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2008 UAW-Dodge 400
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The 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 was the third race in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was run on Sunday, March 2, 2008 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. After four years in which the Auto Club 500 and this race were separated by one week, the events were held on back-to-back weeks for the first time. In part, it was because Easter Sunday in 2008 was to fall relatively early, on March 23. Per tradition, NASCAR does not stage a race on Easter Sunday.
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Encyclopedia
The 2008 UAW-Dodge 400 was the third race in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was run on Sunday, March 2, 2008 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. After four years in which the Auto Club 500 and this race were separated by one week, the events were held on back-to-back weeks for the first time. In part, it was because Easter Sunday in 2008 was to fall relatively early, on March 23. Per tradition, NASCAR does not stage a race on Easter Sunday. The race was telecast on FOX starting at 3:30 PM US EST and radio broadcasting was handled by Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio commencing at 3 PM US EST.
Carl Edwards won the race, the second Sprint Cup event he had captured in less than a week.
Pre Race News
- Mark Martin made his 701st start in NASCAR's premier series, tying him with Buddy Baker for tenth overall in most starts in history.
- Due to previous obligations, Bill Elliott did not return to the #21 Wood Brothers Ford. Jon Wood, grandson of team co-founder Len Wood, was then penciled in, but according to the SPEED Channel practice coverage, Jon Wood did not feel comfortable in qualifying with so little experience in NASCAR's new COT. So Johnny Sauter was eventually assigned to drive the car. The car did not make the field as it crashed during its' qualifying run.
Qualifying
Last week's postponement of qualifying at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California made this week's race the first in the Sprint Cup Series to utilize the so-called "Boris Said Rule" format where the teams are divided into two groups to qualify.
The first involved those from the Top 35 teams based on the 2007 Owner's points, which were followed by the cars that must "Go or Go Home". Only eight from that group qualified for the race. Las Vegas native Kyle Busch won the pole for this race.
Failed to Qualify: Johnny Sauter (#21; crashed), A.J. Allmendinger (#84), Joe Nemechek (#78), John Andretti (#34).
NOTE: Burney Lamar (#08) withdrew prior to qualifying.
Race notes
- This year's UAW-Dodge 400 set a new record for the most caution flags at LVMS, with 11. There was also a 15-minute red flag delay after Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon crashed on Lap 261 of the scheduled 267. NASCAR was able to stage the final two laps without incident to avoid a green-white-checker finish attempt.
- After the race, the car Edwards drove failed a post-race inspection because the lid of the oil tank reservoir was found to be open. Three days later, on March 5th, Edwards and car owner Jack Roush were docked 100 points apiece, fined $100,000 and crew chief Bob Osbourne was suspended for six weeks until April 30th and placed on probation through the rest of the 2008 calendar year. Additionally, the ten-point bonus they earned will not apply as they did qualify for the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
- Jeff Gordon had a terrifying crash into the inside retaining wall at about 180 miles per hour, with a few laps to go after making contact with Matt Kenseth. Due to the inside wall not being a SAFER Barrier, the front of the car was demolished. Gordon finished 35th.
Reference
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