2008 Coke Zero 400

The 2008 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola was the eighteenth race of the 2008 [NASCAR Sprint Cup Series|2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season], marking the official halfway point of the season.

Background

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.

Summary

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.

Pre-Race news

Dario Franchitti is out of a ride and Chip Ganassi Racing's #40 car is out of the series. The Dodge team shut down July 1 due to a lack of permanent sponsorship along with a lack of success in qualifying for races, even with Franchitti injured earlier in the season. Ganassi Racing fired some 70 employees who had been working on the car at the time of closure.
The Dale Earnhardt, Inc. #1 car driven by Truex was a backup car, as NASCAR impounded the primary car due to a rules violation on the roof in a pre-practice inspection. On July 8, Martin Truex Jr. was docked 150 driver points, the team docked 150 owners points, and their crew chief slapped with the now seemingly mandatory $100,000 fine, six-week suspension and probation until December 31.
David Reutimann tied the record for most consecutive Lucky Dog passes due to a pitting strategy that forced him to pit about 6 laps before the other leaders did. As soon as he pitted, a caution came out almost instantly. As a result, Reutimann finished 21st.

Qualifying

Paul Menard won his first pole of his career in Sprint Cup racing, edging his teammate, Mark Martin out for the honor.

RANK	DRIVER	NBR	CAR	TIME	SPEED
1	Paul Menard	15	Chevrolet	48.409	185.916
2	Mark Martin	8	Chevrolet	48.421	185.870
3	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	48.534	185.437
4	Joe Nemechek	78	Chevrolet	48.573	185.288	*
5	Johnny Sauter	70	Chevrolet	48.583	185.250	*
6	David Ragan	6	Ford	48.584	185.246
7	Boris Said	60	Ford	48.601	185.181	*
8	Regan Smith	01	Chevrolet	48.655	184.976
9	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	48.694	184.828
10	Patrick Carpentier	10	Dodge	48.734	184.676	*
11	Travis Kvapil	28	Ford	48.735	184.672
12	Dave Blaney	22	Toyota	48.740	184.653
13	A.J. Allmendinger	84	Toyota	48.744	184.638	*
14	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	48.772	184.532
15	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	48.773	184.528
16	Casey Mears	5	Chevrolet	48.784	184.487
17	Tony Stewart	20	Toyota	48.788	184.472
18	Sterling Marlin	09	Chevrolet	48.791	184.460	*
19	Matt Kenseth	17	Ford	48.799	184.430
20	Bobby Labonte	43	Dodge	48.810	184.388
21	Michael McDowell	00	Toyota	48.817	184.362
22	Jon Wood	21	Ford	48.817	184.362	*
23	Scott Riggs	66	Chevrolet	48.842	184.268	*
24	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	48.857	184.211
25	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	48.869	184.166
26	Clint Bowyer	07	Chevrolet	48.869	184.166
27	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	48.889	184.090
28	David Gilliland	38	Ford	48.891	184.083
29	J. J. Yeley	96	Toyota	48.892	184.079	*
30	Brian Vickers	83	Toyota	48.900	184.049
31	Michael Waltrip	55	Toyota	48.921	183.970
32	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	48.961	183.820
33	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Dodge	48.964	183.809
34	Ryan Newman	12	Dodge	48.977	183.760
35	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	48.983	183.737
36	David Reutimann	44	Toyota	49.013	183.625
37	Martin Truex Jr.	1	Chevrolet	49.023	183.587
38	Kurt Busch	2	Dodge	49.035	183.542
39	Robby Gordon	7	Dodge	49.062	183.441
40	Elliott Sadler	19	Dodge	49.085	183.355
41	Reed Sorenson	41	Dodge	49.098	183.307
42	Jamie McMurray	26	Ford	49.111	183.258
43	Terry Labonte	45	Dodge	49.127	183.199	PC
44	Kasey Kahne	9	Dodge	49.269	182.671	OP
45	Sam Hornish Jr.	77	Dodge	49.523	181.734	OP

OP: qualified via owners points
PC: qualified as past champion
PR: provisional
QR: via qualifying race
* - had to qualify on time
Failed to qualify, withdrew, or driver changes: Scott Riggs, J. J. Yeley, Dario Franchitti

Race recap

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 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.

Results

NOTE: Race extended two laps due to green-white-checker finish.
Failed to Qualify: Scott Riggs and J. J. Yeley.

2009 Race

It was announced in August that next year's Coke Zero 400 would have the superstretch grandstand closed and tickets limited to the 110,000 seats all the way around the current seating configuration from outside Turn Four to Turn One as an economic measure.