Pole position driver Jeff Gordon maintained his lead on the first lap to begin the race, as Carl Edwards, who started in the second position on the grid, remained behind him. Soon after, Busch became the leader of the race and would maintain a total of 218 laps in first place. After the final caution, Busch led on the restart, but McMurray passed him. McMurray held the lead through the end of the race, becoming the first driver not in the 2010 Chase to win a race during the Chase.
There were nine cautions and 27 lead changes among 19 different drivers throughout the course of the race. It was McMurray's third win in the 2010 season, and the sixth of his career. The result moved him up to 13th in the Drivers' Championship, 75 points ahead Ryan Newman in 14th. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, 45 ahead of Toyota and 85 ahead of Ford, with five races remaining in the season. A total of 103,000 people attended the race, while 5.345 million watched it on television.
Three practice sessions were held before the Saturday race—one on Thursday, and two on Friday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, while the second session lasted 45 minutes. The final session lasted 65 minutes.[11] During the first practice session, Stewart-Haas Racing's Ryan Newman was fastest ahead of Joey Logano and Kyle Busch in second and third respectively.[12]Mark Martin placed fourth, and David Reutimann finished fifth.[12] Stewart, Reed Sorenson, Scott Speed, David Ragan, and Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session.[12]
Forty-nine cars were entered for qualifying,[13] but only forty-three were allowed to race due to NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Gordon clinched his 69th career pole position with a time of 28.192 seconds.[14] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Edwards.[14]A. J. Allmendinger qualified third, Martin took fourth, and Paul Menard started fifth.[14] The six drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Joe Nemechek, Casey Mears, Mike Bliss, Jason Leffler, Kevin Conway and Johnny Sauter.[14] Once the qualifying session completed, Gordon commented, "We used to qualify so well here, but competition and cars and different things changing over the years, we just sort of lost our way here, and I'll be honest, [Thursday], the way it was going, I didn't think we had any shot at this pole."[15]
On the next evening, Kasey Kahne was quickest in the second practice session, ahead of Reutimann and Biffle in second and third.[16] Kurt Busch was fourth quickest, and Martin Truex Jr. took fifth.[16]Brad Keselowski, Allmendinger, Newman, Logano, and Ragan followed in the top-ten.[16] Other drivers in the chase, such as Johnson, was fifteenth, and Harvick, who was twentieth.[16] During the final practice session, Edwards was fastest with a time of 29.031.[17] Sorenson and Kurt Busch followed in second and third with times of 29.133 and 29.135 seconds.[17] Kahne managed to be fourth fastest, ahead of Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch.[17] Speed was scored seventh, Menard took eighth, Truex was ninth, and Biffle took tenth.[17]
Race
The race, the thirty-first out of a total of thirty-six in the season, began at 7:30p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on ABC.[1] Prior to the race, weather conditions were sunny with the air temperature around 71°F (22°C).[18] Car owner Joe Gibbs began pre-race ceremonies by giving the invocation. Next, Big Machine Records recording artist Danielle Peck performed the national anthem, and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees gave the command for drivers to start their engines.[18]
Gordon accelerated faster than Edwards off the line, getting ahead of him down the front straightaway. On the following lap, Newman spun sideways and collided into the wall, prompting the first caution to be given. Gordon initially maintained the lead on the restart, though Edwards passed him at the end of the eighth lap. Kyle Busch and Gordon both passed Edwards one lap later. On lap 11, Menard moved to third, as Newman drove to the garage for repairs. Four laps later, Menard took over second, after passing Gordon. After starting tenth, Johnson was scored in fifteenth on the nineteenth lap. On lap 24, the second caution was given because Kurt Busch spun sideways. All the front runners made pit stops during the caution. Gordon was the leader during the restart, as Joey Logano moved to second.[18]
On the following lap, Kyle Busch moved into the first position. The third caution came out on lap 33, after Johnson spun sideways. On the restart, Kyle Busch was first, ahead of Gordon and Logano. After being involved in the first caution, Newman remained in the garage forty laps later. Hamlin, who started twenty-third on the grid, had moved to eleventh by lap 45. By lap 48, Kyle Busch had a 1.9 second lead over Gordon. Harvick had moved nineteen positions to fifth, after 55 laps. On the following lap, Johnson took over twenty-eighth, after spinning on lap 33, as Hamlin claimed the ninth position. On lap 61, Jeff Burton moved to seventh while Travis Kvapil went a lap down to the front runners. Afterward, Burton moved to fifth after passing Menard. The second round of pit stops began on lap 75, when Stewart and Harvick made pit stops. Gordon and Kyle Busch made pit stops two laps later, resulting in Juan Pablo Montoya receiving the lead.[18]
