# 2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500

The 2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500 was the sixth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and was run on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. This race aired on Fox starting at 1:30 PM US EDT and radio was handled by Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio starting their programming at 1:15 PM US EDT. The race marked the start of the use of the 2008 Top 35 owners points exemption for each week's race for the 2008 season.

## Pre-Race News

* As announced, Michael McDowell will debut as the new driver of the #00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry for David Reutimann, who moves to the team's #44 car for Dale Jarrett. Jarrett would drive the #44 one last time at the Sprint All-Star Race XXIV on May 17 in Concord, North Carolina. All three MWR teams are safely in the weekly Top 35 Owners Points exemption for this race.
* Bill Davis Racing's #27 team suspended operations due to a lack of sponsorship.
* BAM Racing has switched from Dodge to Toyota as of this week.

## Qualifying

Jeff Gordon won the pole for this race, the 65th in his career. Kyle Petty, who was outside the Top 35 exemption rule, failed to qualify for a race for the first time since the 2004 season.

### Full qualifying results

| RANK | DRIVER | NBR | CAR | TIME | SPEED | |
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | 19.666 | 96.288 | |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota | 19.775 | 95.757 | |
| 3 | Aric Almirola | 8 | Chevrolet | 19.780 | 95.733 | |
| 4 | David Ragan | 6 | Ford | 19.814 | 95.569 | |
| 5 | Jamie McMurray | 26 | Ford | 19.830 | 95.492 | * |
| 6 | Kasey Kahne | 9 | Dodge | 19.831 | 95.487 | |
| 7 | Ken Schrader | 49 | Toyota | 19.836 | 95.463 | * |
| 8 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Toyota | 19.860 | 95.347 | |
| 9 | Tony Stewart | 20 | Toyota | 19.876 | 95.271 | |
| 10 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet | 19.888 | 95.213 | |
| 11 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet | 19.889 | 95.208 | |
| 12 | Clint Bowyer | 07 | Chevrolet | 19.889 | 95.208 | |
| 13 | Ryan Newman | 12 | Dodge | 19.916 | 95.079 | |
| 14 | Travis Kvapil | 28 | Ford | 19.920 | 95.060 | |
| 15 | David Reutimann | 44 | Toyota | 19.925 | 95.036 | |
| 16 | Michael Waltrip | 55 | Toyota | 19.926 | 95.032 | |
| 17 | Bill Elliott | 21 | Ford | 19.943 | 94.951 | * |
| 18 | Dave Blaney | 22 | Toyota | 19.959 | 94.874 | * |
| 19 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 19.960 | 94.870 | |
| 20 | Kurt Busch | 2 | Dodge | 19.968 | 94.832 | |
| 21 | David Gilliland | 38 | Ford | 19.968 | 94.832 | |
| 22 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 88 | Chevrolet | 19.981 | 94.770 | |
| 23 | J.J. Yeley | 96 | Toyota | 19.993 | 94.713 | |
| 24 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet | 20.009 | 94.637 | |
| 25 | Elliott Sadler | 19 | Dodge | 20.009 | 94.637 | |
| 26 | Sam Hornish Jr. | 77 | Dodge | 20.009 | 94.637 | |
| 27 | Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford | 20.017 | 94.600 | |
| 28 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford | 20.018 | 94.595 | |
| 29 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 42 | Dodge | 20.018 | 94.595 | |
| 30 | Mike Skinner | 84 | Toyota | 20.025 | 94.562 | * |
| 31 | Jeremy Mayfield | 70 | Chevrolet | 20.029 | 94.543 | |
| 32 | Bobby Labonte | 43 | Dodge | 20.030 | 94.538 | |
| 33 | Regan Smith | 01 | Chevrolet | 20.041 | 94.486 | * |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | 00 | Toyota | 20.058 | 94.406 | |
| 35 | Paul Menard | 15 | Chevrolet | 20.066 | 94.369 | |
| 36 | Scott Riggs | 66 | Chevrolet | 20.078 | 94.312 | |
| 37 | Patrick Carpentier | 10 | Dodge | 20.081 | 94.298 | * |
| 38 | Reed Sorenson | 41 | Dodge | 20.115 | 94.139 | |
| 39 | Dario Franchitti | 40 | Dodge | 20.128 | 94.078 | * |
| 40 | Kyle Petty | 45 | Dodge | 20.128 | 94.078 | * |
| 41 | Casey Mears | 5 | Chevrolet | 20.152 | 93.966 | |
| 42 | Brian Vickers | 83 | Toyota | 20.217 | 93.664 | |
| 43 | Robby Gordon | 7 | Dodge | 20.222 | 93.641 | OP |
| 44 | Martin Truex Jr. | 1 | Chevrolet | 20.225 | 93.627 | OP |
| 45 | John Andretti | 34 | Chevrolet | 20.251 | 93.506 | * |
| 46 | Tony Raines | 08 | Dodge | 20.261 | 93.460 | * |
| 47 | Joe Nemechek | 78 | Chevrolet | 20.311 | 93.230 | * |
OP: qualified via owners points
PC: qualified as past champion
PR: provisional
QR: via qualifying race
* - had to qualify on time

