The Phillies: Nascar Results

A little late due to the coverage of the Race of Champions, here are the 'Phillies' for the Nascar 2008 season.

For details on each of the awards, see the Award Categories.

Driver of the Year:
Winner: Carl Edwards
The Missouri native was consistently strong throughout the year. He took a season high nine victories in the #99 Ford Fusion and ran Jimmie Johnson to the final race. Despite the insurmountable odds against him, he never gave up - a testament to his never say never attitude.
He backed up his second place in the Sprint Cup with the runners-up spot in the Nationwide series. In 2009, he will be gunning for the double.

Most Improved Driver of the Year:
Winner: David Ragan
A simple choice really. In the hands of Ragan, the #6 evoked memories of when Mark Martin was piloting the car. Described as a 'dart without feathers' by Tony Stewart, even the two-time champion had changed his tune by the end of 2008.

Finished best of the rest outside of the Chase, the only thing missing from Ragan's CV is a victory. Expect him to be a Chase contender next year.

Rookie of the Year:
Winner: Vacant
Lets be honest, none of the rookies showered themselves in glory in 2008. The highest placed in the standings was Ragan Smith, who finished in 34th in the standings. The open-wheel invasion failed to establish a beachhead and quickly found itself in retreat.


Flop of the Year:
Winner: The Open-Wheel Invasion
At the start of the year, many traditionalists were worried that Nascar was going to see an influx of open-wheel drivers coming into stock car, thus depriving potential talent from breaking through.
However, as the year went on - they dropped like flies. Villeneuve never returned after an attempt to qualify for Daytona. Franchitti was out after half way through the year and Carpentier soon followed once GEM had signed up Sorenson for 2008. That left Sam Hornish Jr the last man standing.

Underrated Driver of the Year:
Winner: AJ Allmendinger
AJ would definitely get an honorary mention for 'Most Improved' of the year. A difficult start to the year saw him replaced with Mike Skinner as Red Bull evaluated the program. When AJ returned, he was a different man.
Growing from strength to strength, it was a major surprise to see him ousted at Red Bull. He continued to garner creditability when he took over the #10 ride. Allmendinger is still without a ride for 2009. It would be a crying shame for him not to be involved.

Team of the Year:
Winner: #48
The combination of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus has been the team to beat over the last two years and this year was no different. When the Chase came along, they were the best prepared. On occasions where things could easily have gone wrong, both driver and crew chief worked to make the best out of what could easily be a bad situation.


Most Improved Team of the Year:
Winner: #18
In the hands of JJ Yeley, the former championship winning team was mired well back in the standings in 2007, never cracking the top-20. The arrival of Kyle Busch and Toyota transformed the team back to winning ways. A poor Chase puts a slight damper on an otherwise fantastic season for the team.


Race of the Year:
Winner: Aarons 499, Talladega
The first race at the Superspeedway was edge of the seat stuff from start to finish. Who needed two-wide racing when these guys can run three-wide for the majority of the race. It was fantastic stuff and a perfect example of what the competition in Nascar can offer.


Surprise of the Year:
Winner: Mark Martin signing up for one more shot
The veteran will return in 2009 for one final shot at the elusive title that has eluded him until now. Despite running a part-time schedule over the past two years, the competitiveness level has never died from the veteran.
If he continues as such in 2009, he should easily make the Chase. With Hendrick's machinery under him, it is more than possible that Martin will write his own fairytale.

Overtaking Move of the Year:
Winner: Carl Edwards versus Jimmie Johnson at Kansas
Proof that second is never good enough for a racer. Edwards launched a daring slingshot to try to get passed Johnson. The #99 barrelled past, slapped the wall and just lost the momentum, allowing Johnson to slip past by. One can only applaud Edwards desire to win.

Controversy of the Year:
Winner: Goodyear Tires
On too many occasions, tire blow-outs played too much a part in the racing. The lowest point for the issue was at Indy, where the race was reduced to short sprints between yellow flags to get everyone home safe.