2008 Coke Zero 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 18 of 36 in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
Start of the race
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| Date | July 5, 2008 | ||
| Official name | Coke Zero 400 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km) |
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| Distance | 162 laps, 405 mi (651.784 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching as low as 71.1 °F (21.7 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 138.554 miles per hour (222.981 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | ||
| Time | 48.409 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 51 | ||
| 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 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola was the eighteenth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, marking the official halfway point of the season.
This race was held on July 5 of that year at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, and was the third race utilizing restrictor plates this season. TNT's air time began at 6:30 PM US EDT, and MRN with Sirius Satellite Radio carried the radio broadcast beginning at 7:15 PM US EDT.
Paul Menard won his first pole of his career in Sprint Cup racing, edging his teammate, Mark Martin out for the honor.
The biggest news in the event was that Tony Stewart dropped out during a caution in Lap 72 because of flu-like symptoms, and J.J. Yeley took his place in the #20 Toyota. Yeley was on standby after he failed to qualify in the #96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota.
Also making news was David Reutimann, driver of the Michael Waltrip Racing #44 Toyota, as he tied the record for most consecutive lucky dog free passes in a race between the fourth and eighth of 11 cautions overall, as in each case his car was the first car one lap (or more) down, and as a result, finished 21st.
The tenth caution sent the race went to a green-white-checker finish with four laps remaining. In the first lap of "Checkers or Wreckers", second place driver Jeff Gordon was bumped by Carl Edwards, and spun onto the infield but the green flag stay aloft. However, the second "Big One" occurred on the white flag lap involving Michael Waltrip, Travis Kvapil and Yeley amongst others, and when the yellow light was lit, Kyle Busch, who was as far down as 37th due to a steering wheel problem, was declared the winner over Edwards by 0.026 of a second.
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