2009 Pepsi 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 30 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 Auto Club Speedway | |||
| Date | October 11, 2009 | ||
| Location | Auto Club Speedway Fontana, California | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.0 mi (3.23 km) | ||
| Distance | 250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures up to 69.8 °F (21.0 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 143.908 miles per hour (231.597 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 70,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 39.158 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 126 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC | ||
| Announcers | Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree | ||
The 2009 Pepsi 500 was the thirtieth race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and also served as the fourth race in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. It took place on October 11, 2009, at Auto Club Speedway in the American community of Fontana, California.
Summary
Jimmie Johnson would defeat his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon by slightly more than 1.6 seconds after a grueling three hours and twenty-eight minutes of racing.[2]
Kyle Busch suffered through three different illnesses during this race; including a non-H1N1 form of the flu. After driving for 62 laps, he felt weak and went into the pits in order for David Gilliland to perform the substitute duty for him. David Gilliland finished the race in 28th place but Busch received the points for it.[3] Mike Bliss walked away as the last-place finisher after encountering engine problems on lap 11.[2]
The Big One struck with six laps to go after Dale Earnhardt Jr. was turned around and collected 8 other cars (including all 4 Richard Petty Motorsports cars). This led to a red flag of almost 22 minutes.
The gambling pundits handpicked Jimmie Johnson to be the winner of the race; with Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth being wild cards. Just before the race, Johnson had an average finish of 6th place in his 13 prior races at Auto Club Speedway and finished worse than tenth place only twice.[4]
Results
| Finish | Start | Car | Driver | Make | Pts/bns | Laps | Status | Winnings |
| 1 | 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 195/10 | 250 | Running | 302,801 |
| 2 | 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 175/5 | 250 | Running | 211,426 |
| 3 | 4 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Chevrolet | 170/5 | 250 | Running | 195,773 |
| 4 | 9 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 165/5 | 250 | Running | 136,625 |
| 5 | 20 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 160/5 | 250 | Running | 143,248 |
| 6 | 11 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 150/0 | 250 | Running | 158,356 |
| 7 | 31 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 146/0 | 250 | Running | 117,500 |
| 8 | 24 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 147/5 | 250 | Running | 121,925 |
| 9 | 8 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | 138/0 | 250 | Running | 113,950 |
| 10 | 7 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 134/0 | 250 | Running | 142,828 |
| 11 | 16 | 07 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 130/0 | 250 | Running | 121,525 |
| 12 | 22 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | 127/0 | 250 | Running | 120,810 |
References
- ^ "Weather information for the 2009 Pepsi 500".
- ^ a b c Results of the 2009 Pepsi 500 at Racing Reference
- ^ Kyle's Busch Illness During the Race Archived 2014-07-26 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
- ^ Gambling pundit information at The Spread