# 2008 NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series season

The 2008 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series consisted of 24 national events held at tracks across the U.S. The first 18 events made up the regular season, with the final events making up the "Countdown to 1". This season marked the introduction of 1000' drag racing for the nitro competitors after the death of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta in Englishtown, N.J. John Force returned to competition after his near fatal crash in Dallas toward the end of the 2007 Season. John's daughter Ashley became the first female funny car winner beating her father John in the finals at Atlanta. This season also marked the most dominant season by a professional driver in history, as Tony Schumacher won 15 races and became the only driver in the countdown era to clinch the championship before the season finale.

## Schedule

| Date | Race | Site | Winners | Winners | Winners | Winners |
| Date | Race | Site | Top Fuel | Funny Car | Pro Stock | Pro Stock Motorcycle |
| February 7–10 | Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals | Pomona, California | Tony Schumacher | Robert Hight | Greg Anderson | N/A |
| February 22–24 | Checker Shucks Kragen Nationals | Phoenix, Ariz. | Larry Dixon | Jack Beckman | V Gaines | N/A |
| March 13–16 | ACDelco NHRA Gatornationals | Gainesville, Fla | Tony Schumacher | Tony Pedregon | Jeg Coughlin | Matt Guidera |
| March 28–30 | O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals | Houston, Texas | Antron Brown | Del Worsham | Greg Anderson | Matt Smith |
| April 10–13 | SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals | Las Vegas, Nev. | Cory MaClenathan | Tim Wilkerson | Jason Line | N/A |
| April 24–27 | Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals | Atlanta, Ga. | Antron Brown | Ashley Force | Mike Edwards | Andrew Hines |
| May 1–3 | O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals | Madison, Ill. | Rod Fuller | Tim Wilkerson | Kurt Johnson | Andrew Hines |
| May 16–18 | NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals | Bristol, Tenn. | Tony Schumacher | Melanie Troxel | Dave Connoly | N/A |
| May 30–June 1 | O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals | Topeka, Kan. | Hillary Will | John Force | Ron Krisher | N/A |
| June 5–8 | Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals | Chicago, Ill. | Tony Schumacher | Tony Pedregon | Kurt Johnson | Chris Rivas |
| June 19–22 | Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals | Englishtown, N.J. | Tony Schumacher | Tim Wilkerson | Greg Anderson | Chip Ellis |
| June 26–29 | Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals | Norwalk, Ohio | Doug Herbert | Tony Pedregon | Greg Anderson | Hector Arana |
| July 11–13 | Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals | Denver, Colo. | Tony Schumacher | Tim Wilkerson | Greg Anderson | Matt Smith |
| July 18–20 | NHRA Shucks Auto Supply Nationals | Seattle, Wash. | Tony Schumacher | Tony Bartone | Jason Line | N/A |
| July 25–27 | Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals | Sonoma, Calif. | Tony Schumacher | Robert Hight | Dave Connolly | Matt Guidera |
| August 7–10 | Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals | Brainerd, Minn. | Tony Schumacher | Tony Pedregon | Kurt Johnson | Matt Smith |
| August 14–17 | Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals | Reading, Pa. | Tony Schumacher | Jack Beckman | Jeg Coughlin | Matt Smith |
| August 27-September 1 | 54th Mac Tools U.S. Nationals | Indianapolis, Ind. | Tony Schumacher | Robert Hight | Dave Connolly | Steve Johnson |
| 2008 Countdown to the Championship |||||||
| September 11–14 | NHRA Carolinas Nationals | Concord, N.C. | Tony Schumacher | Jack Beckman | Justin Humphreys | Steve Johnson |
| September 18–21 | O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals | Dallas, Texas | J.R. Todd | Tim Wilkerson | Greg Stanfield | Chris Rivas |
| September 26–28 | O'Reilly NHRA Mid-South Nationals | Memphis, Tenn. | Tony Schumacher | Tim Wilkerson | Mike Edwards | Craig Treble |
| October 10–12 | Virginia NHRA Nationals | Richmond, Va. | Tony Schumacher | Cruz Pedregon | Dave Connolly | N/A |
| October 30 – November 2 | NHRA Las Vegas Nationals | Las Vegas, Nev. | Tony Schumacher | Cruz Pedregon | Jeg Coughlin | Chris Rivas |
| November 13–16 | Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals | Pomona, California | Larry Dixon | Cruz Pedregon | Greg Anderson | Chris Rivas |