Once Montoya made his pit stop, Kenseth became the leader, but after one lap he chose to make a pit stop, giving the lead to Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier made a pit stop on lap 84, which resulted in Kyle Busch reclaiming the lead. Kyle Busch had a 3.6 second lead by lap 87. Five laps later, Menard took over the seventh position, after passing Harvick. Then, on lap 95, Kyle Busch reported his throttle was sticking. To fix this problem, Busch used the cut-off switch (a switch on the back of the steering wheel to slow the car). Four laps later, Menard fell to the eighth position. On the following lap, Regan Smith was passed by Kyle Busch, putting him a lap behind. Busch reported to his crew that his throttle was improving on lap 105. On the following lap, debris caused the fourth caution. All the front runners made pit stops during the caution, and Johnson reported to his crew that he and Bowyer had collided on pit road. Kyle Busch led the drivers on the restart, ahead of Gordon, Montoya, Biffle, and Logano. One lap later, Biffle moved to second, as Hamlin claimed fifth.[18]
On lap 119, Speed went a lap down after being passed by Busch. The fifth caution was given four laps later because Kahne spun sideways and collided into Sam Hornish Jr., which resulted in the two colliding with the wall. Some front runners made pit stops during the caution. On the restart, Martin was the leader, ahead Truex, McMurray, Montoya, and Johnson. On the following lap, McMurray took over second, as Johnson and Kyle Busch moved past Montoya. Afterward, Hamlin passed Gordon for the eighth position, as McMurray became the leader. By lap 144, McMurray had a 1.25 second lead over Martin. After 146 laps, Newman remained in the garage for repairs. Six laps later, Johnson claimed third, as Hamlin took over the fifth position. On lap 168, Johnson, McMurray, and Martin made their pit stops, seven laps ahead of Kyle Busch.[18]
Once pit stops concluded, Jamie McMurray was the leader. Johnson took over the second position on lap 180. After passing Gordon two laps later, Allmendinger moved to the tenth position. Johnson became the leader on lap 189 after passing McMurray. On the following lap, Gordon's car lost power, which resulted in him making unscheduled pit stop. By the 195th lap, Johnson had a 1.36 second lead over the other drivers, though Kyle Busch began to catch Johnson shortly thereafter. On lap 203, the sixth caution was given because Marcos Ambrose spun near pit road. All the front runners made pit stops during the caution. During the pit stops, Kyle Busch became the leader, after passing Johnson on pit road. On the restart, Busch was first, while Johnson fell to fifth. Hamlin took over the fifth position from Johnson. Afterward, Gordon reported that he had alternator problems on lap 211. Four laps later, Johnson moved to fifth, as McMurray maintained the second position.[18]
By lap 221, Kyle Busch had a 1.30 second lead over McMurray. Hamlin moved to third five laps later. On lap 239, Robby Gordon spun sideways, prompting the seventh caution to be given. During the caution, the front runners made pit stops, which resulted in Busch maintaining the lead ahead of Hamlin, McMurray, Johnson, and Biffle on the restart. On the following lap, Johnson moved to second. On lap 246, Burton spun sideways, after colliding with Bowyer. Burton was the only one to pit during the caution. Afterward, Kyle Busch led Johnson on lap 250. Five laps later, Harvick passed Truex for the seventh position. On lap 261, Logano passed Martin for tenth, as Kenseth moved into eighth. By lap 262, Busch had a 0.74 second lead over Johnson. Six laps later, Speed moved into twelfth, after passing Edwards. Busch expanded his lead to 2.01 seconds by lap 278. Six laps later, McMurray took over the second position from Johnson.[18]
Once Kahne's race car was repaired, J. J. Yeley was put in his car to finish the race for the team, after Kahne became ill.[19] On lap 289, the final pit stop set began. Busch and Johnson made pit stops on lap 294, one lap earlier than McMurray. During the pit stop cycle, Montoya, Sorenson, and Allmendinger briefly held the lead. While on pit road, Gordon received a pass-through penalty for speeding. On lap 299, Kyle Busch became the leader, as pit stops concluded. Three laps later, his lead shrunk to 1.3 seconds. On lap 308, the caution was given because of debris on the track. On the restart Busch led ahead of McMurray, Johnson, and Hamlin. On the following lap, McMurray became the leader. By lap 320, McMurray had a 1.02 second lead over Busch, as a battle for second place began between Busch and Johnson. McMurray crossed the finish line on lap 334 to take his third win of the season, two seconds ahead of Busch, who led the most laps (218).[20] Johnson was third, ahead of Hamlin, Biffle, Kenseth, Logano, Harvick, Reutimann, and Ragan, who rounded out the top ten.[18][21]
Post-race
"You just drive your heart out, and if you have the car, then you are able to make those passes, and if you don't, you don't make the passes."
