2009 Samsung 500

2009 Samsung 500
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 7 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season

Simple line diagram of Texas Motor Speedway track layout
Date April 5, 2009
Location Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 79 °F (26 °C); wind speeds up to 25.1 miles per hour (40.4 km/h)[4]
Average speed 146.372 miles per hour (235.563 km/h)
Pole position
Driver David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing
Time 28.344
Most laps led
Driver Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 105
Winner
No. 24
 Jeff Gordon
 Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds
Nielsen Ratings 4.7/11 (Final)
4.2/10 (Overnight)
(7.4 million)[5]

The 2009 Samsung 500 was a stock car racing competition that took place on April 5, 2009. Held at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, the 334 lap race was the seventh in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Jeff Gordon of the Hendrick Motorsports team won the race; Jimmie Johnson finished second and Greg Biffle came in third.

David Reutimann won the pole position, and maintained his lead going into the first corner to begin the race, but Gordon took over the lead before the first lap was over. Afterward, Reutimann took back the lead, holding it until Matt Kenseth passed him on lap 47. Gordon led after the final pit stops. In the final laps, Johnson was gaining on Gordon, but Gordon maintained his position to win. There were six cautions and twenty-eight lead changes among thirteen different drivers during the race.

The race was Gordon's first win of the 2009 season, and the eighty-second of his career. The result kept Gordon in the lead of the Drivers' Championship, one-hundred and sixty-two ahead of Johnson, and one-hundred and eighty ahead of Kurt Busch. Chevrolet increased its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, ten points ahead of Ford, who bumped Toyota to third place, with twenty-nine races remaining in the season remaining. 176,300 people attended the race, while 7.4 million watched it on television.

Report

Background

Texas Motor Speedway, the race track were the race was held.

The track, Texas Motor Speedway, is one of ten intermediate to hold NASCAR races, the others being Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.[6] The standard track at Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[7] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a five degree banking.[7] The racetrack has seats for 191,122 spectators.[7]

Before the race, Jeff Gordon led the Drivers' Championship with 959 points, followed by Clint Bowyer with 870. Kurt Busch was third with 827 points, Jimmie Johnson was fourth with 817 and Denny Hamlin was fifth with 811 points. Kurt's younger brother Kyle Busch, along with Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top ten.[8] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 39 points, five points ahead of their rival Toyota. Ford, with 32 points, was five points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third place.[9] Edwards was the race's defending champion.[10]

Practice and qualifying

David Reutimann won pole position with the fastest time, 28.344.

Three practice sessions were before the Sunday race — one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, while the second session lasted 45 minutes. The third and final practice session lasted 60 minutes.[3] During the first practice session, Mark Martin was fastest, placing ahead of David Reutimann in second and Kurt Busch in third. Greg Biffle was scored fourth, and Johnson placed fifth. Jeff Gordon, Edwards, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., David Stremme and David Ragan rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session.[11]

Forty-eight drivers attempted to qualify;[12] due to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, only forty-three could race. Reutimann clinched his second pole position in the Sprint Cup Series, with a time of 28.344. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Jeff Gordon. Matt Kenseth qualified third, Ragan took fourth, and Paul Menard started fifth. The five drivers who failed to qualify were Joe Nemechek, Scott Speed, Jeremy Mayfield, Todd Bodine and Scott Riggs.[13] Once qualifying concluded Reutimann said, "We had a great car all day, right off the truck. This pole reminds me of how much things have changed for me in the past few years. I didn't make the field here two years ago, during a bad time in my racing career."[2]

On Saturday morning, Reuitmann was fastest in the second practice session, ahead of Johnson in second, and Hamlin in third. Edwards was fourth quickest, and Jeff Gordon took fifth. Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Kenseth, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton rounded out the top ten.[14] Later that day, Johnson paced the final practice session, with Hamlin and Kyle Busch followed in second and third respectively. Jamie McMurray was fourth fastest, ahead of David Gilliland and Burton. Martin placed seventh, Edwards eighth, Juan Pablo Montoya ninth, and Martin Truex, Jr. tenth.[15]

Race

Television coverage for the race, the seventh of a total of thirty-six in the 2009 season, began at 1:30 p.m. EDT live in the United States on Fox. Roger Marsh of Texas Alliance Raceway Ministries began pre-race ceremonies with the invocation. Pianist Lewis Warren, Jr. performed the national anthem, and Contest Winner Mark Fredde gave the command for drivers to start their engines. No driver had to move to the rear of the grid at the start of the race.[16]

The race began at 2:17 p.m. Jeff Gordon passed Reuitmann almost immediately by the end of the first lap. Three laps later, Kurt Busch collided with Robby Gordon, with the latter sustaining minor damage and both drivers managed to continue. On lap 8, Reutimann took back the lead from Jeff Gordon. One lap later, Jeff Gordon dropped a further position when he was passed by Kenseth. By lap 20, Reuitmann had a lead of about 1.6 seconds over Kenseth. Kurt Busch, who began the race in twenty-sixth, had moved up seven positions to nineteenth by lap 24. On lap 29, Stewart claimed fifth from Menard.[16]

