In a season that was disappointing, to say the least, Kurt Busch struggled to simply remain on the lead lap in quite a few races – he actually finished off the lead lap in half the races run, a once-unthinkable scenario for Penske’s No. 2 Dodge.
Hoping for a breakout year for this promising rookie, both Gillett Evernham and Patrick Carpentier were disappointed by the No. 10’s performance throughout the 2008 season.
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The 2008 season was one of more downs than ups for the Cat No. 22 crew. Although Dave Blaney was locked-in with a qualifying exemption for the first five events of the season, a crash in the Daytona 500 and a string of subpar finishes saw the No. 22 car quickly fall out of the Top 35 after Bristol.
Marcos Ambrose was merely trying to get his feet wet at the Sprint Cup Series level in 2008 in advance of a full-time venture into the series for 2009. He attempted 12 races and made 11 of them with three different car owners.
In a rollercoaster season for AJ Allmendinger, one could make an argument for several different highs. There was the 10th-place finish at the Brickyard in July – but that race will be forever remembered as the Goodyear tire debacle that no one is really proud of or wants to remember.
It would be most unfair to pin a low point on Aric Almirola, considering he is still essentially a rookie – and a part-time rookie driver at that.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. started strong, but couldn’t close the deal. He was Hendrick’s best driver all spring; but once summer heated up, the No. 88 began to tail off.
Matt Kenseth has 16 wins in 328 starts for Roush Fenway Racing. The bar has been set so high for the No. 17 team, though, that just a Chase berth is considered a disappointment for 2008.
Crew chief Chad Knaus said Jimmie Johnson’s team would be five months behind to start the season, and he was dead on – the first five months went by with hardly a whimper from the defending champions, save for a win at Phoenix.