# 2008 Sharpie 500

The 2008 Sharpie 500 was the twenty-fourth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and was raced on Saturday night, August 23 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The event has been considered one of the toughest tickets in all of sports, tougher than the Super Bowl or the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, and is annually a sellout, of which this was the 53rd in a row for NSCS racing at the .533 miles (0.858 km) track. ESPN telecast the race beginning at 7 pm US EDT and Performance Racing Network along with Sirius Satellite Radio had radio coverage starting at that same time.

## Pre-race news

* Ken Schrader will drive the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota this week in place of Brad Coleman.
* Four drivers in the second through fifth positions can clinch spots in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup this week. Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. can lock up positions by finishing this week's race.

## Qualifying

Carl Edwards won the pole for the race.
| RANK | DRIVER | NBR | CAR | TIME | SPEED | |
| 1 | Carl Edwards | 99 | Ford | 15.746 | 121.860 | |
| 2 | David Reutimann | 44 | Toyota | 15.835 | 121.175 | |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | 15.842 | 121.121 | |
| 4 | Regan Smith | 01 | Chevrolet | 15.847 | 121.083 | |
| 5 | Bill Elliott | 21 | Ford | 15.892 | 120.740 | * |
| 6 | Kevin Harvick | 29 | Chevrolet | 15.904 | 120.649 | |
| 7 | Ken Schrader | 96 | Toyota | 15.906 | 120.634 | * |
| 8 | A.J. Allmendinger | 84 | Toyota | 15.912 | 120.588 | * |
| 9 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Toyota | 15.917 | 120.550 | |
| 10 | Elliott Sadler | 19 | Dodge | 15.920 | 120.528 | |
| 11 | Ryan Newman | 12 | Dodge | 15.922 | 120.512 | |
| 12 | Martin Truex, Jr. | 1 | Chevrolet | 15.947 | 120.324 | |
| 13 | Kasey Kahne | 9 | Dodge | 15.948 | 120.316 | |
| 14 | Greg Biffle | 16 | Ford | 15.957 | 120.248 | |
| 15 | David Gilliland | 38 | Ford | 15.963 | 120.203 | |
| 16 | Paul Menard | 15 | Chevrolet | 15.963 | 120.203 | |
| 17 | Casey Mears | 5 | Chevrolet | 15.966 | 120.180 | |
| 18 | Jeff Burton | 31 | Chevrolet | 15.970 | 120.150 | |
| 19 | Kurt Busch | 2 | Dodge | 15.974 | 120.120 | |
| 20 | Tony Raines | 70 | Chevrolet | 15.978 | 120.090 | * |
| 21 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Toyota | 15.979 | 120.083 | |
| 22 | Clint Bowyer | 07 | Chevrolet | 15.979 | 120.083 | |
| 23 | Aric Almirola | 8 | Chevrolet | 15.979 | 120.083 | |
| 24 | Sterling Marlin | 09 | Chevrolet | 15.985 | 120.038 | * |
| 25 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford | 15.990 | 120.000 | |
| 26 | Brian Vickers | 83 | Toyota | 15.994 | 119.970 | |
| 27 | David Ragan | 6 | Ford | 16.019 | 119.783 | |
| 28 | Tony Stewart | 20 | Toyota | 16.021 | 119.768 | |
| 29 | Kyle Petty | 45 | Dodge | 16.041 | 119.618 | * |
| 30 | Reed Sorenson | 41 | Dodge | 16.043 | 119.604 | |
| 31 | Robby Gordon | 7 | Dodge | 16.045 | 119.589 | |
| 32 | Travis Kvapil | 28 | Ford | 16.060 | 119.477 | |
| 33 | Mike Skinner | 00 | Toyota | 16.071 | 119.395 | * |
| 34 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Chevrolet | 16.084 | 119.299 | |
| 35 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | 77 | Dodge | 16.086 | 119.284 | |
| 36 | Dave Blaney | 22 | Toyota | 16.099 | 119.188 | |
| 37 | Joe Nemechek | 78 | Chevrolet | 16.102 | 119.165 | * |
| 38 | Jeff Green | 34 | Chevrolet | 16.121 | 119.025 | * |
| 39 | Bobby Labonte | 43 | Dodge | 16.141 | 118.877 | |
| 40 | Patrick Carpentier | 10 | Dodge | 16.144 | 118.855 | * |
| 41 | Scott Riggs | 66 | Chevrolet | 16.164 | 118.708 | |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 42 | Dodge | 16.172 | 118.650 | |
| 43 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 88 | Chevrolet | 16.216 | 118.328 | OP |
| 44 | Jamie McMurray | 26 | Ford | 16.232 | 118.211 | OP |
| 45 | Michael Waltrip | 55 | Toyota | 16.366 | 117.243 | OP |
| 46 | Johnny Sauter | 08 | Dodge | 16.623 | 115.430 | * |
OP: qualified via owners points
PC: qualified as past champion
PR: provisional
QR: via qualifying race
* - had to qualify on time
Failed to qualify: Jeff Green (#34), Johnny Sauter (#70), Patrick Carpentier (#10)

