Official name Aaron's 499 | ||
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Date April 27, 2008 (2008-April-27) Course Permanent racing facility2.66 mi (4.28 km) Distance 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) Weather Temperatures reaching up to 75 °F (24 °C); average wind speeds of 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h) | ||
The 2008 Aaron's 499 was the 9th race in the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. It was held on April 27, 2008 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.
Contents
Summary
This race was the second race of the season utilizing restrictor plates and the first time that the spring race was raced using the Car of Tomorrow template, with the 2007 UAW-Ford 500 being the first on the superspeedway. The telecast in the USA started at 1 PM US EDT on Fox, with radio coverage on MRN Radio on terrestrial stations and Sirius Satellite Radio starting at 1:15 PM US EDT.
Pre-race news
Qualifying
Furniture Row Racing's #78 car scored the pole thanks to "Front Row" Joe Nemechek, who edged Tony Stewart on the last run of the day.
Failed to qualify: Dave Blaney (#22), John Andretti (#34), J.J. Yeley (#96).
For Yeley, this was the first race he missed as Hall of Fame Racing were outside the Top 35 Owner Points exemption.
Race
Kyle Busch was the winner of the race when "The Big One" occurred in the backstretch off Turn Two and the yellow flag flew on the final lap. Kyle Busch was passing Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the inside, and got loose, bumping into Dale and causing him to spin out. The winning car was also noted to have a large "donut" on the side. This happened after hard contact with the #26 of Jamie McMurray. Both cars finished in the top-five, though.