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2009 Dickies 500

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2009 Dickies 500
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 34 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Simple line diagram of Texas Motor Speedway track layout
Simple line diagram of Texas Motor Speedway track layout
Date November 8, 2009 (2009-11-08)
Location Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Weather Temperatures up to 71.6 °F (22.0 °C); wind speeds up to 8.90 miles per hour (14.32 km/h)[4]
Average speed 147.137 miles per hour (236.794 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Hendrick Motorsports
Time 28.255
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 232
Winner
No. 2 Kurt Busch Penske Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree
Nielsen Ratings 3.7/7 (Final)
3.2/6 (Overnight)
(5.827 million)[5]

The 2009 Dickies 500 was a stock car racing competition that took place on November 8, 2009. Held at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, the 334-lap race was the thirty-fourth in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as well as the eighth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ended the season. Kurt Busch of the Penske Racing team won the race; Denny Hamlin finished second and Matt Kenseth came in third.

Jeff Gordon won the pole position, although he was almost immediately passed by Kasey Kahne at the start of the race. Many Chase for the Sprint Cup participants, including Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards encountered problems during the race. Kyle Busch was leading the race with three laps remaining but ran out of fuel, giving the lead, and the win, to Kurt Busch. There were a total of eight cautions during the race and thirteen lead changes among four different drivers during the race.

The race was Kurt Busch's second win of the 2009 season, his first at the Texas Motor Speedway, and the twentieth of his career. The result advanced Busch to fourth in the Drivers' Championship, one-hundred and seventy one points behind the leader Johnson and seven ahead of Tony Stewart. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, fifty-five ahead of Toyota, eighty-nine ahead of Ford, and ninety-six in front of Dodge. 167,000 people attended the race, while 5.82 million watched it on television.

Report

Background

The track, Texas Motor Speedway, is one of ten intermediate tracks to hold NASCAR races, the others being Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.[6] The standard track at Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[7] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a five degree banking.[7] The racetrack has seats for 191,122 spectators.[7]

One team chose to replace their regular driver with a substitute. Penske Championship Racing driver David Stremme was replaced by Brad Keselowski for the final three races of the 2009 season, to gain experience before driving full-time with the team the following season.[8]

Before the race, Jimmie Johnson led the Drivers' Championship, with 6,248 points, and Mark Martin stood in second with 6,064. Jeff Gordon was third in the Drivers' Championship with 6,056, forty-seven ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and eighty-seven in front of Tony Stewart. Kurt Busch with 5,936 was twenty-eight points ahead of Greg Biffle, as Ryan Newman with 5,846 points, was twelve points ahead of Kasey Kahne, and thirty-five in front of Carl Edwards. Denny Hamlin and Brian Vickers was eleventh and twelfth with 5,800 and 5,692 points.[9] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet were leading with 244 points, sixty-two points ahead of their rivals Toyota. Ford with 145 points, were nine points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[10] Edwards was the race's defending champion.[11]

Practice and qualifying

Jeff Gordon won pole position with the fastest time, 28.255.

Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, while the second session lasted 45 minutes. The third and final session lasted 60 minutes.[2] In the first practice session, Clint Bowyer was fastest, placing ahead of Biffle in second, and Johnson in third. Gordon was fourth fastest, and Edwards placed fifth. Kurt Busch, David Ragan, Jeff Burton, Keselowski and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session.[12] During the session, Burton collided with the outside wall, forcing him to use his back-up car.[13]

Forty-seven drivers attempted to qualify;[14] due to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, only forty-three could race. Gordon clinched his second pole position of the season, with a time of 28.255. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Kahne. Kurt Busch qualified third, Stewart took fourth, and Kyle Busch started fifth. Edwards qualified sixth, while Martin set the seventh fastest time. Biffle qualified eighth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ninth and Clint Bowyer tenth. The four drivers that failed to qualify were Tony Raines, Dave Blaney, Max Papis and Mike Bliss.[15] Once qualifying concluded Gordon said, "Our efforts here have improved because we've really focused on it, They started with qualifying, and luckily last time they showed up in the race. ... So we certainly hope we can take this qualifying effort and create those types of results as well."[16]

