The 2008 Subway Fresh Fit 500 was the eighth race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup season and ran on Saturday, April 12 at Phoenix International Raceway for 312 laps in Avondale, Arizona. The race was broadcast on television by Fox starting at 8:53 PM US EDT, and broadcast via radio and Sirius Satellite Radio on the Motor Racing Network beginning at 7:45 PM US EDT.

Pre-Race News

Qualifying

Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman won the pole position, the 34th of his career. Elliott Sadler started on the outside. Kyle Petty and John Andretti failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

RANK[1] DRIVER NBR CAR TIME SPEED
1 Ryan Newman 12 Dodge 26.975 133.457
2 Elliott Sadler 19 Dodge 26.984 133.412
3 Carl Edwards 99 Ford 26.991 133.378
4 Mark Martin 8 Chevrolet 26.993 133.368
5 Kasey Kahne 9 Dodge 27.006 133.304
6 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota 27.012 133.274
7 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet 27.019 133.240
8 Jamie McMurray 26 Ford 27.029 133.190
9 Martin Truex Jr. 1 Chevrolet 27.093 132.876
10 Scott Riggs 66 Chevrolet 27.094 132.871
11 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet 27.098 132.851
12 Tony Stewart 20 Toyota 27.101 132.836
13 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 88 Chevrolet 27.126 132.714
14 Paul Menard 15 Chevrolet 27.128 132.704
15 Juan Pablo Montoya 42 Dodge 27.159 132.553
16 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota 27.187 132.416
17 Kevin Harvick 29 Chevrolet 27.191 132.397
18 Greg Biffle 16 Ford 27.220 132.256
19 Dave Blaney 22 Toyota 27.220 132.256 *
20 Reed Sorenson 41 Dodge 27.258 132.071
21 Dario Franchitti 40 Dodge 27.264 132.042 *
22 J. J. Yeley 96 Toyota 27.279 131.970
23 David Ragan 6 Ford 27.284 131.945
24 Clint Bowyer 07 Chevrolet 27.289 131.921
25 Mike Skinner 84 Toyota 27.296 131.887 *
26 David Reutimann 44 Toyota 27.314 131.801 *
27 Matt Kenseth 17 Ford 27.322 131.762
28 Michael Waltrip 55 Toyota 27.323 131.757
29 Michael McDowell 00 Toyota 27.334 131.704
30 Casey Mears 5 Chevrolet 27.344 131.656
31 Sam Hornish Jr. 77 Dodge 27.352 131.617
32 Travis Kvapil 28 Ford 27.354 131.608
33 Brian Vickers 83 Toyota 27.382 131.473
34 Bobby Labonte 43 Dodge 27.394 131.416
35 Robby Gordon 7 Dodge 27.423 131.277
36 David Gilliland 38 Ford 27.434 131.224
37 Patrick Carpentier 10 Dodge 27.446 131.167 *
38 Regan Smith 01 Chevrolet 27.459 131.105
39 Jeff Burton 31 Chevrolet 27.496 130.928
40 Kurt Busch 2 Dodge 27.496 130.928
41 Joe Nemechek 78 Chevrolet 27.569 130.581 *
42 Johnny Sauter 70 Chevrolet 27.590 130.482 *
43 Kyle Petty 45 Dodge 27.697 129.978 *
44 Bill Elliott 21 Ford 27.793 129.529 PC
45 John Andretti 34 Chevrolet 27.814 129.431 *

OP: qualified via owners points

PC: qualified as past champion

PR: provisional

QR: via qualifying race

* - had to qualify on time

The race

The outcome of this race was determined largely on fuel mileage strategy. Based on crew chief Chad Knaus' calculations, Jimmie Johnson stayed out late in the race while leaders Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin entered their pits. Johnson held on for the win while Clint Bowyer finished second.

Jeff Burton climbed from 39th starting position to a sixth-place finish and retained his lead in points.

