2008 Eastern Creek round of the V8 Supercar Championship
# 2008 Eastern Creek round of the V8 Supercar Championship

The 2008 Eastern Creek round of the V8 Supercar Championship was the second round of the Australian 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 7 to 9 March at Eastern Creek Raceway, in the outer suburbs of Sydney, the capital of New South Wales.

## Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday 8 March. The Holden Racing Team secured the front row, Garth Tander taking the pole from Mark Skaife. It was Tander first pole position for his new team. Rick Kelly made a 1-2-3 for the extended Walkinshaw Performance operation with series leader Jamie Whincup the leading Ford in fourth place.

## Race 1

Race 1 was held on Saturday 8 March. After the race both Paul Dumbrell and Paul Morris were both relegated five finishing positions for driving infringements.

## Race 2

Race 2 was held on Sunday 9 March. Will Davison scores his debut V8 Supercar race win, his first win since the British Formula 3 Championship.

## Race 3

Race 3 was held on Sunday 9 March. With a sixth-place finish in the third race to back up the second and first from the first two race Will Davison scored his debut round victory, the first for the Jim Beam Racing team since the 2001 Queensland 500. The field was bunched together at the finish after a late race safety car period after a tyre failure caused Steven Richards to crash his Falcon into the barriers at 150 km/h. The car was destroyed and the team had to revert to a spare for the next race, the Grand Prix support event at Albert Park.

## Results

Results as follows:

### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Name | Car | Team | Part 3 | Part 2 | Part 1 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore (VE) | Holden Racing Team | 1:32.1080 | | |
| 2 | 2 | Mark Skaife | Holden Commodore (VE) | Holden Racing Team | 1:32.2926 | | |
| 3 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore (VE) | HSV Dealer Team | 1:32.4431 | | |
| 4 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Ford Falcon (BF) | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 1:32.5097 | | |
| 5 | 14 | Cameron McConville | Holden Commodore (VE) | Brad Jones Racing | 1:32.7130 | | |
| 6 | 18 | Will Davison | Ford Falcon (BF) | Dick Johnson Racing | 1:32.7527 | | |
| 7 | 4 | James Courtney | Ford Falcon (BF) | Stone Brothers Racing | 1:32.7706 | | |
| 8 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Holden Commodore (VE) | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 1:32.8409 | | |
| 9 | 16 | Paul Dumbrell | Holden Commodore (VE) | HSV Dealer Team | 1:33.4414 | | |
| 10 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon (BF) | Stone Brothers Racing | 1:33.5298 | | |
| 11 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Ford Falcon (BF) | Triple Eight Race Engineering | | 1:32.9004 | |
| 12 | 3 | Jason Richards | Holden Commodore (VE) | Tasman Motorsport | | 1:32.9008 | |
| 13 | 51 | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore (VE) | Tasman Motorsport | | 1:32.9631 | |
| 14 | 111 | Fabian Coulthard | Ford Falcon (BF) | Paul Cruickshank Racing | | 1:33.1648 | |
| 15 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon (BF) | Ford Performance Racing | | 1:33.2059 | |
| 16 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon (BF) | Dick Johnson Racing | | 1:33.2060 | |
| 17 | 25 | Jason Bright | Ford Falcon (BF) | Britek Motorsport | | 1:33.2151 | |
| 18 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Holden Commodore (VE) | Perkins Engineering | | 1:33.2217 | |
| 19 | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford Falcon (BF) | Ford Performance Racing | | 1:33.2417 | |
| 20 | 11 | Shane Price | Holden Commodore (VE) | Perkins Engineering | | 1:33.5257 | |
| 21 | 12 | Andrew Jones | Holden Commodore (VE) | Brad Jones Racing | | | 1:33.4211 |
| 22 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore (VE) | Paul Morris Motorsport | | | 1:33.4562 |
| 23 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore (VE) | Garry Rogers Motorsport | | | 1:33.5276 |
| 24 | 55 | Tony D'Alberto | Holden Commodore (VE) | Rod Nash Racing | | | 1:33.6992 |
| 25 | 67 | Paul Morris | Holden Commodore (VE) | Paul Morris Motorsport | | | 1:33.7036 |
| 26 | 50 | Andrew Thompson | Holden Commodore (VE) | Paul Weel Racing | | | 1:34.1044 |
| 27 | 021 | Chris Pither | Ford Falcon (BF) | Team Kiwi Racing | | | 1:34.3881 |
| 28 | 26 | Marcus Marshall | Ford Falcon (BF) | Britek Motorsport | | | 1:34.7003 |

