Pole position driver Montoya fell to third during the first lap, as Joe Nemechek, who started in the fourth position on the grid, moved to first. Afterward, Harvick became the leader of the race. Some of the Chase for the Sprint Cup participants, such as, Jeff Gordon stayed in the rear almost all race, but with about twenty laps remaining, he and his teammate Jimmie Johnson moved to first and second. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the most laps (24) despite being involved in an accident on lap 134. After the final caution, Bowyer led on the restart, but Harvick passed him with one lap remaining. While Harvick and Bowyer were side by side in the first turn, the sixth caution ended the race, which resulted in Bowyer winning over Harvick. Bowyer was able to edge Harvick for his second Chase win, with his other being at New Hampshire.
There were six cautions and eighty-five lead changes among twenty-six different drivers throughout the course of the race. It was Bowyer's second win of the 2010 season, with the other being in the Sylvania 300. The result kept him twelfth in the Drivers' Championship, 367 points behind Jimmie Johnson in first. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, forty-five ahead of Toyota and ninety-three ahead of Ford, with three races remaining in the season. A total of 110,000 people attended the race, while 5.177 million watched it on television.
Juan Pablo Montoya(pictured in 2007) scored his fifth Sprint Cup Series career pole position, with a lap time of 51.863 seconds.
Two practice sessions were held on Saturday before the race. The first session lasted 45 minutes, while the second session lasted 60 minutes.[12] During the first practice session, Hamlin, for the Joe Gibbs Racing team, was quickest ahead of Kyle Busch in second and McMurray in third.[13] Jeff Gordon was scored fourth, and Johnson managed fifth.[13]Marcos Ambrose, Kasey Kahne, Aric Almirola, Mark Martin, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top ten quickest drivers in the session.[13] Afterward, during the second and final practice session, Martin was quickest with a lap time of 48.409.[14] Burton and Kyle Busch followed behind Martin, both with a time of 48.414 seconds.[14] Hamlin managed to be fourth fastest, ahead of David Reutimann and Earnhardt.[14] Kenseth was scored seventh, Stewart took eighth, David Ragan was ninth, and Robby Gordon was tenth.[14]
During qualifying, forty-six cars were entered; due to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, which at the time limited each race to forty-three drivers, only that many were able to race.[15]Juan Pablo Montoya clinched his fifth pole position in the Sprint Cup Series, with a time of 51.863.[16] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Bowyer.[16] Kurt Busch qualified third, Joe Nemechek took fourth, and Burton started fifth.[16] The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Johnny Sauter, Travis Kvapil, and Landon Cassill.[16] Once qualifying concluded, Montoya stated, "We always run pretty good at restrictor-plate tracks and we’re looking for a good day tomorrow. We’ll run up front a little bit and see what happens. We’ll play it by ear if we decide to go to the back for a while. It’s nice to have these cars and everyone doing the job they are doing here on this team."[2]
Race
The race, the thirty-third out of a total of thirty-six in the season, began at 1:00p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on ESPN.[1] Prior to the race, weather conditions were dry with the air temperature around 64°F (18°C).[17] Randy Norris, from Alabama Raceway Ministries, began the pre-race ceremonies by giving the invocation. Average Joe's Entertainment recording artist Josh Gracin then performed the national anthem, and the AMP Energy grand marshal winners gave the command for drivers to start their engines.[17]
At the start, Montoya was first ahead of Bowyer. Nemechek and Bowyer both passed Montoya before the first lap was over, with the former leading the first lap. On the following lap, Nemechek dropped to the back of the grid, as Harvick edged Earnhardt for the lead. Earnhardt became the leader on the third lap, while Bowyer was scored second on the lower line of cars. The lead then changed for the next three laps, with Montoya taking Bowyer for the lead at first; the first Red Bull Racing car of Kahne passed Montoya on the following lap before he was passed by Earnhardt on the sixth lap. Afterward, Burton became the leader, after using the draft for assistance. On the eighth lap, Burton's teammate Bowyer claimed the lead. With the draft, Brad Keselowski became the leader, before he was passed by Sam Hornish Jr. during the tenth lap. Hornish held the lead until lap 12, when Michael Waltrip passed him for the lead, though Hornish would return to the head of the grid two laps after.[17]
During the 15th lap, Kenseth became the leader. On the following lap, Kenseth and Burton had separated themselves by 1.8 seconds. Afterward, Burton moved into the first position on lap 17. He kept the lead until lap 20, when Kenseth reclaimed the lead, as Stewart made an unexpected pit stop. Two laps later, Kenseth was passed by Burton for the lead, but he would return to the first position on lap 25. After being almost two seconds ahead of third place, the rest of the grid was catching first and second, as Burton became the leader three laps later. Keselowski became the leader on lap 29, while the first and second group of cars on the track was separated by six seconds. Keselowski led one lap before Waltrip became the leader, but he returned to lead during the 32nd lap. Keselowski held the lead until lap 36, when Bowyer passed him. On lap 37 Keselowski and Earnhardt made pit stops, two laps earlier than Johnson and Nemechek. There were three lead changes over the next three laps; Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Reutimann all took turns leading the race.[17]
