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2009 Auto Club 500

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2009 Auto Club 500
Race details
Race 2 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2009 Auto Club 500 program cover
2009 Auto Club 500 program cover
Date February 22, 2009 (2009-February-22)
Official name Auto Club 500
Location Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, California
Course Permanent racing facility
2.0 mi (3.23 km)
Distance 250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures up to 66.2 °F (19.0 °C); wind speeds up to 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)[1]
Average speed 135.839 miles per hour (218.612 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Red Bull Racing Team
Time 39.250
Most laps led
Driver Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing
Laps 84
Winner
No. 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2009 Auto Club 500 was the second race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. the 500 miles (800 km) race occurred on February 22, 2009, at the 2 miles (3.2 km) Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, 60 miles (97 km) from Los Angeles and was one of the cleanest races in the history of the track with only one caution for an on track incident out of all 250 laps. Fox broadcast the race beginning at 5 pm US EST with radio coverage on MRN (terrestrial) and Sirius XM Radio (satellite) starting at 5:15 pm US EST. The race started at 3 pm local time, and ran into prime time, counterprogramming against the Academy Awards.

Entry list

[edit]
Car[2] Driver Hometown Make Sponsor Team Crew Chief
00 David Reutimann Zephyrhills, FL Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine Michael Waltrip
1 Martin Truex Jr. Mayetta, NJ Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Teresa Earnhardt
2 Kurt Busch Las Vegas, NV Dodge Miller Lite Walter Czarnecki
5 Mark Martin Batesville, AR Chevrolet Carquest / Kellogg's Mary Hendrick
6 David Ragan Unadilla, GA Ford UPS Mike Dee
07 Casey Mears Bakersfield, CA Chevrolet Jack Daniel's Richard Childress
7 Robby Gordon Bellflower, CA Toyota Jim Beam Robby Gordon
8 Aric Almirola Tampa, FL Chevrolet Guitar Hero Chip Ganassi
09 Sterling Marlin Columbia, TN Dodge Phoenix Racing James Finch
9 Kasey Kahne Enumclaw, WA Dodge Budweiser George Gillett Jr
11 Denny Hamlin Chesterfield, VA Toyota FedEx Freight J D Gibbs
12 David Stremme South Bend, IN Dodge Penske Racing Roger Penske
14 Tony Stewart Rushville, IN Chevrolet Old Spice / Office Depot Margaret Haas
16 Greg Biffle Vancouver, WA Ford 3M Jack Roush
17 Matt Kenseth Cambridge, WI Ford Carhartt John Henry
18 Kyle Busch Las Vegas, NV Toyota Interstate Batteries Joe Gibbs
19 Elliott Sadler Emporia, VA Dodge Best Buy George Gillett Jr
20 Joey Logano Middleton, CT Toyota The Home Depot Joe Gibbs
24 Jeff Gordon Vallejo, CA Chevrolet DuPont Rick Hendrick
26 Jamie McMurray Joplin, MO Ford Crown Royal Geoff Smith
28 Travis Kvapil Janesville, WI Ford Farmers Insurance Jeff Moorad
29 Kevin Harvick Bakersfield, CA Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil Richard Childress
31 Jeff Burton South Boston, VA Chevrolet Caterpillar Richard Childress
33 Clint Bowyer Emporia, KS Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Bobby Ginn III
34 John Andretti Bethlehem, PA Chevrolet WindowWorld.com Teresa Earnhardt
36 Scott Riggs Bahama, NC Toyota Red Bank Outfitters Tommy Baldwin
37 Tony Raines LaPorte, IN Dodge Long John Silver's Brad Jenkins
39 Ryan Newman South Bend, IN Chevrolet Haas Automation Tony Stewart
41 Jeremy Mayfield Owensboro, KY Toyota All Sport Jeremy Mayfield
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Bogota, Colombia Chevrolet Target Teresa Earnhardt
43 Reed Sorenson Peachtree City, GA Dodge Charter Comm. Richard Petty
44 A.J. Allmendinger Los Gatos, CA Dodge Charter Comm. George Gillett Jr
47 Marcos Ambrose Launceston, Tasmania Toyota Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox Rob Kauffman
48 Jimmie Johnson El Cajon, CA Chevrolet Lowe's / Kobalt Tools Jeff Gordon
51 David Starr Houston, TX Dodge Allegro Marinade David Bean
55 Michael Waltrip Owensboro, KY Toyota NAPA Michael Waltrip
64 Todd Bodine Chemung, NY Toyota Gunselman Motorsports Larry Gunselman
66 Dave Blaney Hartford, OH Toyota Prism Motorsports Phil Parsons
71 David Gilliland Riverside, CA Chevrolet TRG Motorsports Kevin Buckler
73 Mike Garvey McDonough, GA Dodge Quality Concrete / Jani-King Barry Haefele
77 Sam Hornish Jr. Defiance, OH Dodge Auto Club Bill Davis
82 Scott Speed Manteca, CA Toyota Red Bull Dietrich Mateschitz
83 Brian Vickers Thomasville, NC Toyota Red Bull Dietrich Mateschitz
87 Joe Nemechek Lakeland, FL Toyota NEMCO Motorsports Andrea Nemechek
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kannapolis, NC Chevrolet Amp Energy / National Guard Rick Hendrick
96 Bobby Labonte Corpus Christi, TX Ford Ask.com Jeffrey Moorad
98 Paul Menard Eau Claire, WI Ford Quaker State / Menards Max Jones
99 Carl Edwards Columbia, MO Ford Aflac Jack Roush

