Bowyer takes title, thwarts Edwards' rally, Gibbs' wins

A look back at the top performances of 2008 in the Nationwide Series:

Top Drivers (in alphabetical order)

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Clint Bowyer was the picture of consistency in 2008.

Clint Bowyer -- Captured his first NASCAR national series title, holding off a strong late-season comeback by fellow Midwestern dirt racer Carl Edwards. Bowyer took over first place in the standings after the sixth race of the season and never relinquished his lead. He won just once -- the rain-shortened spring race at Bristol -- but had 14 top-fives and led the series with 29 top-10s. (Year in Review)

Kyle Busch -- Put together arguably one of the greatest seasons in series history with 10 wins, 18 top-fives and 20 top-10s in 30 races. The win total tied the legendary Sam Ard's 25-year-old record for victories in a season. Busch won for two different teams in three different cars and conquered all types of tracks other than the restrictor-plate superspeedways -- though he did finish second at both races at Daytona. (Busch helps Ards)

Carl Edwards -- The 2007 champion struggled during the first half of the season but found his mojo following a crew chief change. Drew Blickensderfer joined Edwards prior to the July 21 race at Milwaukee. There, the duo produced the first of seven wins -- a career-best for Edwards. More than 200 points out with eight races left, he took the title chase down to the final race and finished 21 points behind Bowyer, the fourth-closest championship margin in series history. (Year in Review)

Landon Cassill -- Just the second rookie of the year in series history to not run a full schedule. Sharing the No. 5 Chevrolet with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ron Fellows, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin -- and having 1994 series champion David Green as his spotter -- Cassill, 19, proved to be a quick learner with five top-fives in 19 starts. He won his first career pole in June at New Hampshire. (read more)

Joe Gibbs -- Joe Gibbs Racing fielded two Toyota teams in the Nationwide Series in 2008. Its No. 20 team won nine races and an owner championship -- JGR's first series title -- while the No. 18 team won 10 more times. Four different drivers -- Kyle Busch (1), Denny Hamlin (2), Joey Logano (1) and Tony Stewart (5) -- posted wins in the No. 20 while Busch led the No. 18 car with eight of its 10 total wins. The two cars combined for 19 wins, 32 top-fives, 44 top-10s and nine poles. (read more)

Brad Keselowski -- In his first full-time season in the series earned top finishes -- and respect. He posted his first two career wins (Nashville in June and at Bristol in August) along with his first pole (Milwaukee). He was second in the standings for seven weeks and ended up third, the highest-ranking series-only regular in the final championship rankings. He also was voted the series' Most Popular Driver; 2008 was the first season the balloting was turned over to the fans. (Year in Review)

Joey Logano -- One week after turning 18, started his first series race and finished sixth at Dover. He was frustrated at his result, feeling he should have won. Shortly thereafter, he became the youngest driver (18 years, 21 days) in series history to win when he did so from the pole June 14 at Kentucky. In 19 starts, he registered one win, five top-fives, 14 top-10s and three poles.

Mike Bliss -- After returning to full-time series competition for the first time since 2004, finished fifth in the standings driving for two single-owner teams. He started the first six races of the year for Fitz Motorsports then moved to Phoenix Racing for the remainder of the year. His 15 top-10s -- including four in a row at one point -- were a career best. His finish at Dover on Sept. 20 was the second runner-up result of his 143-race career.

Top Five Races (in chronological order)

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Officials try to separate crew members of Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski post-race at Charlotte.

• Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway (May 24) -- Kyle Busch won the race but Brad Keselowski won respect. Late in the event, Denny Hamlin felt Keselowski didn't give him enough room and bumped him to show his displeasure. Keselowski and his JR Motorsports team took exception, especially owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who gave Hamlin a bump of his own. The on-track incidents led to a heated exchange between their crews on pit road after the race. One of the season's memorable quotes came from the tense post-race news conference with Keselowski and Hamlin at the podium: "I race one day a week, not two," Keselowski said. "I have 200 laps to prove myself, not 400. I have to make the most of every lap." (Race Review | Race Video)

• Federated Auto Parts 300 presented by Dollar General at Nashville Superspeedway (June 7) -- Brad Keselowski made a veteran move around three double-duty drivers for his first career win. On a restart with eight laps to go, the 24-year-old drove below Clint Bowyer, who had gotten away from Kyle Busch only to tangle with David Reutimann. That bump was enough for Keselowski to take advantage and win the coveted Gibson guitar, the most sought-after trophy on the series' stand-alone circuit. (Race Review | Race Video)

• NAPA Auto Parts 200 presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Aug. 2) -- Canadian Ron Fellows won NASCAR's first national series points race on rain tires at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. For the second consecutive year, Australian Marcos Ambrose seemed destined to win, leading a race-high 27 laps. But a costly pit road speeding penalty against Ambrose opened the door for Fellows, who took advantage to win the historic rain-shortened event in front of a strong crowd of loyal fans who braved the inclement weather to watch stock-car racing at the world-famous open-wheel course. Ambrose broke through the following week, though, gaining his first win at Watkins Glen. (Race Review | Race Video)

• Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway (Aug. 22) -- Brad Keselowski took advantage of a late-race miscue by Clint Bowyer en route to his second win of the year. Keselowski started 37th and doggedly fought his way through the field -- which included 11 double-duty drivers -- and finally caught Bowyer, who led a race-high 121 laps. On Lap 227 with Keselowski charging, Bowyer inexplicably slipped off Turn 2. Keselowski pounced and held on to win the drag race with Bowyer to the checkered flag. (Race Review | Race Video)

• Hefty OdorBlock 200 at Phoenix International Raceway (Nov. 8) -- In just six races, Clint Bowyer's 207-point lead had dwindled to 91. After an accident on Lap 80 at Phoenix, he watched Carl Edwards charge toward a win and first place in the standings. But Bowyer showed his resolve. His crew worked on his No. 2 Chevrolet through the remainder of the race and he moved from 24th to a remarkable fourth-place finish. He left with his points lead intact and was able to hold off Edwards one week later at Homestead to claim the series championship. (Race Review | Race Video)