Saturday, February 16 Daytona Int'l Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida

Tony Stewart celebrates his, and Toyota's, win in the Camping World 300...

Stewart Gets Inaugural Nationwide Series Win
By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 16, 2008) -- Polesitter Tony Stewart repelled a strong challenge from teammate Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Camping World 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway.

Stewart surged to the lead on Lap 117 of 120 and stayed there as the rest of the field diced for position behind him. On the final lap, Busch blocked Earnhardt's last-ditch attempt to improve his position and all but assured the victory for Stewart, who crossed the finish line .259 seconds ahead of Busch, with Earnhardt .412 seconds back.

Brian Vickers ran fourth, followed by Matt Kenseth, rookie Bryan Clauson, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, David Ragan and defending series champion Carl Edwards.

The Joe Gibbs Racing teammates dominated the action, with Busch leading 47 laps at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, and Stewart 46.

"We were battling the balance of the car, but this thing was so fast down the straightaway," Stewart said of his No. 20 Toyota. "Once we got up front, it actually helped my car turn."

Busch had the lead on Lap 111 when a multicar crash in Turn 4 behind the lead pack brought out the fourth caution of the race. Steve Wallace spun after contact with the No. 88 Chevy of Brad Keselowski triggered a wreck that damaged seven cars. The race restarted with six laps remaining with Busch in the lead.

Vickers, Martin Truex Jr. and Busch battled for the top spot until Stewart went to the point.

"It's a shame that we came in second with such a great racecar," said Busch, who also came in second in Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. "But the 20 was fast, too, and Tony Stewart's the man."

Earnhardt agreed.

"The situation was that you've got two great racecars with two great drivers in front of me," said Earnhardt, whose crew had to replace the rear decklid and spoiler after the No. 5 Chevy failed pre-qualifying inspection. "Tony says I'm one of the best restrictor-plate drivers, but he's right there with me."

The race was caution-free until Lap 55, when David Gilliland's Ford broke loose in Turn 2 after contact from Greg Biffle, slammed the wall, slid down the track and collected the Chevrolet of Mark Green. Biffle's No. 16 Ford also sustained minor front-end damage during the accident.

The caution bunched the field, depriving the trio of Truex, Vickers and Busch of a lead of more than eight seconds they had opened over Clint Bowyer and Stewart. It also trapped the Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick one lap down, as Harvick had made an unscheduled pit stop after his crew failed to fill his fuel cell fully on an earlier green-flag stop.

After a restart on Lap 59, Busch and Truex battled for the lead until Busch took control seven laps into the run. Busch stayed out front, with Stewart locked to his rear bumper, until Marcos Ambrose shredded his right rear tire on the backstretch, bringing out the second caution of the race on Lap 78.

Stewart won the race off pit road for a restart on Lap 82 and kept his car out front until sheet metal falling from Ambrose's car in Turn 2 caused the third caution on Lap 97. With quick work on pit road, Busch led the field to a restart on Lap 101, followed by Earnhardt, Stewart, Vickers and David Reutimann.

Complete Race Results - click here

Driver Point Standings - click here

Post-Race Interview With Kyle Busch & Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - click here

Schedule/Broadcast Times*

Qualifying: Friday, February 15 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 3 p.m/AT)

Race: Saturday, February 15 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 2:15 p.m./AT)

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET...

Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Wednesday Practice - click here Dale Jr. fastest

Qualifying Order - click here

Qualifying Results - click here

Starting Lineup - click here before times were disallowed...

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Camping World 300 Presented by Chevrolet
The Place: Daytona International Speedway
The Date: Saturday, Feb. 16
The Green Flag: 2:15 p.m./AT, 1:15 p.m./ET
TV: ESPN2, 12:00 p.m./ET
Track Layout: 2.5-mile tri-oval
2007 Winner: Kevin Harvick
2007 Pole: Aric Almirola
Schedule: (local track time/ET) Wednesday —Practice 3-4:20 p.m. Thursday—Practice, 9:15-10:45 a.m. Friday—Qualifying, 3:10 p.m.
Year-To-Date Standings: n/a, first race of 08

Track Map




Tony Stewart will start from the pole position in the Camping World 300. See the complete starting lineup here. Please note the exceptions stated below, i.e. the times that were disallowed...

In the Nationwide Series, the times of five cars were disallowed Friday after post-qualifying inspection revealed a litany of violations designed to improve aerodynamics.