Qualifying

[edit]
Pos.[3][4] Car # Driver Sponsor Make Avg. Speed Time Behind
1 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 183.439 39.250 0.000
2 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 183.164 39.309 00.059
3 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 182.653 39.419 00.169
4 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 182.556 39.440 00.190
5 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 182.302 39.495 00.245
6 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 182.209 39.515 00.265
7 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 182.089 39.541 00.291
8 44 A.J. Allmendinger Charter Communications Dodge 182.048 39.550 00.300
9 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 181.965 39.568 00.318
10 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 181.919 39.578 00.328
11 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet 181.901 39.582 00.332
12 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Toyota 181.777 39.609 00.359
13 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 181.726 39.620 00.370
14 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox Toyota 181.653 39.636 00.386
15 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 181.616 39.644 00.394
16 96 Bobby Labonte Ask.com Ford 181.461 39.678 00.428
17 43 Reed Sorenson Charter Communications Dodge 181.429 39.685 00.435
18 5 Mark Martin Carquest, Kellogg's Chevrolet 181.264 39.721 00.471
19 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet 181.210 39.733 00.483
20 19 Elliott Sadler Best Buy Dodge 181.173 39.741 00.491
21 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet 181.137 39.749 00.499
22 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 181.132 39.750 00.500
23 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 180.836 39.815 00.565
24 17 Matt Kenseth Carhartt Ford 180.818 39.819 00.569
25 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 180.773 39.829 00.579
26 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Auto Club Dodge 180.746 39.835 00.585
27 98 Paul Menard Quaker State / Menards Ford 180.610 39.865 00.615
28 39 Ryan Newman Haas Automation Chevrolet 180.397 39.912 00.662
29 07 Casey Mears Jack Daniel's Chevrolet 180.374 39.917 00.667
30 66 Dave Blaney Prism Motorsports Toyota 180.320 39.929 00.679
31 8 Aric Almirola Guitar Hero Chevrolet 180.248 39.945 00.695
32 71 David Gilliland TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 180.234 39.948 00.698
33 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Chevrolet 180.176 39.961 00.711
34 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota 180.059 39.987 00.737
35 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Amp Energy / National Guard Chevrolet 179.991 40.002 00.752
36 36 Scott Riggs Red Bank Outfitters Toyota 179.721 40.062 00.812
37 28 Travis Kvapil Farmers Insurance Ford 179.632 40.082 00.832
38 12 David Stremme Penske Racing Dodge 179.390 40.136 00.886
39 41 Jeremy Mayfield All Sport Toyota 179.301 40.156 00.906
40 34 John Andretti WindowWorld.com Chevrolet 179.287 40.159 00.909
41 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 179.109 40.199 00.949
42 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 0.000 00.000 0.000
43 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 177.997 40.450 01.200
Failed to qualify
44 64 Todd Bodine Gunselman Motorsports Toyota 177.454 40.574
45 37 Tony Raines Long John Silver's Dodge 177.405 40.585
46 51 David Starr Allegro Marinade Dodge 177.122 40.650
47 73 Mike Garvey Jani-King / Quality Concrete Dodge 175.897 40.933
48 09 Sterling Marlin Phoenix Racing Dodge 175.328 41.066

