2011 Kobalt Tools 500

Last updated
2011 Kobalt Tools 500
Race details [1] [2] [3]
Race 35 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
2010 kobalt tools 500.jpg
Date November 13, 2011 (2011-11-13)
Location Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
Weather Rain showers with a high temperature around 62.
Average speed 112.909 miles per hour (181.709 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Roush Fenway Racing
Time 26.258
Most laps led
Driver Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Racing
Laps 160
Winner
No. 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree

The 2011 Kobalt Tools 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on November 13, 2011 at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps, it was the thirty-fifth as well as the ninth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup during the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Kasey Kahne for the Red Bull Racing Team. Carl Edwards finished second, and Tony Stewart clinched third.

Contents

Report

Background

Phoenix International Raceway, where the race was held. Phoenix International Raceway, November 2011.jpg
Phoenix International Raceway, where the race was held.

Phoenix International Raceway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway. [4] The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long. [5] After the February race, PIR was significantly reconfigured. The first two turns are now banked from 10 to 11 degrees, while the final two turns are banked from 8 to 9 degrees. [6] The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at three degrees. The back stretch, nicknamed the 'dogleg', varies from 10 to 11 degree banking. [6] The racetrack has seats for 76,800 spectators. [5]

Before the race, Carl Edwards led the Drivers' Championship with 2,316 points, and Tony Stewart stood in second with 2,313 points. Kevin Harvick followed in third with 2,283 points, five ahead of Matt Kenseth and 16 ahead of Brad Keselowski in fourth and fifth. Jimmie Johnson, with 2,261 was 24 points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., as Jeff Gordon with 2,235 points, was six ahead of Kurt Busch, and 18 in front of Denny Hamlin. [7] Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman was eleventh and twelfth with 2,216 and 2,213 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 235 points, 52 ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 174 points, was 18 points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third. [8] Edwards is the race's defending champion, after winning the race in 2010. [9]

Matt Kenseth earned his third pole position of the season with a time of 26.258 seconds Matt-kenseth-bristol-2009.jpg
Matt Kenseth earned his third pole position of the season with a time of 26.258 seconds

Practice and qualifying

Two 120 minute practice sessions were held before the race on Friday. [10] Jeff Burton was quickest with a time of 25.702 seconds in the first session, more than two-hundredths of a second faster than Kenseth. [11] David Ragan was just off Kenseth's pace, followed by Paul Menard, Newman, and David Reutimann. A. J. Allmendinger was seventh, still within a second of Burton's time. [11] Also in the session, Kyle Busch's team changed his car's engine after engine problems. [12] In the second practice session, Menard was fastest with a time of 25.510 seconds, seven-hundredths of a second quicker than second-placed Edwards. [13] Regan Smith took third place, ahead of Brian Vickers, Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray. Stewart could only manage 36th place. [13]

Afterward, during qualifying, forty-six cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. [14] Kenseth clinched his third pole position during the season, with a time of 26.258 seconds. [3] [15] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Allmendinger. [15] Marcos Ambrose qualified third, Mark Martin took fourth, and Martin Truex Jr. started fifth. [15] Stewart, one of the drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, qualified eighth, while Edwards was scored ninth. [15] The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Scott Riggs, David Stremme, and Andy Lally. [15] Once the qualifying session completed, Kenseth commented, "Jimmy Fennig, had a strategy to go fast in the first practice to go out late. Even though we knew the temperature would be hotter he thought the track could be faster with more cars having run on it. A lot of people chose the opposite strategy and worked on race set-up in the first practice and did their qualifying stuff in the second practice to go out early." [3]

Results

Qualifying

Qualifying results
GridCarDriverTeamManufacturerTimeSpeed
117 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.258137.101
243 A. J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford26.384136.446
39 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty MotorsportsFord26.411136.307
45 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.455136.080
556 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.455136.080
61 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet26.469136.008
700 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip RacingToyota26.473135.988
814 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet26.488135.911
999 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway RacingFord26.529135.701
104 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team Toyota26.534135.675
1127 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet26.547135.609
122 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 26.585135.415
136 David Ragan Roush Fenway RacingFord26.588135.399
1431 Jeff Burton Richard Childress RacingChevrolet26.608135.298
1578 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet26.613135.272
1648 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet26.618135.247
1722 Kurt Busch Penske RacingDodge26.622135.227
1883 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing TeamToyota26.624135.216
1984 Cole Whitt Red Bull Racing TeamToyota26.625135.211
207 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge26.630135.186
2151 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet26.631135.181
2288 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet26.634135.166
2324 Jeff Gordon Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet26.689134.887
2446 Scott Speed Whitney Motorsports Ford26.694134.862
2520 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota26.696134.852
2642 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet26.704134.811
2729 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress RacingChevrolet26.715134.756
2833 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress RacingChevrolet26.751134.574
2916 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway RacingFord26.756134.549
3039 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas RacingChevrolet26.764134.509
3147 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota26.793134.363
3287 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota26.837134.143
3311 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs RacingToyota26.850134.078
3418 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs RacingToyota26.936133.650
3566 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota26.979133.437
3637 Mike Skinner Max Q Motorsports Ford27.023133.220
3755 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports Ford27.040133.136
3813 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota27.062133.028
3932 Mike Bliss FAS Lane Racing Ford27.184132.431
4036 Geoffrey Bodine Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet27.417131.305
4138 J. J. Yeley Front Row MotorsportsFord27.911128.981
4234 David Gilliland Front Row MotorsportsFord29.252123.068
4335 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet27.157132.562
Failed to qualify
4423 Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Toyota27.336131.695
4530 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Chevrolet27.355131.603
4671 Andy Lally TRG Motorsports Ford28.215127.592
Sources: [15] [16] [17]

Race results

Kasey Kahne won the race. Kasey Kahne (cropped).jpg
Kasey Kahne won the race.
Race results
PosGridCarDriverTeamManufacturerLapsPoints
1104Kasey KahneRed Bull Racing TeamToyota31247
2999Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord31243
3814Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet31243
41431Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet31240
53039Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet31239
6243A. J. AllmendingerRichard Petty MotorsportsFord31238
7700David ReutimannMichael Waltrip RacingToyota31237
839Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord31236
91127Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet31235
102833Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet31234
112520Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota31233
123311Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota31232
132916Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord31131
141648Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet31130
152642Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet31129
1645Mark MartinHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet31128
1761Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet31127
18122Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge31127
192729Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet31125
20556Martin Truex Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota31124
213147Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota31123
221722Kurt BuschPenske RacingDodge31123
231883Brian VickersRed Bull Racing TeamToyota31121
242288Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet31020
251984Cole WhittRed Bull Racing TeamToyota3100
263813Casey MearsGermain RacingToyota30918
274335Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet30917
284138J. J. YeleyFront Row MotorsportsFord30917
292151Landon CassillPhoenix RacingChevrolet3090
303932Mike BlissFAS Lane RacingFord3080
314234David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord30713
322324Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30612
33136David RaganRoush Fenway RacingFord29811
34117Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord23811
35207Robby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsDodge2189
363418Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota1888
374036Geoffrey BodineTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet1537
381578Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet626
392446Scott SpeedWhitney MotorsportsFord600
403566Michael McDowellHP RacingToyota464
413287Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota300
423637Mike SkinnerMax Q MotorsportsFord250
433755Travis KvapilFront Row MotorsportsFord200
Source: [18]

Standings after the race

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References

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