### Race 1 results

| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | 31 | 50:19.8503 | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | 18 | Will Davison | Dick Johnson Racing | 31 | +6.4s | 6 | 92 |
| 3 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 31 | +7.2s | 4 | 86 |
| 4 | 15 | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | 31 | +9.4s | 3 | 80 |
| 5 | 4 | James Courtney | Stone Brothers Racing | 31 | +10.9s | 7 | 74 |
| 6 | 2 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | 31 | +14.0s | 2 | 68 |
| 7 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 31 | +14.6s | 11 | 64 |
| 8 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 31 | +15.8s | 8 | 60 |
| 9 | 51 | Greg Murphy | Tasman Motorsport | 31 | +19.3s | 13 | 56 |
| 10 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | 31 | +19.6s | 15 | 52 |
| 11 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Paul Morris Motorsport | 31 | +37.3s | 22 | 48 |
| 12 | 3 | Jason Richards | Tasman Motorsport | 31 | +38.6s | 12 | 46 |
| 13 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Perkins Engineering | 31 | +41.8s | 18 | 44 |
| 14 | 111 | Fabian Coulthard | Paul Cruickshank Racing | 31 | +44.9s | 14 | 42 |
| 15 | 14 | Cameron McConville | Brad Jones Racing | 31 | +47.2s | 5 | 40 |
| 16 | 16 | Paul Dumbrell | HSV Dealer Team | 31 | +36.5s | 9 | 38 |
| 17 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Stone Brothers Racing | 31 | +47.5s | 10 | 36 |
| 18 | 67 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | 31 | +40.2s | 25 | 34 |
| 19 | 11 | Shane Price | Perkins Engineering | 31 | +48.5s | 20 | 32 |
| 20 | 25 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | 31 | +50.2s | 17 | 30 |
| 21 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 31 | +50.3s | 16 | 28 |
| 22 | 12 | Andrew Jones | Brad Jones Racing | 31 | +52.8s | 21 | 26 |
| 23 | 55 | Tony D'Alberto | Rod Nash Racing | 31 | +53.8s | 24 | 24 |
| 24 | 50 | Andrew Thompson | Paul Weel Racing | 31 | +72.4s | 26 | 22 |
| 25 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 31 | +88.7s | 23 | 20 |
| 26 | 26 | Marcus Marshall | Britek Motorsport | 30 | + 1 Lap | 28 | 18 |
| 27 | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford Performance Racing | 30 | + 1 Lap | 19 | 16 |
| 28 | 021 | Chris Pither | Team Kiwi Racing | 30 | + 1 Lap | 27 | 14 |

### Race 2 results

| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 18 | Will Davison | Dick Johnson Racing | 31 | 50:13.7164 | 2 | 100 |
| 2 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | 31 | +2.6s | 10 | 92 |
| 3 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 31 | +7.8s | 7 | 86 |
| 4 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Paul Morris Motorsport | 31 | +17.3s | 11 | 80 |
| 5 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 31 | +17.6s | 3 | 74 |
| 6 | 15 | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | 31 | +22.2s | 4 | 68 |
| 7 | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford Performance Racing | 31 | +22.9s | 27 | 64 |
| 8 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 31 | +25.1s | 8 | 60 |
| 9 | 1 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | 31 | +26.2s | 1 | 56 |
| 10 | 67 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | 31 | +42.3196s | 18 | 52 |
| 11 | 51 | Greg Murphy | Tasman Motorsport | 31 | +40.3s | 9 | 48 |
| 12 | 16 | Paul Dumbrell | HSV Dealer Team | 31 | +41.5s | 16 | 46 |
| 13 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Perkins Engineering | 31 | +45.0s | 13 | 44 |
| 14 | 2 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | 31 | +46.1s | 6 | 42 |
| 15 | 4 | James Courtney | Stone Brothers Racing | 55 | +47.9s | 5 | 40 |
| 16 | 3 | Jason Richards | Tasman Motorsport | 31 | +49.4s | 12 | 38 |
| 17 | 111 | Fabian Coulthard | Paul Cruickshank Racing | 31 | +50.7s | 14 | 36 |
| 18 | 14 | Cameron McConville | Brad Jones Racing | 31 | +51.8s | 15 | 34 |
| 19 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 31 | +52.0s | 21 | 32 |
| 20 | 55 | Tony D'Alberto | Rod Nash Racing | 31 | +59.6s | 23 | 30 |
| 21 | 11 | Shane Price | Perkins Engineering | 31 | +60.4s | 19 | 28 |
| 22 | 25 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | 31 | +63.4s | 20 | 26 |
| 23 | 12 | Andrew Jones | Brad Jones Racing | 31 | +64.3s | 22 | 24 |
| 24 | 50 | Andrew Thompson | Paul Weel Racing | 31 | +66.3s | 24 | 22 |
| 25 | 021 | Chris Pither | Team Kiwi Racing | 31 | +83.7s | 28 | 20 |
| 26 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 31 | +112.0s | 25 | 18 |
| 27 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Stone Brothers Racing | 26 | + 5 Laps | 17 | 16 |
| DNF | 26 | Marcus Marshall | Britek Motorsport | 29 | | 26 | |

