Final NASCAR Rankings- 2008 Sprint Cup

Homestead-Miami Speedway -- 11/16/08

Author: Jeremy Dunn

Published: Monday Nov 17 2008 12:51pm

1. (1) 48-Jimmie Johnson: +250 beginning of year odds

Jimmie Johnson tied Cale Yarborough’s 30-year-old NASCAR record of three consecutive titles with his fifteenth place finish on Sunday. Johnson is continuing to etch his name into the list of NASCAR greats. Will he ‘soar to four’ in 2009? It is difficult to bet against him.

2008-season highlight: Winning seven races and a third consecutive Sprint Cup championship.

2008-season low-point: Severe handling issues at Las Vegas and Atlanta back in March. It appeared as if the COT had thrown Johnson and the 48 into a state of perplexity. Clearly, that was not the case.

2. (2) 99-Carl Edwards: +750 beginning of year odds

Perhaps Carl Edwards is the championship favorite for 2009 after winning a Sprint Cup series high nine races in 2008. Edwards was by far the top driver on the intermediate speedways, as seven of his nine wins occurred on tracks 1.5-miles to 2-miles in length. Bristol and Pocono were the only exceptions.

2008-season highlight: Winning a Sprint Cup series high nine races, 19 top five finishes, and 27 top ten finishes.

2008-season low point: Starting the ‘big one’ at Talladega by bumping his teammate Greg Biffle, triggering a verbal assault from Kevin Harvick, which became physical just days later.

3. (3) 16-Greg Biffle:

Greg Biffle enjoyed a solid season, as he finished third in the Sprint Cup championship standings. He gave Johnson and Edwards a run for their money, but ultimately, he faded over the last two weeks of the season.

2008-season highlight: Winning back-to-back races at New Hampshire and Dover, the first two races of the Chase for the Championship.

2008-season low point: Finishing 43rd at Darlington after winning the pole and leading 90 laps. Following the DNF, he questioned his team’s equipment.

4. (4) 29-Kevin Harvick:

Kevin Harvick failed to win a race for the second time in his career, but he was a master of consistency. He posted 19 top ten finishes.

2008-season highlight: Scoring nine consecutive top ten finishes, from July to October.

2008-season low point: Failing to win a single race for the first time since 2004.

5. (6) 07-Clint Bowyer:

Like his two Richard Childress Racing teammates, Clint Bowyer was consistent throughout the 2008 season. However, he was not fast enough to contend for many wins.

2008-season highlight: Winning the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond after the Kyle Busch-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. dustup.

2008-season low point: Finding out he was going to depart his current team to drive the fourth Richard Childress Racing entry in 2009.

6. (7) 24-Jeff Gordon: +375 beginning of year odds

For the first time since his rookie campaign in 1993, Jeff Gordon failed to win a race. Who predicted this? My guess is that nobody in his or her right mind fathomed a winless season for the four-time champion.

2008-season highlight: Scoring thirteen top ten finishes, and nineteen top ten finishes in what is considered an off year.

2008-season low point: Failing to win a single race.

7. (5) 31-Jeff Burton:

Jeff Burton enjoyed another fine season, but it was not enough to contend for the Sprint Cup championship. This team needs to find more speed without sacrificing their durability.

2008-season highlight: Winning two races- Bristol (which was a 1-2-3 finish for RCR) and Charlotte.

2008-season low point: Finishing 40th in the season finale at Homestead. That is surely not the way you want to conclude an otherwise impressive season.

8. (8) 18-Kyle Busch: +750 beginning of year odds

2008-season highlight: Winning 21 races in all three of NASCAR’s premier series, eight of which were in the Sprint Cup Series.

2008-season low point: A broken heim joint at New Hampshire, the first race in the Chase for the Championship, resulting in a 34th place finish. The mechanical failure sparked the beginning of a downward spiral for Kyle Busch.

9. (NR) 11-Denny Hamlin: +1300 beginning of year odds

2008-season highlight: Winning at his home track, Martinsville, back in April. It was his only victory of the 2008 season.

2008-season low point: A flat tire with seventeen laps remaining in the race at Richmond back in May dropped Hamlin from the lead to a 24th place finish. Hamlin led a track-record 381 laps and seemed well on his way to his second win of the year.

10. (NR) 20-Tony Stewart: +750 beginning of year odds

2008-season highlight: Becoming majority owner of Stewart Haas Racing, hiring one of his closest friends, Ryan Newman, as his driver. Moreover, you cannot discount his win at Talladega, which was his first at the 2.66-mile facility.

2008-season low point: Blowing a tire while leading with less than three laps to go at Charlotte in May.

Best non-Chasers include Jamie McMurray, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Kurt Busch, and A.J. Allmendinger