Race recap

[edit]

Capitol Records Nashville recording artists Little Big Town performed the National Anthem and actor Hugh Laurie gave the command to start engines.

Brian Vickers (the polesitter), Michael Waltrip (42nd), David Reutimann (7th); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (35th), and Reed Sorenson (17th) started from the back due to changes in the engine and the transmissions.

Actress Angie Harmon[5] waved the green flag as Jamie McMurray started in first place, but was passed by Jimmie Johnson on the backstretch for the lead. The first caution came out on lap 5; a light rain shower over turn 4. Ryan Newman's transponder was malfunctioning and had to go to pit road for repair. After leaving the pits. the left endplate of the rear spoiler on Newman's car fell off. Newman, again, came down pit road for repairs. Vickers reported his car's carburetor had stopped working a few times under caution. On lap 17, Earnhardt Jr.; Joey Logano, Dave Blaney and others stopped for fuel. The field restarted on lap 23 with Jimmie Johnson in the lead, followed by McMurray, Jeff Gordon and brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch.

Since the restart, in 13 laps, defending Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth moved up to 11th position from 20th position; David Ragan ran in 7th from the 19th position. Joe Nemechek made his way to pit road where his crew then pushed the car to the garage on lap 37. The second caution came out on lap 41 due to light rain. Drivers start their first round of pit stops; Ku. Busch and Jimmie Johnson switched positions for first and second, Ragan gained five positions, and teammate Kenseth gained 7 positions on pit road. Sorenson was too fast entering and exiting pit road, served a drive thru penalty. Restart on lap 47.

Johnson edged ahead of Ku. Busch to the start-finish line for the lead after the restart. Blaney entered pit road with no power on lap 50. Lap 67, Johnson continued to lead laps; Scott Riggs headed to the garage, becoming the third driver to do so after Blaney and Nemechek; he returned to the track, 8 laps down, in 41st. Gordon led his first lap in the race on lap 78. Drivers Casey Mears, Jeff Burton, John Andretti, Logano, Scott Speed, and Jeremy Mayfield went a lap down when Gordon took the lead. Lap 85, second round of pitstops. Teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards each led a lap during the round of pitstops.

On lap 119, drivers began their third round of pitstops. Gordon remained the leader until Biffle's crew completed the pit stop quicker than Gordon's crew during the pitstop round; no pit road penalties were served. Biffle led an additional 13 laps until the yellow flag waved on lap 140 because of light rain; Michael Waltrip gets the 'lucky dog' free pass. Drivers entered pit road with Biffle in the lead. Kenseth gained three positions for the lead (4th to 1st), Biffle lost a position (1st to 2nd), Johnson lost two positions (4th to 6th), and Harvick gained two positions (12th to 10th) after completing their stops. Montoya stayed on the track and led a lap before he entered pit road.

