After a dismal partial schedule in 2007 that saw Sam Hornish Jr. qualify for only two Cup races in eight attempts, the IRL transplant shocked the NASCAR community with a top 15 in the Daytona 500. That brief glimmer of hope was short-lived, though, as the next week at Fontana Hornish completed only 20 laps before slamming into Casey Mears.
There was not much for Bill Elliott or his struggling No. 21 Wood Brothers team to gloat about in 2008. The team fell outside the Top 35 in points last season and could never break the threshold this season.
Dario Franchitti won the Rolex 24 with teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas and came into the 2008 season with solid expectations for a good rookie campaign and a spirited battle for Rookie of the Year honors.
After losing M&M’s sponsorship to the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 team and Busch, it was simply an uphill battle for David Gilliland to get financial backing in 2008.
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.