May 8, 2015 – Matt Crafton watched Erik Jones and Tyler Reddick run out of gas and went on to win the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Toyota Tundra 250 at Kansas Speedway. Crafton became the first repeat winner in the 15 Truck Series races held at Kansas and did so in dramatic fashion. Jones had dominated the race and looked well on his way to a convincing victory. But his Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota ran out of fuel with six laps to go and Jones was forced to pit road, where to add insult to injury he was penalized for speeding. That handed the lead to Reddick, who was in a back-up truck after crashing his primary mount in a qualifying accident with Brad Keselowski Racing teammate Austin Theriault. But Reddick too ran out of fuel and Crafton got around Daniel Suarez, who also had his tank run dry, for position before driving to the checkered flag.
May 8, 2010 – Denny Hamlin followed his Xfinity (Nationwide) Series win the night prior with his third NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Hamlin led 104 laps en route to his first Cup victory at the 1.366-mile track and the 11th of his career. The weekend sweep was the first at Darlington since Mark Martin accomplished the feat in 1993. Jeff Gordon led the most laps, with 110, but lost track position when he missed pit road on his last stop. He came down pit road on the following lap, but the caution flew and he was forced to drive through to stay on the lead lap. The move put Gordon 13th on the last restart, but he was able to rally back to finish fourth.
May 8, 2009 – Matt Kenseth followed capturing the Southern 500 pole earlier in the day with a victory in the NASCAR Xfinity (Nationwide) Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway. Kenseth took advantage of Kyle Busch’s flat right-rear tire with only two laps to go and went on to score his first series win of the year. Busch was leading when Joe Nemechek crashed on the backstretch to set up a green-white-checkered finish and a shootout to the finish line. But Busch rolled down pit road with the flat before the final dash could take place to end his quest for a second-straight series win. On the final restart, Kenseth pulled away from the field and had his win sealed when Morgan Shepherd spun to bring out the night’s final caution to officially end the race.
May 8, 2004 – Martin Truex Jr. won the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series Charter Pipeline 250 at Gateway International Raceway. Truex, who started from the pole, led 122 of the 200 laps en route to his third career win. Ron Hornaday Jr. finished second.
May 8, 1999 – Greg Biffle scored his first NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series win in the Memphis 200 at Memphis Motorsports Park. Biffle led 74 laps from the pole, including the final 66 to take the checkered flag by .241 seconds over Kevin Harvick.
May 8, 1999– Elton Sawyer captured his second and final NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series win in the Busch 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Sawyer got by Buckshot Jones with 23 laps to go and led the rest of the way. He had to hold off Jeff Green, who led a race-high 152 laps, on a restart with two laps to go.
May 8, 1993 – Ward Burton won the NASCAR Xfinity (Busch) Series Miller Genuine Draft 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Burton dominated the race, leading 227 of 300 laps en route to his third of four career series wins. He took the checkered flag over Bobby Labonte by 3.4 seconds. It also marked his second consecutive win of the season.
Other winners on this date: 1982 – Darrell Waltrip (Nashville); 1982 – Jack Ingram (Langley Field Speedway); 1976 – Cale Yarborough (Nashville); 1965 – Junior Johnson (Darlington); 1955 Tim Flock (Arizona State Fairgrounds)
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