Cars affected are the No. 77 Chevrolet of Cale Gale, the No. 14 Ford of David Gilliland, the No. 64 Chevrolet of David Stremme (who did not complete his qualifying run, the No. 1 Chevrolet of Johnny Sauter and the No. 0 Chevrolet of Kertus Davis.

All of the cars, except that of Davis, will start the race by virtue of being in the top 30 in owner points from last year but must go to the rear for the green flag. The No. 01 Chevy driven by Dwayne Leik will supplant Davis in the field. Before qualifying, the No. 99 Toyota, owned by Michael Waltrip and driven by David Reutimann, failed inspection because of a carburetor violation.

Pre-Race Pit Stops

• Nationwide’s Debut...The wait is nearly over. After signing on last October, Nationwide Insurance will make its debut as the title sponsor for the nation’s second-most popular motorsports series. The NASCAR Nationwide Series opens on the sport’s biggest stage — Daytona International Speedway — on Saturday afternoon. Over 50 cars will attempt to qualify for the Camping World 300 which will be televised on ESPN2. “Nationwide is excited about this long-term partnership and recognizes that NASCAR has the most loyal and dedicated fan base of any sport,” said Jim Lyski, Chief Marketing Officer for Nationwide. “We look forward to putting tremendous energy and resources into supporting this sponsorship and advancing the profile of the NASCAR Nationwide Series.” The field for the race — the 27th season-opener in series history — is one of the strongest ever. Ten former champions are entered including reigning driver champion Carl Edwards (No. 60 Scotts Ford) and the defending owner champion, the No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet which will be driven by Scott Wimmer. Six former winners of this race representing nine victories are also entered while Joe Nemechek (No. 87 NEMCO Chevrolet), whose four Coors Light Poles are the most for this event, returns to series competition for the first time since last March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
• Current, Former Drivers Are Owners, Mentors...The NASCAR Nationwide Series does indeed serve as a developmental opportunity – other than Tony Stewart (No. 20 Armor All Toyota) 11 of the 12 drivers in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup spent at least two full seasons in the series before moving on. Three of the four current drivers vying for series Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors are entered for Saturday’s race while eight former rookies of the year are also entered at Daytona. Brad Coleman (No. 27 Cottonelle/Kroger Ford), Steve Wallace (No. 66 Atreus Homes & Communities Chevrolet), Bryan Clauson (No. 41 Texaco/Havoline Dodge), Kelly Bires (No. 47 Clorox Ford), Cale Gale (No. 77 Rheem Chevrolet) and Brad Keselowski (No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet) are using the series to develop their skills to try and become the next generation of NASCAR Sprint Cup stars. “With Nationwide coming on board, it’s a huge boost for the series,” two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and series team owner Kevin Harvick (No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet) said. “I think as we go forward (the series) will be as strong as ever and you will see more young guys, more independent teams and hopefully more Cup drivers having Nationwide teams and participation in the series, supporting the sport as they should.” Harvick – the defending race winner who also claimed the 2007 Daytona 500 – is now racing his own equipment and mentoring Gale. This is the first time in his nine-year series career Harvick isn’t driving for Richard Childress Racing. David Stremme (No. 64 Atreus Homes & Communities Chevrolet) returns to the NASCAR Nationwide Series this year and is on board with Rusty Wallace Racing. He’ll be a valuable asset to Steve Wallace and young Chase Austin. JR Motorsports – having merged with Rick Hendrick’s NASCAR Nationwide Series program – has an all-star outfit that will benefit the careers of Keselowski and Landon Cassill. Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin (the all-time leader in wins and poles in the series) and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson will all participate in select NASCAR Nationwide Series races this year. Toss in the much-anticipated debut of NASCAR Camping World East champion Joey Logano (scheduled for May) and its apparent that the series is ripe with its own new stars.
• Four countries are represented by entrants for Saturday’s Camping World 300. The United States has the most (50) while Australia (Marcos Ambrose), Canada (D.J. Kennington — No. 81 STP Tools Dodge), Scotland Dario Franchitti (No. 40 Fastenal Dodge) each have one driver entered.
• Kevin Harvick might be driving his own cars this year but his Daytona entry has had tremendous success on the track. The No. 33 Chevrolet won back-to-back season-openers in 2005-06 with Tony Stewart behind the wheel.
• Bryan Clauson, Dario Franchitti, Cale Gale and Brian Keselowski are the current drivers competing for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year title.
• When Brad Keselowski starts Saturday’s Camping World 300 he will become the second member of his family to race the No. 88 Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway. His uncle, Ron Keselowski, drove the No. 88 to a seventh-place finish in the 1972 Firecracker 400 at Daytona.

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.