On Saturday morning, David Reutimann was fastest in the second practice session, ahead of Stewart in second, and Montoya in third. Kyle Busch was fourth quickest, and Kurt Busch took fifth. Kahne managed sixth. Matt Kenseth, Hamlin, Martin and Johnson followed in the top ten. Of the other drivers in the Chase, Gordon set the eleventh fastest time, while Biffle was placed thirteenth.[17] Later that day, Johnson paced the final practice session, with Edwards in second, and Hamlin in third. Biffle was fourth quickest, and Bill Elliott took fifth. Ragan managed sixth. Robby Gordon was seventh fastest, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. eighth, Reutimann ninth, and Martin Truex, Jr. tenth. Other Chase drivers included Montoya in fourteenth and Newman in sixteenth.[18]

Race

The race, the thirty-fourth of a total of thirty-six in the 2009 season, began at 3:15 p.m. EST and was televised live in the United States on ABC.[1] Dr. Roger Marsh began pre-race ceremonies by giving the invocation. The Texas Christian University Marching Band performed the national anthem, and rock band ZZ Top gave the command for drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, two drivers moved to the back of the grid due to unapproved changes: Bill Elliott because of an transmission change, and John Andretti because of an engine change.[19]

Jeff Gordon retained his pole position lead into the first corner. On lap 3, Reutimann made contact with Johnson, forcing him to collide with the wall and damage his car's suspension. The first caution of the race was subsequently given. None of the leaders elected to make pit stops during the caution, although Johnson drove to his garage to change his front and rear suspension. Jeff Gordon maintained his lead on the lap 8 restart. Four laps later, Kurt Busch passed Jeff Gordon for the lead position. After starting twenty-ninth, Robby Gordon had moved up thirteen positions to sixteenth by lap 34. One lap later, Johnson's car was fitted with a new driveshaft.[19]

By lap 38, Earnhardt, Jr. had moved into fourth. Six laps later, Kurt Busch was leading by more than three seconds from Kyle Busch. By the 48th lap, Reutimann, who started thirteenth, had moved into the third position. Green flag pit stops began on lap 52, when Elliott Sadler became the first driver to pit. Stewart became the new leader after Kurt Busch came into the pits. Stewart made his pit stop on lap 56, handing the lead to Michael Waltrip. After the leaders made their pit stops, Kyle Busch claimed the lead on lap 58. Six laps later, Kyle Busch had a 2.5 second lead over Kurt Busch. On lap 70, Jeff Gordon fell to eleventh position due to a slow pit stop. Two laps later, Marcos Ambrose, who started thirty-fifth, had moved up twenty-nine positions to sixth.[19]

By the 84th lap, Kyle Busch's lead was half a second from Kurt Busch. Two laps later, Sam Hornish, Jr. collided with the wall and suffered three flat tires, prompting the second caution. During the caution, most of the leaders made pit stops. Kyle Busch remained the leader after the pit stops and maintained it at the lap 91 restart. On the same lap, Montoya moved into ninth, as Stewart passed Reutimann for third. Two laps later, Jeff Gordon had moved up into ninth. By lap 102, Martin moved into the thirteenth position. Nine laps later, Ambrose had moved into third. On lap 113, Johnson rejoined the track, albeit without his car's rear bumper. By lap 116, Kyle Busch had built up a one and a half second lead over Kurt Busch. Two laps later, Johnson drove to pit road to resolve tire rubbing problems.[19]

By lap 122, Martin moved into the top ten positions, as Gordon fell down to fourteenth four laps later. On lap 134, Johnson moved back on track, however he returned to pit road eight laps later as the green flag pit stop period began. Hamlin gained the lead on lap 146. After pit stops, Kyle Busch reclaimed the first position. On the 165th lap, Jeff Gordon reported seeing debris at turn one, which caused the third caution. Some of the leaders chose to make pit stops during the caution as race officials cleaned the debris. Kyle Busch maintained his lead at the restart, ahead of Kurt Busch and Earnhardt, Jr.[19]

Kurt Busch won the race after Kyle Busch pitted for fuel with three laps remaining.