McMurray appeared in victory lane to celebrate his sixth win of the season in front of 103,000 people who attended the race.[23] McMurray also earned $266,129 in race winnings,[21] and later stated that his car performed best towards the end of the race: "We had a better car than Kyle at the end. He was better at certain stages during the race but at the end of the race, we had the best car."[22]
Busch was rather disappointed with his second-place run: "Jamie got a good restart. I don't know if he got pushed from Jimmie or not, but he had a good run, good momentum getting into Turn 1. Then I got there and my car pushed up the race track ... and he was already gone. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't even stay to his outside. His car turned better than mine. Mine plowed right up the race track and he went right by me. ... It's very, very frustrating. I gave it all I had, but McMurray was better than me."[24] After finishing fourth, Hamlin remained optimistic about his chances in his championship battle with Johnson: "He's a champion, and I'm not. ... He's figured this stuff out, and he's got a great team, as well as we do, but I haven't hit the 'go' button yet, and I feel like there's still more left with our team. I'm minimizing my risk right now, and I feel like, if I'm going to have a shot to win this thing when we get to Homestead [the season finale], I've got to minimize those risks."[25]
The race result left Johnson leading the Drivers' Championship with 5,843 points.[26] He was followed by Hamlin, who remained 41 points behind Johnson, though 36 and 115 points ahead of Harvick and Jeff Gordon respectively.[26] Kyle Busch and Stewart were tied for fifth with 5,666 points, followed by Edwards, Biffle, Kurt Busch, and Burton in seventh through tenth.[26] Kenseth and Bowyer were scored 11th and 12th with 5,587 and 5,543 points respectively.[26] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet maintained the lead with 230 points. Toyota held second with 185 points, 40 ahead of Ford and 63 ahead of Dodge.[9] 5.345 million people watched the race on television.[5]
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 2009 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 31st annual running of the Budweiser Shootout, it was held on February 7, 2009, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway, before a crowd of 80,000 people. The 78-lap race was won by Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing, after he started from the next-to-last 27th position. Jamie McMurray of Roush Fenway Racing finished in second, and Stewart-Haas Racing's Tony Stewart was third.
The 2010 Ford 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on November 21, 2010 at Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The 267 lap race was the thirty-sixth in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as well as the final race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season. The race was won by Carl Edwards for the Roush Fenway Racing team. Jimmie Johnson finished second, and Kevin Harvick clinched third.
The 2010 Showtime Southern 500, the 61st running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series motor race that was held on May 8, 2010 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. It was the eleventh race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The event began at 7:30 p.m. EDT. It was televised live in the United States on Fox and its U.S. radio coverage was broadcast on Motor Racing Network starting at 6 p.m. EDT.
The 2010 Carfax 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 15, 2010 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 200 laps, it was the twenty-third race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Kevin Harvick for the Richard Childress Racing team. Denny Hamlin finished second, and Carl Edwards, who started twenty-fourth, clinched third.
The 2010 Irwin Tools Night Race was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 21, 2010 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Contested over 500 laps, it was the twenty-fourth race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race, while David Reutimann finished second, and Jamie McMurray clinched third.
The 2010 Emory Healthcare 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on September 5, 2010, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Contested over 325 laps, it was the twenty-fifth race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Tony Stewart, for the Stewart Haas Racing team. Carl Edwards finished second, and Jimmie Johnson, who started seventh, 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 Price Chopper 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on October 3, 2010 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The 300 lap race was the twenty-ninth in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The race was also the third event in the ten round Chase for the Sprint Cup competition, which would conclude the 2010 season. Greg Biffle, of the Roush Fenway Racing team, won the race, with Jimmie Johnson finishing second and Kevin Harvick 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 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 AMP Energy Juice 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on October 31, 2010, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps, it was the thirty-third race during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and the seventh race in the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. The race was won by Clint Bowyer for the Richard Childress Racing team. Bowyer's teammate, Kevin Harvick, finished in second, while Juan Pablo Montoya 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 Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 10, 2012, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, United States. Contested over 160 laps, it was the fourteenth race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Joey Logano of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race from the pole while Mark Martin finished second and Tony Stewart finished third.
The 2013 Coca-Cola 600, the 54th running of the race, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 26, 2013, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, United States. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5–mile (2.4 km) oval, it was the twelfth race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing won the race, his second win in the Coca-Cola 600 and in the 2013 season. Kasey Kahne followed in second while Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano rounded out the top five.
The 2006 Subway 500 was the 32nd stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the sixth in the ten-race Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 22, 2006, before a crowd of 65,000, at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia, a short track that holds NASCAR races. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson won the 500‑lap race starting from the ninth position; Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing finished second, and Petty Enterprises' Bobby Labonte was third.
The 2006 Banquet 400 was the twenty-ninth stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the third in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on October 1, 2006 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas before a crowd of 125,000. The 267-lap race was won by Tony Stewart of the Joe Gibbs Racing team who started from twenty-first position. Casey Mears finished second and Mark Martin came in third.
The 2006 Dover 400 was the twenty-eighth stock car race of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the second in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup. It was held on September 24, 2006 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware, before a crowd of 145,000. The 400-lap race was won by Jeff Burton of Richard Childress Racing, who started from 19th position. Carl Edwards of Roush Racing finished second and Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports came in third.
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.
