2008 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 36 in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
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| Date | February 17, 2008 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
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| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) |
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| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (800 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 82 °F (28 °C); wind speeds approaching 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 152.672 miles per hour (245.702 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 86 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 12 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 10.2/20 | ||
The 2008 Daytona 500 was the 50th annual running of the event. It was held on February 17, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was the 50th to be run since the first in 1959, won by Lee Petty. To commemorate the event, the Harley J. Earl Trophy, which goes to the winner of the race, was plated in gold instead of silver. In addition, the winning car was placed on display for one year at the Daytona 500 Experience attraction just outside Turn Four. Ryan Newman won the race, his only win in the 2008 season.
The race was the first Daytona 500 win for Penske Racing and the first run using NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, which was introduced in 2007 and became standard in 2008. Additionally, this was the first official race under the new Sprint Cup banner as the telecommunications giant replaces NEXTEL as the series sponsor after their 2005 merger. Ryan Newman's victory with the number 12 car in the Daytona 500 was the first time since Bobby Allison's #12 won the race in 1988, 20 years prior.
The race was televised on FOX in the USA, with the telecast scheduled beginning at 2 p.m. EST. 1960 Daytona 500 winner Junior Johnson drove the pace car and the green flag was waved the honorary starter, seven-time race winner Richard Petty around 3:30 p.m. Radio coverage was handled by MRN Radio and started at about 2:30 EST. Trisha Yearwood performed the national anthem, followed by a flyover from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds precision flying team. As many as 31 past champions of this race served as Grand Marshals for this historic event to deliver the command to start the engines.
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