### Race 3 results

| Pos | No | Name | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | 31 | 1:03:42.6526 | 2 | 100 |
| 2 | 15 | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | 31 | +0.8s | 6 | 92 |
| 3 | 1 | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | 31 | +2.2s | 9 | 86 |
| 4 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 31 | +2.4s | 5 | 80 |
| 5 | 2 | Mark Skaife | Holden Racing Team | 31 | +2.5s | 14 | 74 |
| 6 | 18 | Will Davison | Dick Johnson Racing | 31 | +3.6s | 1 | 68 |
| 7 | 39 | Russell Ingall | Paul Morris Motorsport | 31 | +17.3s | 4 | 64 |
| 8 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 31 | +4.4s | 3 | 60 |
| 9 | 16 | Paul Dumbrell | HSV Dealer Team | 31 | +4.8s | 12 | 56 |
| 10 | 51 | Greg Murphy | Tasman Motorsport | 31 | +5.2s | 11 | 52 |
| 11 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 31 | +5.6s | 8 | 48 |
| 12 | 14 | Cameron McConville | Brad Jones Racing | 31 | +6.0s | 18 | 46 |
| 13 | 50 | Andrew Thompson | Paul Weel Racing | 31 | +7.1s | 24 | 44 |
| 14 | 34 | Michael Caruso | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 31 | +7.5s | 25 | 42 |
| 15 | 7 | Todd Kelly | Perkins Engineering | 31 | +7.6s | 13 | 40 |
| 16 | 111 | Fabian Coulthard | Paul Cruickshank Racing | 31 | +8.6s | 17 | 38 |
| 17 | 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | Stone Brothers Racing | 31 | +9.1s | 27 | 36 |
| 18 | 17 | Steven Johnson | Dick Johnson Racing | 31 | +9.2s | 19 | 34 |
| 19 | 3 | Jason Richards | Tasman Motorsport | 31 | +9.6s | 16 | 32 |
| 20 | 25 | Jason Bright | Britek Motorsport | 31 | +10.1s | 22 | 30 |
| 21 | 11 | Shane Price | Perkins Engineering | 31 | +11.1s | 21 | 28 |
| 22 | 26 | Marcus Marshall | Britek Motorsport | 31 | +11.7s | 28 | 26 |
| 23 | 021 | Chris Pither | Team Kiwi Racing | 31 | +18.6s | 25 | 24 |
| DNF | 6 | Steven Richards | Ford Performance Racing | 23 | Accident | 7 | |
| DNF | 12 | Andrew Jones | Brad Jones Racing | 6 | | 23 | |
| DNF | 67 | Paul Morris | Paul Morris Motorsport | 1 | Accident | 10 | |
| DNF | 4 | James Courtney | Stone Brothers Racing | 1 | Accident | 15 | |
| DNF | 55 | Tony D'Alberto | Rod Nash Racing | 0 | Accident | 20 | |

## Standings

After round 2 of 14

| Pos | No | Name | Team | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 88 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | 540 |
| 2 | 15 | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | 432 |
| 3 | 33 | Lee Holdsworth | Garry Rogers Motorsport | 426 |
| 4 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | 382 |
| 5 | 18 | Will Davison | Dick Johnson Racing | 356 |