Reutimann led until lap 48 before Martin passed him and led a lap until Hamlin passed him with assistance from Hornish. He led only two laps before Martin reclaimed the lead, but Hamlin would pass him on the 52nd lap. On the following lap, Earnhardt passed Hamlin for the first position. He held the lead until lap 62 when McMurray passed him and became the leader. One lap later, Harvick claimed the lead, after having assistance from Reutimann. After one lap, Harvick and Reutimann had gained two seconds on the rest of the grid, but after leading two laps, Kyle Busch passed him and lead one lap. Afterward, Kurt Busch moved ahead to become the leader. Harvick assisted Reutimann to the lead on lap 68. On the following lap, the first caution was given, after Allmendinger temporarily lost control of his car, causing him to spin out. All but four of the front runners made pit stops during the caution, with most teams changing two or four tires. Following the pit stops, Kenseth moved to first, ahead of Harvick, Biffle, Paul Menard, and Hamlin.[17]
At the lap 73 restart, Kenseth was the leader; however, Kyle Busch would pass him for the lead one lap later. Busch led one lap before Reutimann passed him and led two laps before Busch reclaimed the first position. Kahne then took the lead on lap 79; meanwhile, Hamlin fell further back as he lost the draft of the lead pack. The lead then changed for the next five laps, with Earnhardt taking Kahne for the lead at first; Montoya passed Earnhardt on the following lap before he was passed by Truex, who led only one lap before Hornish edged him to lead lap 84. Afterward, Montoya reclaimed the lead, after drafting with his teammate, McMurray. On lap 86, Chad McCumbee drove to pit road, as Montoya continued to lead. Burton used the draft to move Earnhardt past Montoya for the head of the grid six laps later. On lap 99, Hamlin was scored a lap down after Earnhardt passed him.[17]
Earnhardt led four laps before Reutimann took over the lead position and led two laps. Afterward, Harvick reclaimed the lead position but was passed a lap later when Montoya moved to the lead on lap 106. Two laps later, Kenseth moved to first and led one lap, before Harvick passed him. Afterward, there were three lead changes in the next three laps, beginning with Harvick's teammate Bowyer, followed by Montoya and Earnhardt. Two laps earlier, pit stops began. On the 114th lap, Bowyer became the leader. On the following lap, he made a pit stop, giving the lead to Reutimann, who led one lap before giving the lead to Aric Almirola. After leading two laps, he was passed by Elliott Sadler, who led only one lap, before conceding the first position to Marcos Ambrose on lap 120. One lap later, Menard passed Ambrose for the lead position.[17]
Menard led three laps before McMurray reclaimed the lead and led one lap. Afterward, Burton and his teammate Bowyer swapped the lead a few times. Two laps later, Bowyer was the leader, though on the next lap he was passed by Montoya. After leading two laps, Montoya was passed by his teammate McMurray, who led one lap before Montoya reclaimed the head of the grid. On lap 134, Burton and Earnhardt collided, sending them to collide into the wall, prompting the second caution to be given. Both drove to the garage for repairs, but Burton said that his car was too severely damaged to return to the race. During the caution there were two leaders: Johnson, who led one lap, and Montoya, who reclaimed the lead after Johnson made a pit stop. At the lap 138 restart, Montoya was scored first, ahead of Reutimann and Menard. One lap later, Joey Logano moved to first and led one lap, before Reutimann claimed the lead.[17]
Reutimann led one lap before the third caution was given because Bowyer collided into Ambrose's rear bumper, which sent Ambrose down the track where Harvick collided with him. On the same lap, Hornish had claimed the lead. During the caution, all the front runners made pit stops. On lap 144, Hornish was given a drive-through penalty for excessive speed on pit road, causing him to give Logano the first position. At the lap 145 restart, Logano was scored first, while Kurt Busch was second and Menard was third. Logano led five laps before Truex, with assistance from Montoya, took over the first position. On lap 152, the fourth caution was given because of debris on the track. Most of the front runners did not pit during the caution. Truex led on the restart, but after leading one lap, was passed by Montoya.[17]
Montoya led two laps before he was passed by Hamlin, who led one lap before his teammate Kyle Busch passed him. On lap 164, McMurray drove to pit road, as Busch and Hamlin remained in the first two positions. Kyle Busch led sixteen laps before Menard became the leader and led a lap, until Jeff Gordon claimed the first position. Afterward, Johnson became the leader, as Gordon suffered engine problems. With nine laps remaining, Bowyer passed Johnson for the head of the grid, as Gordon continued to lose positions. Two laps later, the fifth caution was given because of debris in the third and fourth turns, which came from Nemechek's car. At the lap 184 restart, Bowyer led, as Johnson lost positions. On lap 187, Harvick claimed the lead, as the sixth caution was given for a multi-car incident in which Allmendinger turned on his roof and collided with the wall. When the caution ended the race, Bowyer and Harvick appeared to be side by side, but Bowyer was announced the winner, while Harvick took second ahead of Montoya, Reutimann, and Logano in third, fourth, and fifth. Truex finished sixth, Johnson claimed seventh, and Jeff Gordon was scored eighth. Hamlin and Keselowski rounded out the top ten positions.[17][18][19]
Post-race
"I didn’t know when the caution came out but I thought we beat him to the line– it was really close. I have to thank David Reutimann for pushing me all day. It was a great day for RCR and a great day in the points. I attached myself to the back bumper of the 56 (Martin Truex Jr.) and was able to get a good run there. We came here to lead some laps and win the race. We came up one short of that but did what we needed to do."