On lap 174, the fourth caution was given as Montoya collided with the wall, damaging his car. Edwards, who was hit by Montoya, had sustained a similar amount of damage to his car. Keselowski was caught up in the crash, and Jeff Gordon was forced to spin sideways. None of the leaders made pit stops during the caution. The race restarted on lap 181 with Kyle Busch leading, ahead of Kurt Busch, and Reutimann. Five laps later, Kyle Busch had built up a 1.4 second lead. On lap 206, Reed Sorenson damaged his car, after colliding with the wall, which caused the fifth and final caution. Most of the leaders made pit stops during the caution. Kyle Busch led on the restart on lap 212. Seven laps later, Kahne moved into ninth position. On lap 221, Earnhardt, Jr. dropped two positions to seventh. Eight laps later, Martin moved into the fifth position. On lap 238, Martin passed Stewart to claim fourth.[19]

By the 249th lap, Kyle Busch maintained a 1.4 second lead over Kurt Busch. Three laps later, Keselowski drove out of his garage to rejoin the race. Green flag pit stops began on lap 265; Kyle Busch maintained the lead at the end of the cycle, ahead of Reutimann and Kenseth. On the 290th lap, Kurt Busch's crew reported to him that he was running two laps short of fuel. Six laps later, Kyle Busch started to slow in the corners to conserve fuel. On the 298th lap, Martin dropped one position to run fifth. By the 302nd lap, overall speeds had dropped due to drivers starting to conserve fuel. Green flag pit stops began on lap 311, as Truex, Jr. pitted for fuel. Kyle Busch elected not to make a pit stop and increased his lead to four seconds by lap 314. Eight laps later, Kyle Busch was told by his team to reduce his speed. On lap 330, Kyle Busch drove to pit road, having run out of fuel, handing the lead to Kurt Busch. One lap later, Ambrose ran out of fuel, as Kurt Busch held the lead to win his second race of the 2009 season. Hamlin finished second, ahead of Kenseth in third, Martin in fourth, and Harvick in fifth.[19][20]

Post-race

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"This is the first time Kyle and I raced each other hard. It’s bittersweet. I was rooting for him, but at the same time, this is for us."

Kurt Busch, speaking after the race.[21]

Kurt Busch appeared in victory lane to celebrate his second win of the season, and his first at the Texas Motor Speedway, in front of 167,000 who attended the race.[3] Busch also earned $440,575 in race winnings.[20] Afterward, he said, "I knew what we had for fuel mileage -- I was confident in our guys' numbers. They gave me what I needed to win [Sunday]. We were fast, we were playing cat-and-mouse with Kyle on restarts -- you know, it's the first true time that Kyle and I have raced each other hard for a victory like this."[22]

Hamlin, who finished second, said "Hats off to Mike (Ford, crew chief) and this whole FedEx Office Camry team. We have a really good car, we just had to learn to stay in the pits. We just lost too many spots on pit road that we couldn't overcome that track position. I was trying to make something happen and got in the wall which ended up killing our car. The good part about that is I was able to save fuel because there was no pressure from behind. I was able to save fuel and our Camry got the best fuel mileage it got all day."[23] Kyle Busch's crew chief Dave Rogers said of his drivers' performance, "I think he handled it well -- it's tough. You lead all these laps and he could have gone for the clean sweep this weekend -- win all three in a row. He deserved to win all three in a row and to get beat -- it's tough.", he continued, "We're disappointed -- this Toyota deserved to be in Victory Lane. I thought we had one of the best cars throughout the entire race, but it just didn't work out that way. We were a little short on fuel."[24]

Two days after the race, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing were given penalties for Martin Truex, Jr.'s car. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's penalty, for actions "detrimental to stock car racing", race equipment that did not conform to NASCAR rules, and for the ride height of Truex, Jr.'s car being too low, included a fine of $50,000 for crew chief Kevin Manion, and the loss of 50 owner and driver points for Teresa Earnhardt and Truex, Jr. Manion was also placed on probation until December 31, 2009.[25]

The race result left Johnson leading the Drivers' Championship with 6,297 points. Martin stood in second, seventy-three points behind Johnson, and thirty-nine ahead of Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch who finished first, moved into fourth position with 6,126 points. Stewart was fifth, as Montoya, Biffle, Hamlin, Newman, and Kahne followed in the top ten positions. The final two positions available in the Chase for the Sprint Cup was occupied with Edwards in eleventh and Vickers in twelfth.[26] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet maintained their lead with 247 points. Toyota remained second with 192 points. Ford followed with 158 points, seven ahead of Dodge in fourth.[10] 5.82 million people watched the race on television.[5]