## Race recap

Since the addition of the Car of Tomorrow and the repaving of the track, many fans thought that the old days of Bristol were over. These thoughts however were blown away in the closing laps of the race when Carl Edwards used the "Bump and Run" technique to get past Kyle Busch for the win, causing a post race confrontation where Busch rammed into the side of Edwards car during the cool down lap. Edwards responded by spinning Busch out as Busch turned to enter pit road. Busch used the same technique to take the lead from Carl Edwards on lap 55. Kyle Busch was called to the NASCAR Hauler after his post-race interview for the incident, and on August 27, both Edwards and Kyle Busch were put on probation for the next six Sprint Cup Races. The race was also red-flagged at Lap 210 after an accident commonly called "The Big One" saw nine cars - including Chase contender Kasey Kahne - pile up in Turn 2.
There were only three lap leaders the entire race. Edwards and Busch led 499 laps combined, while Jeff Gordon led a lap.

## Results

| POS | ST | # | DRIVER | SPONSOR / OWNER | CAR | LAPS | MONEY | STATUS | LED | PTS |
| 1 | 1 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Office Depot (Jack Roush) | Ford | 500 | 344625 | running | 84 | 190 |
| 2 | 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's (Joe Gibbs) | Toyota | 500 | 220675 | running | 415 | 180 |
| 3 | 21 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Freight (Joe Gibbs) | Toyota | 500 | 202716 | running | 0 | 165 |
| 4 | 6 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Pennzoil Platinum (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 500 | 184511 | running | 0 | 160 |
| 5 | 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 500 | 167561 | running | 1 | 160 |
| 6 | 11 | 12 | Ryan Newman | Alltel (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 500 | 156950 | running | 0 | 150 |
| 7 | 22 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | Jack Daniel's (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 500 | 125425 | running | 0 | 146 |
| 8 | 28 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Home Depot (Joe Gibbs) | Toyota | 500 | 152261 | running | 0 | 142 |
| 9 | 25 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | DeWalt (Jack Roush) | Ford | 500 | 149591 | running | 0 | 138 |
| 10 | 27 | 6 | David Ragan | AAA Insurance (Jack Roush) | Ford | 500 | 115775 | running | 0 | 134 |
| 11 | 14 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Dish Network Turbo HD (Jack Roush) | Ford | 500 | 110525 | running | 0 | 130 |
| 12 | 41 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Sharpie Pen (Jack Roush) | Ford | 500 | 114175 | running | 0 | 127 |
| 13 | 23 | 8 | Aric Almirola | U.S. Army (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 500 | 136733 | running | 0 | 124 |
| 14 | 4 | 01 | Regan Smith | DEI / Principal Financial Group (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 500 | 109225 | running | 0 | 121 |
| 15 | 19 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 500 | 99175 | running | 0 | 118 |
| 16 | 16 | 15 | Paul Menard | Menards / Quaker State (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 499 | 106550 | running | 0 | 115 |
| 17 | 20 | 70 | Tony Raines | Hunt Brothers Pizza (Gene Haas) | Chevrolet | 499 | 94200 | running | 0 | 112 |
