JGR Qualifying Report Presented by Interstate Batteries
Date: March 14, 2008
Event: Food City 500 (Round 5 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. (.533-mile oval)
Pole Winner: None, qualifying canceled due to rain (field set via 2007 final car owner point standings)
JGR Lineup: Tony Stewart, No. 20 Home Depot Toyota (6th)
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota (12th)
Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota (22nd)
Rain canceled today’s qualifying session for the Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. As a result, the 43-car field for Sunday’s 500-lap race was set by 2007 final car owner points.
Whenever qualifying is rained-out during the first five races of the season, the previous year’s car owner points are used to determine the starting field.
Tony Stewart will lead the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing contingent by virtue of the No. 20 team’s sixth-place finish in last year’s car owner standings. Denny Hamlin follows in 12th, while Kyle Busch will line up 22nd.
Two-time and reigning series champion Jimmie Johnson will start from the pole via his team’s first-place standing in 2007 car owner points. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon will start alongside at the front of row one, while Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth and Casey Mears comprise the top-five. Stewart, rookie and three-time IRL IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr., Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick complete the top-10.
Forty-six drivers were slated to qualify for the Food City 500. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Jeff Green, John Andretti and Patrick Carpentier.
The Food City 500 gets underway at 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 16 with live, high-definition coverage provided by FOX beginning with its pre-race show at 1:30 p.m. The race will also be broadcast on SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.