## Results

| POS | ST | # | DRIVER | SPONSOR / OWNER | CAR | LAPS | MONEY | STATUS | LED | PTS |
| 1 | 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Freight (Joe Gibbs) | Toyota | 500 | 207391 | running | 82 | 190 |
| 2 | 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 500 | 159336 | running | 90 | 175 |
| 3 | 24 | 31 | Jeff Burton | AT&T Mobility (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 500 | 149308 | running | 37 | 170 |
| 4 | 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 500 | 142861 | running | 135 | 165 |
| 5 | 9 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Home Depot (Joe Gibbs) | Toyota | 500 | 131236 | running | 0 | 155 |
| 6 | 22 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | AMP Energy / National Guard (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 500 | 102850 | running | 146 | 160 |
| 7 | 39 | 5 | Casey Mears | Kellogg's / Carquest (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 500 | 99475 | running | 0 | 146 |
| 8 | 5 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Irwin Industrial Tools (Jack Roush) | Ford | 500 | 91150 | running | 0 | 142 |
| 9 | 27 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Claritin (Jack Roush) | Ford | 500 | 123775 | running | 0 | 138 |
| 10 | 12 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | BB&T (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 500 | 97200 | running | 0 | 134 |
| 11 | 4 | 6 | David Ragan | AAA Insurance (Jack Roush) | Ford | 500 | 87200 | running | 0 | 130 |
| 12 | 11 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Shell / Pennzoil (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 500 | 119961 | running | 0 | 127 |
| 13 | 29 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Wrigley's Big Red (Chip Ganassi) | Dodge | 500 | 105983 | running | 0 | 124 |
| 14 | 33 | 01 | Regan Smith | DEI / Principal Financial Group (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 500 | 86325 | running | 0 | 121 |
| 15 | 25 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | McDonald's (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) | Dodge | 500 | 104045 | running | 0 | 118 |
| 16 | 35 | 15 | Paul Menard | Menards / Pittsburgh Paints (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 500 | 84200 | running | 0 | 115 |
| 17 | 6 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Budweiser (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) | Dodge | 500 | 105766 | running | 0 | 112 |
| 18 | 14 | 28 | Travis Kvapil | Yates Racing (Yates Racing) | Ford | 499 | 102764 | running | 0 | 109 |
| 19 | 13 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Alltel (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 499 | 118575 | running | 0 | 106 |
| 20 | 19 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Jackson Hewitt (Jack Roush) | Ford | 499 | 85175 | running | 0 | 103 |
| 21 | 42 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 499 | 105258 | running | 0 | 100 |
| 22 | 43 | 40 | Dario Franchitti | Kennametal (Chip Ganassi) | Dodge | 499 | 81925 | running | 0 | 97 |
| 23 | 40 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Red Bull (Dietrich Mateschitz) | Toyota | 497 | 73625 | out of fuel | 0 | 94 |
| 24 | 21 | 38 | David Gilliland | FreeCreditReport.com (Yates Racing) | Ford | 497 | 92433 | running | 0 | 91 |
| 25 | 32 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Cheerios / Betty Crocker (Petty Enterprises) | Dodge | 497 | 110436 | running | 3 | 93 |
| 26 | 34 | 00 | Michael McDowell | Aaron's Dream Machine (Michael Waltrip) | Toyota | 497 | 88808 | running | 0 | 85 |
| 27 | 23 | 96 | J.J. Yeley | DLP HDTV / Queen City Electronics (Jeff Moorad) | Toyota | 497 | 80425 | running | 0 | 82 |
| 28 | 26 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Mobil 1 (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 497 | 114800 | running | 0 | 79 |
| 29 | 37 | 10 | Patrick Carpentier | Charter Communications (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) | Dodge | 497 | 71550 | running | 0 | 76 |
| 30 | 28 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | DeWalt (Jack Roush) | Ford | 496 | 117066 | running | 0 | 73 |
| 31 | 30 | 84 | Mike Skinner | Red Bull (Dietrich Mateschitz) | Toyota | 496 | 68775 | running | 0 | 70 |
| 32 | 31 | 70 | Jeremy Mayfield | Haas Automation (Gene Haas) | Chevrolet | 495 | 68625 | running | 0 | 67 |
| 33 | 20 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 493 | 68400 | running | 0 | 64 |
| 34 | 17 | 21 | Bill Elliott | Little Debbie Snack Cakes (Wood Brothers) | Ford | 492 | 87570 | running | 0 | 61 |
| 35 | 16 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | NAPA Auto Parts (Michael Waltrip) | Toyota | 483 | 82383 | running | 0 | 58 |
| 36 | 38 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Target / Polaroid (Chip Ganassi) | Dodge | 471 | 95389 | running | 0 | 55 |
| 37 | 7 | 49 | Ken Schrader | Microsoft Small Business (Beth Ann Morgenthau) | Toyota | 467 | 79758 | running | 0 | 52 |
| 38 | 8 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's (Joe Gibbs) | Toyota | 443 | 86050 | running | 0 | 49 |
| 39 | 15 | 44 | David Reutimann | UPS (Michael Waltrip) | Toyota | 441 | 68000 | rear end | 3 | 51 |
| 40 | 41 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Charter Communications (Robby Gordon) | Dodge | 440 | 85472 | running | 0 | 43 |
| 41 | 36 | 66 | Scott Riggs | State Water Heaters (Gene Haas) | Chevrolet | 420 | 67875 | running | 0 | 40 |
| 42 | 3 | 8 | Aric Almirola | U.S. Army (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 379 | 102973 | engine | 0 | 37 |
| 43 | 18 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Caterpillar (Bill Davis) | Toyota | 374 | 67246 | engine | 4 | 39 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| POS | NAME | NBR | SPONSOR | OWNER | CAR | | | | | |
| 44 | Kyle Petty | 45 | Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | | | | | |
| 45 | John Andretti | 34 | Front Row Motorsports | Bob Jenkins | Chevrolet | | | | | |
| 46 | Tony Raines | 08 | Rhino's Energy Drink | John Carter | Dodge | | | | | |
| 47 | Joe Nemechek | 78 | Furniture Row / DenverMattress.com | Barney Visser | Chevrolet | | | | | |
Failed to qualify: Kyle Petty (#45), Tony Raines (#08), John Andretti (#34), Joe Nemechek (#78).