Bowyer appeared in victory lane after his victory lap to start celebrating his second win of the season, and his first Sprint Cup Series win at Talladega Superspeedway.[3] He also earned $226,450 in race winnings.[18] "Kevin coming on the outside and Juan (Montoya) pushing me got me to the lead. I turned (Marcos Ambrose) around and got into my teammate (Harvick) and I was sick about that but here he came at the end of the race," said Bowyer of his triumph.[20] He also stated, "I thought we had it for sure. When two cars hook up, they just drive off from them and they [Harvick and Reutimann] were coming on the outside and ran us down, and then I quit dragging my brakes and we kind of took off again. Door to door there and all of a sudden ... [spotter Mike] Dillon is yelling at me in my ear that the caution was coming out. I looked over to make sure I was ahead of him. I thought I was, but I didn't know."[21] Harvick was happy for his teammate after the race, saying, "About 6 inches ... It's just one of those deals where we've won a few by a few inches and we've lost a few. It's hard to complain because you can wind up on the wrecker pretty easy. Happy we kept the trophy at RCR. If you're going to lose to somebody, it's good to lose to your teammates and keep the trophy and the money in the right house." Johnson, who finished seventh, was optimistic as he left the race leading the point standings: "It's going to be an awesome championship battle all the way to Homestead, and I'm really looking forward to it."[21]
The race result left Johnson still leading the Drivers' Championship with 6,149 points.[22] Hamlin, who finished ninth, maintained second at 6,135, twenty-four points ahead of Harvick and 193 ahead of Jeff Gordon.[22] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet maintained their lead with 245 points.[10] Toyota remained second with 200 points.[10] Ford followed with 152 points, 23 points ahead of Dodge in fourth.[10] 5.177 million people watched the race on television.[5]
Three days following the race, Michael McDowell and his team, Whitney Motorsports, were given a penalty.[23] Whitney Motorsports' penalty included a $50,000 fine to Thomas Tucker (McDowell's crew chief) and an indefinite suspension of Tucker, and both Dusty Whitney and McDowell lost 50 owner and driver points respectively.[23] The team's car chief, Richard Boga, and team manager Tony Furr were also given indefinite suspensions.[23] Whitney Motorsports was penalized because of unapproved added weight location and unapproved added weight, which was caused by the lower A-frames being filled with weight pellets.[23]
Note: Only the top twelve positions are included for the driver standings. These drivers qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Related Research Articles
The 2008 AMP Energy 500 was the 30th stock car race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the fourth in the ten-race, season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on October 5, 2008 at Talladega Superspeedway, in Talladega, Alabama before a crowd of 145,000. Tony Stewart of the Joe Gibbs Racing team won the 190-lap race starting from 34th position; Paul Menard finished second, David Ragan was third.
The 2009 Shelby 427 was the third race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on March 1, 2009 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The race was won by Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing.
The 2010 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 52nd Daytona 500, it was held on February 14, 2010, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, before a crowd of about 175,000 attendees. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Jamie McMurray won the 208-lap race from 13th place. Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Hendrick Motorsports finished in second, and Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle was third.
The 2009 Samsung 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on April 5, 2009, at Texas Motor Speedway, in Fort Worth, Texas before a crowd of 176,300 people. The 334-lap race was won by Jeff Gordon of the Hendrick Motorsports team after starting from second position. His teammate Jimmie Johnson finished second and Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle placed third.