Results

POS[1] ST # DRIVER OWNER CAR LAPS STATUS LED PTS
1 2 99 Carl Edwards Jack Roush Ford 339 running 123 195
2 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Rick Hendrick Chevrolet 339 running 65 175
3 3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Toyota 339 running 50 170
4 4 12 Ryan Newman Roger Penske Dodge 339 running 0 135
5 14 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Toyota 339 running 0 155
6 35 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Chevrolet 339 running 0 150
7 24 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Toyota 339 running 0 146
8 31 8 Mark Martin Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 339 running 0 142
9 8 17 Matt Kenseth Jack Roush Ford 339 running 68 143
10 25 07 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Chevrolet 339 running 0 134
11 21 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Chevrolet 338 running 0 130
12 1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Rick Hendrick Chevrolet 338 running 31 132
13 7 6 David Ragan Jack Roush Ford 338 running 0 124
14 32 26 Jamie McMurray Jack Roush Ford 338 running 0 121
15 41 38 David Gilliland Yates Racing Ford 338 running 0 118
16 36 83 Brian Vickers Dietrich Mateschitz Toyota 338 running 0 115
17 19 15 Paul Menard Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 338 running 0 112
18 38 28 Travis Kvapil Yates Racing Ford 338 running 0 109
19 11 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Dodge 337 running 0 106
20 30 43 Bobby Labonte Petty Enterprises Dodge 337 running 0 103
21 29 22 Dave Blaney Bill Davis Toyota 337 running 0 100
22 22 5 Casey Mears Rick Hendrick Chevrolet 337 running 0 97
23 23 2 Kurt Busch Roger Penske Dodge 337 running 0 94
24 42 41 Reed Sorenson Chip Ganassi Dodge 337 running 0 91
25 10 9 Kasey Kahne Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 336 running 0 88
26 26 19 Elliott Sadler Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 336 running 0 85
27 13 66 Scott Riggs Gene Haas Chevrolet 336 running 0 82
28 27 10 Patrick Carpentier Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge 335 running 0 79
29 9 84 Mike Skinner Dietrich Mateschitz Toyota 334 running 0 76
30 15 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Dodge 334 running 0 73
31 20 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Toyota 333 running 0 70
32 17 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Roger Penske Dodge 333 running 0 67
33 40 00 Michael McDowell Michael Waltrip Toyota 332 running 0 64
34 28 21 Bill Elliott Wood Brothers Ford 332 running 0 61
35 34 01 Regan Smith Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 331 running 0 58
36 12 1 Martin Truex Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 330 engine 2 60
37 43 78 Joe Nemechek Barney Visser Chevrolet 330 running 0 52
38 39 70 Jeremy Mayfield Gene Haas Chevrolet 329 running 0 49
39 16 16 Greg Biffle Jack Roush Ford 312 running 0 46
40 37 34 John Andretti Bob Jenkins Chevrolet 263 suspension 0 43
41 6 44 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Toyota 253 engine 0 40
42 33 96 J. J. Yeley Jeff Moorad Toyota 173 crash 0 37
43 18 24 Jeff Gordon Rick Hendrick Chevrolet 124 crash 0 34
Failed to qualify
POS NAME NBR OWNER CAR
44 Kyle Petty 45 Petty Enterprises Dodge
45 John Andretti 34 Bob Jenkins Chevrolet

Yankees / Red Sox coverage

Coverage of the pre-race was interrupted when Fox switched over to cover the remaining New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox baseball game which had been delayed due to rain.[2] Fox then switched back to the race as the cars were on the dogleg just after the start. The final two pitches of the game were shown on the cable / satellite channel FX leaving some baseball fans confused.[2] Fox was contractually required to show the entire race on its broadcast network.

NASCAR fans were upset that the network did not show the invocation and national anthem, especially as it was realized that the game was shown on both Fox and FX, in a simulcast, for about 10 minutes. Theoretically, the baseball game could have continued on Fox and the pre-race ceremonies would have been seen on FX, but parent company News Corporation chose not to use that option.[3]

This is the first known occurrence in the history in American sports television that a network missed both the ending of one event (similar to the Heidi Game, except that there was an option to see the remainder of it) and the beginning of another.

On the Speed Channel rebroadcast later that week, the start of the race was shown, in real time, from Brett Bodine pulling the pace car to pit road, and Fox analyst Larry McReynolds waving the green flag, all the way through the entire first lap. It is evident in that replay that the broadcast started on the backstretch as the graphics package did not appear until the cars were on the dogleg.

References

  1. 1 2 "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "ESPN.com: Fans confused when Fox shifts from Red Sox/Yanks finish to NASCAR". www.espn.com. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
  3. ↑ "The Daly Planet: Fox Sports Caught In A No-Win Situation". The Daly Planet. April 12, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2026.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Subway_Fresh_Fit_500