The field restarted with Kenseth in the lead, Biffle in 2nd, Gordon in third, Ku. Busch in 4th, and Johnson in 5th on lap 151. Teammates Johnson and Gordon battled for 2nd as Kenseth pulled away and led laps. David Ragan, who stood in 19th and was a lap down, reported an overheating engine on lap 161. Speed entered pit road reporting with no power before the fourth caution on lap 169, again due to rain. Vickers, in 18th place, got the lucky dog free pass. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Johnson, Martin, Earnhardt Jr. reported problems on the same lap. In the fourth round of pitstops, Johnson gained 3 positions (5th to 2nd), Gordon lost a position (2nd to 3rd), Biffle lost three positions (6th to 9th), Hamlin gained one position (8th to 7th), Edwards lost three positions (7th to 10th). Robby Gordon was too fast exiting pit road; Robby Gordon was served a drive through penalty. Stewart stayed out as did Montoya, Martin, Stremme, and Reutimann. After leading three laps, Stewart and others entered the pits handling over the lead to Mark Martin before Martin entered pit road.

The field restarted with Kenseth, Johnson, Gordon, and brothers Kurt and Kyle Busch in the top five on lap 176. Earnhardt Jr. restarted in 17th after engine repairs. Mark Martin's engine blew out of turn 2 after the restart. Martin coasted the car to pit road; no caution. Running in 10th, Jaime McMurray reported concerns on his brakes on lap 189. Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth battled for the lead with 55 laps to go; Gordon retook the lead, leading lap 195. Kenseth, then, fell back to third behind teammate Greg Biffle. Earnhardt Jr. drove his car to the garage, like teammate Martin, because of engine problems on lap 206.

Harvick, running in 12th, lost the engine, hit and slid across the outside wall between turn one and two on lap 207, ending a streak of 81 races running at the finish. It was also the first time Harvick got a DNF with Shell- Pennzoil sponsorship. Fifth caution of the race; Kasey Kahne got the 'lucky dog' pass. During the pitstop round, Kenseth moved up two positions (3rd to 1st), Gordon lost a position (1st to 2nd), Hamlin and Kurt Busch gained two spots, Steward and Vickers moved up three spots, Biffle lost nine positions, and McMurray lost three positions. Biffle lost nine spots because he ran over the air hose. David Stremme stayed out and led three laps. Kenseth, Gordon, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, and Kurt Busch, in the top five, restart the field on lap 215. The drivers in the top five positions remained unchanged until lap 242 when Hamlin and Kurt Busch switched positions. Aric Almirola, a lap down, slowed on the backstretch; no caution. Kenseth held off a hard-charging Gordon for his 18th win.

Kenseth was the second driver to win the first two races in a season (Gordon in 1997) and the fourth driver to win both the Daytona 500 and the following race (Cale Yarborough in 1977, Richard Petty in 1973). Gordon, Ky. Busch, Biffle, and Ku. Busch made up the Top 5. Vickers, after starting from the back, finished in 10th place. Rookie Logano was in 26th place, a lap down. Earnhardt Jr., because of engine problems, was in 39th, 45 laps down, finishing ahead of teammate Martin who also had engine problems.