The 2009 Aaron's 499 was the ninth race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. With a distance of 500.8 miles (806.0 km), it was held on April 26, 2009 at the 2.66 miles (4.28 km) Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Fox Sports broadcast the race starting at 1 PM EDT, with MRN and Sirius XM Radio carrying the radio broadcast over the air and on satellite respectively. The race had nine cautions, 25 different leaders, and 57 lead changes, the most lead changes of the season up until that point.
The 2009 Dickies 500 was the 34th stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the eighth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on November 8, 2009 at Texas Motor Speedway, in Fort Worth, Texas, before a crowd of 167,000. Kurt Busch of the Penske Racing team won the 334-lap race starting from third position. Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing finished second and Roush Fenway Racing's Matt Kenseth was third.
The 2010 Aaron's 499 was the 9th race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and the first of two Sprint Cup races held at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. It started at 1 p.m. EDT on April 25, 2010. The race was televised on Fox and was also broadcast on MRN Radio at 12 p.m. After Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman previous crash, officials decided that they would change from the rear wing to the rear spoiler which debuted in the 2010 Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500. The race, which was extended by 12 laps, shattered numerous NASCAR records: it marked the first time under the modified green-white-checkered finish rules that a race had gone to the maximum three attempts allowed. There were eight caution flags, a record-setting 29 different leaders and a record-setting 88 lead changes. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing won the race, his first win of the season and his first since the 2007 Daytona 500, while the Earnhardt-Ganassi teammates of Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya finished second and third.
The 2010 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola, the 52nd running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on July 3, 2010, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the 18th race – and official halfway point – of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. It was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. US EDT, but began at 9:24 US EDT due to a rain delay the race began. It was telecast on TNT and Motor Racing Network (terrestrial) and Sirius XM Radio (satellite) by radio at 6:30 p.m. EDT.
The 2010 Air Guard 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on September 11, 2010 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. Contested over 400 laps, it was the twenty-sixth and final race leading into the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race for the Joe Gibbs Racing team; his teammate, Kyle Busch, finished second while Jimmie Johnson clinched third.
The 2010 Sylvania 300 was a stock car racing competition that took place on September 19, 2010. Held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, the 300-lap race was the twenty-seventh in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as well as the first in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ended the season. Clint Bowyer of the Richard Childress Racing team won the race; Denny Hamlin finished second and Jamie McMurray came in third.
The 2010 Pepsi Max 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on October 10, 2010, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 200 laps, it was the 30th race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the fourth race in the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. The race was won by Tony Stewart of the Stewart-Haas Racing team, while Clint Bowyer finished second, and Jimmie Johnson clinched third.
The 2010 Bank of America 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 16, 2010, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 334 laps, it was the thirty-first race during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and the fifth race in the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. The race was won by Jamie McMurray, for the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team. Kyle Busch finished second, and Jimmie Johnson, who started tenth, clinched third.
The 2010 TUMS Fast Relief 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on October 24, 2010, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. It was contested over 500 laps, and was the thirty-second race of the season and the sixth race in the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The race was won by Denny Hamlin for the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Mark Martin driving for Hendrick Motorsports finished second and Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick, who started thirty-sixth, came third.
The 2011 Coca-Cola 600, the 52nd running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series motor race held on May 29, 2011, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval, it was the twelfth race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Kevin Harvick for the Richard Childress Racing team. David Ragan finished second, and Joey Logano clinched third.
The 2010 AAA Texas 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on November 7, 2010, at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 334 laps, it was the thirty-fourth race during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the eighth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The race was won by Denny Hamlin of the Joe Gibbs Racing team. Matt Kenseth finished second, and Mark Martin clinched third.
The 2010 Kobalt Tools 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on November 14, 2010, at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps, it was the thirty-fifth, and the ninth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Carl Edwards, for the Roush Fenway Racing team. Ryan Newman finished second, and Joey Logano clinched third.
The 2011 Aaron's 499 was the eighth race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season out of thirty six total races. The race was held on April 17 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Jeff Gordon won his 70th pole position, leading a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top four starting positions. Nearly the entire race, in similar fashion to the 2011 Daytona 500, was marked by the prevalence of 2-car drafting. On the last lap, four 2-car drafting teams contended for the win, and all eight cars finished within about three car-lengths of each other. Johnson, pushed by Earnhardt, won the race by .002 seconds over Clint Bowyer, the 2010 fall race winner at the track.
The 2012 Coke Zero 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on July 7, 2012 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 160 laps, it was the eighteenth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing took his third win of the season, while Jeff Burton finished second and Matt Kenseth finished third.
The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 65th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 42nd modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 16, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway, with the Sprint Unlimited, followed by the Daytona 500 on February 24. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 17.
The 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 7, 2012 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, United States. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66-mile (4.3 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the thirtieth race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the fourth race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