Results

Qualifying

Qualifying results
Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.255 191.117
2 9 Kasey Kahne Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 28.276 190.975
3 2 Kurt Busch Penske Championship Racing Dodge 28.281 190.941
4 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.328 190.624
5 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.343 190.523
6 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.399 190.148
7 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.408 190.087
8 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.413 190.054
9 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.427 189.960
10 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.428 189.954
11 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. Team Penske Dodge 28.436 189.900
12 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.442 189.860
13 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.448 189.820
14 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.451 189.800
15 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 28.452 189.793
16 44 A.J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 28.466 189.700
17 6 David Ragan Furniture Row Racing Ford 28.466 189.700
18 43 Reed Sorenson Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 28.482 189.593
19 47 Marcos Ambrose JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 28.483 189.587
20 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.510 189.407
21 202 David Gilliland Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.579 188.950
22 26 Jamie McMurray Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.589 188.884
23 170 Mike Skinner TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 28.595 188.844
24 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.617 188.699
25 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.619 188.686
26 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.625 188.646
27 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.634 188.587
28 171 Bobby Labonte TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 28.670 188.350
29 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota 28.675 188.317
30 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.677 188.304
31 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 28.721 188.016
32 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 28.725 187.990
33 19 Elliott Sadler Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 28.732 187.944
34 187 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 28.751 187.820
35 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Championship Racing Dodge 28.754 187.800
36 07 Casey Mears Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.755 187.793
37 36 Michael McDowell Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota 28.804 187.474
38 96 Erik Darnell Hall of Fame Racing Ford 28.849 187.182
39 98 Paul Menard Robert Yates Racing Ford 28.903 186.832
40 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.964 186.438
41 34 John Andretti Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 29.003 186.188
42 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.385 183.767
43 21 Bill Elliott Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Champion's Provisional
Failed to qualify
44 37 Tony Raines Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 28.929 186.664
45 66 Dave Blaney Prism Motorsports Toyota 29.008 186.156
46 113 Max Papis Germain Racing Toyota 29.057 185.842
47 09 Mike Bliss Phoenix Racing Dodge 29.413 183.592
Source:[15]

Race

Race results
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Points
1 3 2 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 334 190
2 25 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 334 175
3 30 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 334 165
4 7 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 160
5 24 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 334 155
6 4 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 334 150
7 10 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 333 146
8 8 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 333 142
9 42 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 333 138
10 16 44 A.J. Allmedinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 333 134
11 5 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 333 140
12 26 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 333 127
13 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 333 129
14 27 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 333 121
15 19 47 Marcos Ambrose JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 333 118
16 13 00 David Reuitmann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 333 115
17 17 6 David Ragan Furniture Row Racing Ford 332 112
18 31 12 Scott Speed Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 332 109
19 14 21 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 332 106
20 22 26 Jamie McMurray Roush Fenway Racing Ford 332 103
21 36 07 Casey Mears Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 332 100
22 33 19 Elliott Sadler Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 332 97
23 40 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 331 94
24 41 34 John Andretti Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 331 91
25 9 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 331 88
26 15 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 331 85
27 29 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota 331 82
28 21 202 David Gilliland Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 331 79
29 39 98 Paul Menard Robert Yates Racing Ford 331 76
30 38 96 Erik Darnell Hall of Fame Racing Ford 331 73
31 28 171 Bobby Labonte TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 331 70
32 32 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 330 67
33 2 9 Kasey Kahne Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 330 64
34 43 21 Bill Elliott Wood Brothers Racing Ford 311 61
35 35 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Championship Racing Dodge 262 58
36 18 43 Reed Soresnon Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 248 55
37 20 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 231 52
38 12 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 205 49
39 6 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 174 46
40 11 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. Team Penske Dodge 88 43
41 37 36 Michael McDowell Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota 20 40
42 34 187 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 13 37
43 23 170 Mike Skinner TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 6 34
Source:[3][20]

Standings after the race

References

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  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.


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