## Points standings

Top Fuel :
| Position | Driver | Points | Points Back | Chassis |
| 1 | Tony Schumacher | 2703 | - | Hadman |
| 2 | Larry Dixon | 2445 | -258 | Hadman |
| 3 | Cory McClenathan | 2406 | -297 | Hadman |
| 4 | Hillary Will | 2405 | -298 | Attac |
| 5 | Antron Brown | 2370 | -333 | Hadman |
| 6 | Rod Fuller | 2368 | -335 | Hadman |
| 7 | Brandon Bernstein | 2327 | -376 | McKinney |
| 8 | Doug Herbert | 2307 | -396 | McKinney |
| 9 | Doug Kalitta | 2209 | -494 | Attac |
| 10 | David Grubnic | 2194 | -509 | Hadman |
Funny Car :
| Position | Driver | Points | Points Back | Make |
| 1 | Cruz Pedregon | 2561 | - | Advance Auto Parts Toyota Solara |
| 2 | Tim Wilkerson | 2468 | -93 | Levi Ray & Shoup Chevrolet Impala |
| 3 | Jack Beckman | 2457 | -104 | MTS/Valvoline Dodge Charger |
| 4 | Robert Hight | 2442 | -119 | AAA. of So. California Ford Mustang |
| 5 | Tony Pedregon | 2440 | -121 | Quaker State/Herzog Chevrolet Impala |
| 6 | Ashley Force Hood | 2385 | -176 | Castrol GTX Ford Mustang |
| 7 | John Force | 2303 | -258 | Castrol High Mileage Ford Mustang |
| 8 | Ron Capps | 2302 | -259 | NAPA Auto Parts Dodge Charger |
| 9 | Mike Neff | 2284 | -277 | Old Spice Ford Mustang |
| 10 | Gary Densham | 2217 | -344 | Racebricks Chevrolet Impala |
Pro Stock :
| Position | Driver | Points | Points Back | Make/Model |
| 1 | Jeg Coughlin Jr. | 2523 | - | JEGS.com Chevrolet Cobalt |
| 2 | Greg Anderson | 2487 | -36 | Summit Racing Pontiac GXP |
| 3 | Kurt Johnson | 2450 | -73 | ACDelco Chevrolet Cobalt |
| 4 | Mike Edwards | 2388 | -135 | YoungLife/Penhall Pontiac GXP |
| 5 | Jason Line | 2388 | -135 | Summit Racing Pontiac GXP |
| 6 | Dave Connolly | 2383 | -140 | Charter Communications Chevrolet Cobalt |
| 7 | Allen Johnson | 2363 | -160 | Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus |
| 8 | Greg Stanfield | 2329 | -194 | Attitude Apparel Pontiac GXP |
| 9 | V Gaines | 2234 | -289 | Kendall Dodge Stratus |
| 10 | Ron Krisher | 2158 | -368 | Valvoline Chevrolet Cobalt |
Pro Stock Motorcycle :
| Position | Driver | Points | Points Back | Make |
| 1 | Ed Krawiec | 2471 | - | Harley-Davidson |
| 2 | Chris Rivas | 2466 | -5 | Buell |
| 3 | Matt Smith | 2451 | -20 | Suzuki |
| 4 | Andrew Hines | 2334 | -137 | Harley-Davidson |
| 5 | Angelle Sampey | 2310 | -161 | Buell |
| 6 | Chip Ellis | 2284 | -187 | Suzuki |
| 7 | Steve Johnson | 2283 | -188 | Suzuki |
| 8 | Craig Treble | 2270 | -201 | Suzuki |
| 9 | Karen Stoffer | 2167 | -304 | Suzuki |
| 10 | Matt Guidera | 2156 | -315 | Buell |
* Drivers in bold have clinched the championship