2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup

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The 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup was the ten-race playoff that determined the champion of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, contested among the top twelve drivers following the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 on September 12 at Richmond International Raceway. The entire chase was broadcast on ABC in the USA and TSN 2 in Canada.

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 61st season of professional stock car racing in the United States, the 38th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup season of the 21st century's first decade, the 2000s. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races with the regular season beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final ten races were known as 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Rick Hendrick won the Owners' Championship, while Jimmie Johnson won the Drivers' Championship with a fifth place finish at the final race of the season. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 248 points.

2009 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 race 26 of 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup series

The 2009 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 was the 26th race in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and served as the last race in the "regular season" before the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. The 400-lap, 300-mile (480 km) race was held on Saturday night, September 12, 2009 at the 0.75-mile (1.21 km) Richmond International Raceway in Henrico County, Virginia outside the state capital city, and was telecast on ABC with radio being handled by MRN Radio and Sirius XM Radio (satellite). After this race, the top twelve drivers in the points standings were determined to enter the ten-race playoff to decide the 2009 Sprint Cup Champion, and their points were reset to 5,000 points with a ten-point bonus for each win they compile during the first 26 events this year. Denny Hamlin won the race, Brian Vickers gets the last spot, leaving Kyle Busch who won four times out, along with Matt Kenseth. It is the first time he has failed to make the cut.

ESPN on ABC is the brand used for sports event and documentary programming televised on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. Officially, the broadcast network retains its own sports division; however, for all practical purposes, ABC's sports division has been merged into ESPN Inc., the parent subsidiary of cable sports network ESPN that is majority owned by ABC's corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company, in partnership with the Hearst Communications.

Contents

Format

For the second year, the twelve drivers who qualified for the Chase had their point totals reset to 5,000 points, with a ten-point bonus for each race they won prior to the Chase. The driver who earns the most points at the end of the Chase will be declared the 2009 series champion.

Changes

This year's changes were where the ten races will be. Atlanta Motor Speedway's fall date, the Pep Boys Auto 500, was switched to the Labor Day weekend, and Auto Club Speedway, which hosts the Pepsi 500, took the space in the race schedule. Talladega Superspeedway's date, the AMP Energy 500 was in return, moved to Atlanta's date with Auto Club moving into Talladega's original position.

Atlanta Motor Speedway motorsport track in the United States

Atlanta Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile oval racetrack in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.

Labor Day public holiday in the United States

Labor Day in the United States of America is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend. It is recognized as a federal holiday.

Auto Club Speedway motorsport track in the United States

Auto Club Speedway, formerly California Speedway, is a two-mile (3 km), low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It is also used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack is located near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation. The speedway is served by the nearby Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.

Races

DateRaceSiteTime
(US ET)		2008 Winner2009 Winner
9/20 2009 Sylvania 300 New Hampshire Motor Speedway 1 PM Greg Biffle Mark Martin
9/27 2009 AAA 400 Dover International Speedway 1 PMGreg Biffle Jimmie Johnson
10/4 2009 Price Chopper 400 Kansas Speedway 1 PMJimmie Johnson Tony Stewart
10/11 2009 Pepsi 500 Auto Club Speedway 2:30 PMJimmie Johnson §Jimmie Johnson
10/17 2009 NASCAR Banking 500 only from Bank of America Lowe's Motor Speedway 7 PM Jeff Burton Jimmie Johnson
10/25 2009 TUMS Fast Relief 500 Martinsville Speedway 1 PMJimmie Johnson Denny Hamlin
11/1 2009 AMP Energy 500 Talladega Superspeedway 1 PMTony Stewart Jamie McMurray ‡
11/8 2009 Dickies 500 Texas Motor Speedway 2:30 PM Carl Edwards Kurt Busch
11/15 2009 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Phoenix International Raceway 2:30 PMJimmie JohnsonJimmie Johnson
11/22 2009 Ford 400 Homestead Miami Speedway 2:30 PMCarl EdwardsDenny Hamlin

‡ – Ineligible for the Chase as he did not finish in Top 12.

Qualified Drivers

The 12 drivers who have qualified for the chase after the Chevy Rock and Roll 400

Tony Stewart American racing driver and team owner

Anthony Wayne Stewart, nicknamed Smoke, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and is currently a NASCAR team owner. He is a three-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion as a driver, winning titles in 2002, 2005 and 2011. In 2011, Stewart had an ownership interest in the team. He won again as an owner with Kevin Harvick's title in 2014. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won racing titles in Indy, midget, sprint, and USAC Silver Crown cars. He is the only driver in history to win a championship in both IndyCar and NASCAR.

Chevrolet American automobile division of GM

Chevrolet, colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet and ousted General Motors founder William C. Durant started the company on November 3, 1911 as the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Durant used the Chevrolet Motor Car Company to acquire a controlling stake in General Motors with a reverse merger occurring on May 2, 1918 and propelled himself back to the GM presidency. After Durant's second ousting in 1919, Alfred Sloan, with his maxim "a car for every purse and purpose", would pick the Chevrolet brand to become the volume leader in the General Motors family, selling mainstream vehicles to compete with Henry Ford's Model T in 1919 and overtaking Ford as the best-selling car in the United States by 1929.

Jimmie Johnson American racing driver

Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American professional stock car racing driver and a seven-time champion in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports.

Standings

Rank
Current/Pre-Chase		DriverPoints/(Behind)PolesWins
Pre-Chase/Overall		Top 5Top 10
11 Mark Martin 5040Leader644914
22 Tony Stewart 5030(−10)0331318
33 Jimmie Johnson 5030(−10)133915
44 Denny Hamlin 5020(−20)022914
55 Kasey Kahne 5020(−20)022510
66 Jeff Gordon 5010(−30)0111218
77 Kurt Busch 5010(−30)011714
88 Brian Vickers 5010(−30)611413
99 Carl Edwards 5000(−40)000711
1010 Ryan Newman 5000(−40)100512
1111 Juan Pablo Montoya 5000(−40)100212
1212 Greg Biffle 5000(−40)000812

Results

NOTE: Standings in Cup points before the race in parentheses.

Race One: 2009 Sylvania 300

Race Two: 2009 AAA 400

Race Three: 2009 Price Chopper 400

Race Four: 2009 Pepsi 500

Race Five: 2009 NASCAR Banking 500 Only from Bank of America

Race Six: 2009 TUMS Fast Relief 500

Race Seven: 2009 AMP Energy 500

Preceded by
2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup 		NASCAR seasons
2009		Succeeded by
2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
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