2008 Season Review Part II

This is coming later than I had hoped but I did get some much needed Holiday rest. The last bit should be posted by the end of the week.

#10 Patrick Carpantier (38)*: The Canadian driver had a mediocre rookie campaign. He was not able to post any top 10s after 24 starts. He was removed from the car for the last six races. A.J. Allmendinger drove the last 5.

#11 Denny Hamlin (8): Had a fairly successful year. Statistically speaking this year was slightly worse for the Virginia native, however he garnered more points this season. The highlight of Hamlin's season had to be winning in his home state at Martinsville, Va.

#12 Ryan Newman (17): Newman started off the year as the series points leader after an astounding Daytona 500 win. This was Car Owner Roger Penske's first Daytona 500 win. After winning the 50^th Great American race, Newman had a dismal season and signed to race for the newly formed Stewart-Haas racing, leaving the car owner he's been with since entering the cup series.

#15 Paul Menard (26): Menard made all 36 races and finished a respectable 26^th in points. Menard will move with his family sponsorship to Yates Racing for the 2009 season.

#16 Greg Biffle (3): Another tough year for The Biff, but one that must be considered a success. Biffle started The Chase for the Sprint Cup with back-to-back victories at New Hampshire and Dover. The 16 Ford team was consistently near the front all season, completing 97.5% of all laps run.

#17 Matt Kenseth (11): The 2003 series champion had another quiet year, going winless with 9 top fives. Kenseth made The Chase, but missed the season-end New York Banquet.

#18 Kyle Busch (10): Everyone knows he had a stellar season. At least the first half. Busch was able to dominate through the summer, but finished the year 10^th in points. He did not lead the series in wins, will he build in 2009 or was 2008 just a flash in the pan?

#19 Elliott Sadler (24): Elliot Sadler had a meager year. Sadler had only 8 top tens and 2 top-fives. Sadler did resign with Gillette-Evernham Motorsports through 2010, but was recently swept up in the elongated silly season.

#20 Tony Stewart (9): Stewart had a fairly slow year, as far as smoke goes. He was still able to make the Chase, finishing 9^th in points and garnering only 1 win. Next season Stewart will put on the Driver/Owner cap as he pilots the #14 Chevy.

#22 Dave Blaney (30): Blaney, at the origin of the season looked to be on a roll. Several times within the first third of the season he was the top Toyota (other than Kyle Busch). However, as the season progressed the Bill Davis Racing team was only able to secure a 30^th place finish in driver points.

#24 Jeff Gordon (7): The four-time cup champion had what will probably be the worst of his career. Gordon went winless in 2008, a first in his storied career. The 24 DuPont team was seventh in points this year, four places back from 2007.

#26 Jamie McMurray (16): The “other” Roush-Fenway driver didn't have a bad year. Although the Crown-Royal Ford didn't ever pull into victory lane, the team was able to record 4 top-five and 11 top-ten finishes.