Race results

[edit]
Fin[6][7] St # Driver Sponsor Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 24 17 Matt Kenseth Carhartt Ford 250 84 running 195 346615
2 6 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevy 250 64 running 175 240926
3 10 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 250 0 running 165 211648
4 5 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 250 16 running 165 161200
5 4 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 250 2 running 160 133900
6 23 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Freight Toyota 250 0 running 150 129025
7 25 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 250 1 running 151 155181
8 11 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice, Office Depot Chevy 250 3 running 147 139748
9 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's, Kobalt Tools Chevy 250 74 running 143 160526
10 1 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 250 0 running 134 141473
11 15 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevy 250 1 running 135 139323
12 22 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 250 0 running 127 139398
13 38 12 David Stremme Penske Racing Dodge 250 3 running 129 131690
14 7 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 250 0 running 121 123223
15 42 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 250 0 running 118 106250
16 3 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 250 0 running 115 104550
17 13 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 249 0 running 112 103400
18 37 28 Travis Kvapil Farmers Insurance Ford 249 0 running 109 94700
19 21 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios, Hamburger Helper Chevy 249 0 running 106 94000
20 16 96 Bobby Labonte Ask.com Ford 249 0 running 103 122679
21 17 43 Reed Sorenson Charter Communications Dodge 249 0 running 100 129951
22 14 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie, Kingsford, Clorox Toyota 249 0 running 97 106473
23 26 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Auto Club Dodge 249 0 running 94 109960
24 29 07 Casey Mears Jack Daniel's Chevy 249 0 running 91 106325
25 20 19 Elliott Sadler Best Buy Dodge 249 0 running 88 98350
26 34 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 249 0 running 85 135001
27 33 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats Chevy 249 0 running 82 123540
28 28 39 Ryan Newman Haas Automation Chevy 248 0 running 79 115579
29 8 44 A.J. Allmendinger Charter Communications Dodge 248 0 running 76 87250
30 12 7 Robby Gordon Jim Beam Toyota 248 0 running 73 104760
31 40 34 John Andretti WindowWorld.com Chevy 248 1 running 75 92325
32 41 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevy 247 0 running 67 130931
33 32 71 David Gilliland TRG Motorsports Chevy 246 0 running 64 84850
34 39 41 Jeremy Mayfield All Sport Toyota 245 0 running 61 83700
35 31 8 Aric Almirola Guitar Hero Chevy 242 0 engine 58 91475
36 36 36 Scott Riggs Red Bank Outfitters Toyota 240 0 running 55 83325
37 27 98 Paul Menard Quaker State, Menards Ford 221 0 running 52 113506
38 19 29 Kevin Harvick Shell, Pennzoil Chevy 207 0 crash 49 120203
39 35 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy, National Guard Chevy 205 0 engine 46 100730
40 18 5 Mark Martin Carquest, Kellogg's Chevy 179 1 engine 48 90575
41 9 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 172 0 engine 40 94498
42 30 66 Dave Blaney Prism Motorsports Toyota 50 0 fuel pump 37 82335
43 43 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 36 0 fuel pump 34 82690
Failed to qualify
44 64 Todd Bodine Gunselman Motorsports Toyota
45 37 Tony Raines Long John Silver's Dodge
46 51 David Starr Allegro Marinade Dodge
47 73 Mike Garvey Jani-King / Quality Concrete Dodge
48 09 Sterling Marlin Phoenix Racing Dodge

Point standings after the race

[edit]

Jeff Gordon jumped 10 positions in the standings from 12th to 2nd. Greg Biffle moved from 20th to 5th . Carl Edwards was in 9th from 18th. Kyle Busch moved up 20 positions from 38th to 18th. Jimmie Johnson was in 19th from 31st. Brian Vickers moved up 14 spots from 40th. Travis Kvapil, was in 30th from 42nd.

Elliott Sadler dropped 6 spots from 5th. A.J. Allmendinger lost 10 positions from 3rd. Kevin Harvick dropped from 2nd to 16th. Martin Truex Jr. dropped 7 positions to 17th. Mark Martin lost 12 spots from 15th to 27th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost 9 spots from the 26th place in the point standings.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Weather information for the 2009 Auto Club 500".
  2. ^ "2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 500 Entry List - Auto Club Speedway". frcs.pro. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  3. ^ "2009 Auto Club 500 Qualifying Results and Race Lineup - Auto Club Speedway". frcs.pro. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  4. ^ "Auto Club 500 - qualifying times". Crash. 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  5. ^ "ACTRESS ANGIE HARMON NAMED HONORARY STARTER FOR THE AUTO CLUB 500". February 20, 2009.
  6. ^ "2009 Auto Club 500". The Third Turn.
  7. ^ "Race Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 2021-06-16.


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2009 Daytona 500
Sprint Cup Series
2009 season
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