| 18 | 40 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | National Guard / AMP Energy (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 498 | 104725 | running | 0 | 109 |
| 19 | 39 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Juicy Fruit Slim Pack (Chip Ganassi) | Dodge | 498 | 124008 | running | 0 | 106 |
| 20 | 26 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Red Bull (Dietrich Mateschitz) | Toyota | 498 | 103450 | running | 0 | 103 |
| 21 | 7 | 96 | Ken Schrader | DLP HDTV (Jeff Moorad) | Toyota | 498 | 105050 | running | 0 | 100 |
| 22 | 15 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford. Drive One. (Yates Racing) | Ford | 498 | 112208 | running | 0 | 97 |
| 23 | 37 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Cheerios / Box Tops for Education (Petty Enterprises) | Dodge | 498 | 130311 | running | 0 | 94 |
| 24 | 32 | 28 | Travis Kvapil | Knight Rider (Yates Racing) | Ford | 498 | 120864 | running | 0 | 91 |
| 25 | 2 | 44 | David Reutimann | UPS (Michael Waltrip) | Toyota | 497 | 93075 | running | 0 | 88 |
| 26 | 5 | 21 | Bill Elliott | Motorcraft / Quick Lane (Wood Brothers) | Ford | 497 | 106395 | running | 0 | 85 |
| 27 | 38 | 66 | Scott Riggs | State Water Heaters (Gene Haas) | Chevrolet | 496 | 106688 | running | 0 | 82 |
| 28 | 33 | 00 | Mike Skinner | Champion Mortgage (Michael Waltrip) | Toyota | 496 | 104178 | running | 0 | 79 |
| 29 | 43 | 78 | Joe Nemechek | Furniture Row / DenverMattress.com (Barney Visser) | Chevrolet | 494 | 86910 | running | 0 | 76 |
| 30 | 42 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | NAPA Auto Parts (Michael Waltrip) | Toyota | 492 | 101433 | running | 0 | 73 |
| 31 | 29 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Wells Fargo (Petty Enterprises) | Dodge | 491 | 96212 | running | 0 | 70 |
| 32 | 10 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Stanley (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) | Dodge | 490 | 112900 | running | 0 | 67 |
| 33 | 34 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 482 | 141531 | running | 0 | 64 |
| 34 | 8 | 84 | A.J. Allmendinger | Red Bull (Dietrich Mateschitz) | Toyota | 400 | 86335 | running | 0 | 61 |
| 35 | 12 | 1 | Martin Truex, Jr. | Bass Pro Shops / Red Head (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 396 | 117233 | running | 0 | 58 |
| 36 | 30 | 41 | Reed Sorenson | Tums Quik Pack (Chip Ganassi) | Dodge | 383 | 113304 | running | 0 | 55 |
| 37 | 35 | 77 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | Mobil 1 (Roger Penske) | Dodge | 297 | 131530 | crash | 0 | 52 |
| 38 | 36 | 22 | Dave Blaney | Caterpillar (Bill Davis) | Toyota | 279 | 85845 | crash | 0 | 49 |
| 39 | 31 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Planet Color / Barrett-Jackson (Robby Gordon) | Dodge | 227 | 93735 | crash | 0 | 46 |
| 40 | 13 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Budweiser (Gillett Evernham Motorsports) | Dodge | 215 | 115616 | crash | 0 | 43 |
| 41 | 17 | 5 | Casey Mears | Pop Tarts / Carquest (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 214 | 103475 | crash | 0 | 40 |
| 42 | 18 | 31 | Jeff Burton | AT&T Mobility (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 195 | 130763 | crash | 0 | 37 |
| 43 | 24 | 09 | Sterling Marlin | Miccosukee Resorts & Gaming (James Finch) | Chevrolet | 184 | 85570 | crash | 0 | 34 |