge 1:19.822   89.750   *
46  David Reutimann 44 Toyota 1:20.660   88.817   OP
47  Brandon Ash 02 Dodge 1:21.295   88.124   *

OP: qualified via owners points

PC: qualified as past champion

PR: provisional

QR: via qualifying race

* - had to qualify on time

Failed to Qualify: J. J. Yeley (#96), Scott Riggs (#70), Dario Franchitti (#40), Brandon Ash (#02)

Race recap

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Kyle Busch came from the 30th starting position to win the race under a green-white-checker finish, the second furthest back in this race to win, bettering Juan Pablo Montoya's position one year earlier.

Results

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POS[3] ST # DRIVER SPONSOR / OWNER CAR LAPS MONEY STATUS LED PTS
1 30 18   Kyle Busch M&M's   (Joe Gibbs) Toyota 112 309925 running 78 195
2 31 38   David Gilliland FreeCreditReport.com   (Yates Racing) Ford 112 207658 running 0 170
3 5 24   Jeff Gordon DuPont Cromax Pro   (Rick Hendrick) Chevrolet 112 191736 running 0 165
4 19 07   Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel's   (Richard Childress) Chevrolet 112 143725 running 0 160
5 23 5   Casey Mears Kellogg's / Carquest   (Rick Hendrick) Chevrolet 112 123075 running 0 155
6 21 42   Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco / Havoline   (Chip Ganassi) Dodge 112 130533 running 0 150
7 9 12   Ryan Newman Alltel   (Roger Penske) Dodge 112 140025 running 0 146
8 33 17   Matt Kenseth DeWalt   (Jack Roush) Ford 112 142841 running 0 142
9 12 99   Carl Edwards Office Depot   (Jack Roush) Ford 112 134725 running 2 143
10 39 20   Tony Stewart Home Depot   (Joe Gibbs) Toyota 112 136261 running 0 134
11 10 16   Greg Biffle 3M   (Jack Roush) Ford 112 95600 running 1 135
12 15 88   Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy   (Rick Hendrick) Chevrolet 112 94050 running 0 127
13 20 31   Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility   (Richard Childress) Chevrolet 112 128508 running 0 124
14 26 83   Brian Vickers Red Bull   (Dietrich Mateschitz) Toyota 112 84200 running 0 121
15 2 48   Jimmie Johnson Lowe's   (Rick Hendrick) Chevrolet 112 135336 running 27 123
16 25 1   Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) Chevrolet 112 113433 running 0 115
17 11 45   Terry Labonte Wells Fargo   (Petty Enterprises) Dodge 112 97883 running 0 112
18 18 26   Jamie McMurray Crown Royal   (Jack Roush) Ford 112 89375 running 0 109
19 6 19   Elliott Sadler Stanley Tools   (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) Dodge 112 106695 running 0 106
20 16 22   Dave Blaney Caterpillar   (Bill Davis) Toyota 112 96233 running 0 103
21 34 00   Michael McDowell NAPA Auto Parts   (Michael Waltrip) Toyota 112 92233 running 0 100
22 41 28   Travis Kvapil California Highway Patrol   (Yates Racing) Ford 112 105639 running 0 97
23 37 10   Patrick Carpentier Valvoline   (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) Dodge 112 75350 running 0 94
24 38 6   David Ragan AAA Insurance   (Jack Roush) Ford 112 85250 running 0 91
25 35 55   Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts   (Michael Waltrip) Toyota 112 86672 running 0 88
26 24 78   Joe Nemechek Furniture Row / DenverMattress.com   (Barney Visser) Chevrolet 112 72800 running 0 85
27 13 11   Denny Hamlin FedEx Office   (Joe Gibbs) Toyota 112 110441 running 0 82
28 40 8   Aric Almirola U.S. Army   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) Chevrolet 112 108933 running 0 79
29 22 01   Ron Fellows Principal Financial Group   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) Chevrolet 112 82550 running 0 76
30 32 29   Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil   (Richard Childress) Chevrolet 112 118661 running 0 73
31 17 77   Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1   (Roger Penske) Dodge 112 116825 running 0 70
32 3 2   Kurt Busch Miller Lite   (Roger Penske) Dodge 111 74605 running 0 67
33 1 9   Kasey Kahne Budweiser   (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) Dodge 111 110936 running 4 69
34 29 15   Paul Menard Menards / Johns Manville   (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) Chevrolet 111 78880 running 0 61
35 28 66   Max Papis Haas Automation   (Gene Haas) Chevrolet 111 70745 running 0 58
36 8 7   Robby Gordon Camping World / RVs.com / DLP HDTV   (Robby Gordon) Dodge 110 78635 running 0 55
37 36 84   A.J. Allmendinger Red Bull   (Dietrich Mateschitz) Toyota 109 70500 running 0 52
38 27 41   Scott Pruett Target   (Chip Ganassi) Dodge 108 97599 crash 0 49
39 4 43   Bobby Labonte Cheerios / Betty Crocker   (Petty Enterprises) Dodge 103 107511 electrical 0 46
40 42 44   David Reutimann UPS   (Michael Waltrip) Toyota 99 70125 crash 0 43
41 14 60   Boris Said 7-Eleven Slurpee / No Fear   (Mark Simo) Ford 94 70000 shocks 0 40
42 7 21   Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie Honey Buns   (Wood Brothers) Ford 83 88250 transmission 0 37
43 43 34   Brian Simo No Fear   (Bob Jenkins) Ford 20 70164 transmission 0 34
Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes:
POS NAME NBR SPONSOR OWNER CAR
44 J. J. Yeley 96 DLP HDTV Jeff Moorad Toyota
45 Scott Riggs 70 Haas Automation Gene Haas Chevrolet
46 Dario Franchitti 40 Texaco / Havoline - The Hartford Chip Ganassi Dodge
47 Brandon Ash 02 Sprinter Trucking / Sunny D Manufacturing Kenneth Wood Dodge

NOTE: Race extended two laps due to green-white checker finish.

References

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  1. ^ Weather information for the 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
  3. ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
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2008 LifeLock 400
Sprint Cup Series
2008 season
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