By lap 30, Earnhardt, Jr. had moved up eight positions to twelfth. Ten laps later, Reutimann had maintained a lead of 1.7 seconds over Kenseth. On lap 42, Marcos Ambrose moved into seventh. Five laps later, Kenseth claimed the lead off Reutimann who was blocked by Casey Mears. On lap 51, green flag pit stops began, as Kenseth pitted handling the lead to Stewart. On lap 54, Kyle Busch became the new race leader after Stewart came into the pits. Kyle Busch pitted one lap later, handing the lead back to Kenseth. By lap 60, Kenseth had built up his lead over Reutimann by over two seconds. Eight laps later, Stewart passed Reutimann for second.[16]

On lap 79, Biffle passed Reutimann for third. Seven laps later, Stewart claimed the lead from Kenseth. During the 97th lap, debris was spotted on the track, prompting the first caution of the race. During the caution, all of the drivers on the lead lap made pit stops. Kenseth reclaimed the lead and maintained it at the restart. On the 109th lap, Kyle Busch's car suffered a cut left front tire from contact with John Andretti, forcing Kyle Busch to come to pit road. Seven laps later, Biffle passed Kenseth for the lead, while Jeff Gordon passed Reuitmann for fourth thirteen laps later. By the 135th lap, Biffle had built a lead over Kenseth to three seconds.[16]

Green flag pit stops began on the 152nd lap; Kenseth made his pit stop on the same lap. Johnson and Biffle pitted the next lap, handing the lead to Jeff Gordon. After pit stops, Biffle reclaimed the first position. On lap 157, Elliott Sadler spun out, causing the second caution. None of the leaders elected to pit under the caution. The race restarted on lap 162 with Biffle in the lead, ahead of Kenseth and Jeff Gordon. By the 190th lap, Biffle's lead was three seconds.[16]

Another round of green flag pit stops began on lap 203 when Truex, Jr. pitted; Kenseth was the first of the leaders to pit the following lap. On lap 208, Jeff Gordon became the new race leader after Biffle came into the pits. After pit stops, Biffle reclaimed the top position. On lap 220, the third caution was given as Ambrose's car suffered an engine failure. Jeff Gordon and Martin stayed out, while some of the leaders came to pit road.[16]

Jeff Gordon won the race and maintained his lead in the points standings.

Jeff Gordon led the field back up to speed on the restart. On lap 226, Sam Hornish, Jr. spun and Labonte collided with the wall. prompting the fourth caution; During the caution, Johnson, Earnhardt, Jr. and Hamlin made pit stops. Jeff Gordon stayed out of the pits and the led the field to restart on lap 237. Four laps later, Joey Logano, collided with the wall, but escaped with minor damage. On lap 247, Edwards moved into sixth. Four laps later, a fifth caution came out when Robby Gordon's car suffered an engine failure. All of the leaders elected to pit under caution, giving the lead to Earnhardt, Jr. The race restarted on lap 259. On lap 260, Jeff Gordon moved back into the lead, while Earnhardt, Jr. fell back to the seventh position. Three laps later, Edwards passed Brian Vickers to move into ninth.[16]

On lap 290, Earnhardt Jr was forced onto pit road after colliding with the wall at turn two. One lap later, Ragan drove to pit road because of overheating issues. On the 294th lap, Edwards reclaimed the lead off Gordon, while Ragan drove to the garage, three laps later. On lap 298, Stewart moved into second after passing Jeff Gordon. Four laps later, a sixth and final caution came out, after Stremme collided with the wall and spun going into turn 3. Jeff Gordon led on the restart. On lap 309, Johnson passed Stewart for the second position, while Jeff Gordon built up a 1.4 second lead four laps later. On the 314th lap, Biffle moved into the fourth position after passing Johnson. By lap 323, Jeff Gordon had increased his lead to 1.7 seconds over Johnson. Jeff Gordon maintained the lead to win his first race of the 2009 season. Johnson finished second, ahead of Biffle in third, Stewart in fourth, and Kenseth in fifth.[16]

Post-race

""I knew we were going to get one eventually, We had some missed opportunities last season, but that keeps you driving hard and pushing forward."

Jeff Gordon, speaking after the race.[17]

Jeff Gordon appeared in victory lane to celebrate his first win of the 2009 season in front of 176,300 who attended the race.[18] He also earned $541,874 in race winnings.[19] Gordon was delighted with his victory: "Incredible team effort. This whole year has been amazing. What a great car. I've never had a car like this at Texas. We finally had one and put it in position."[20] Johnson was happy with the result, saying, "It was nice to get our car up front and get some clean air on it. We had to work really hard all day long to keep the car right. I'm very proud of the team."[21] Biffle was candid with his performance: "We worked our way all the way back to fourth, third -- 15 more laps, would've passed [runner-up Jimmie Johnson] and then a little while longer we could've gotten [Gordon]. But, I just ran out of time, lost track position and weren't able to capitalize on it."[22]

The race results kept Jeff Gordon in the lead of the Drivers' Championship with 1154 points. Johnson, who finished behind Gordon, moved to second on 992, eighteen points ahead of Kurt Busch and twenty-five ahead of Bowyer.[23] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet increased their points total to 48, while Ford advanced to second with 38 and Toyota was bumped to third with 37.[9] 7.4 million people watched the race on television.[5]

Results

Qualifying

 Qualifying results
Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.344 190.516
2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.392 190.194
3 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.428 189.954
4 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.431 189.934
5 98 Paul Menard Robert Yates Racing Ford 28.435 189.907
6 9 Kasey Kahne Evernham Motorsports Dodge 28.436 189.000
7 14 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 28.450 189.907
8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.507 189.427
9 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.508 189.421
10 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.531 189.268
11 47 Marcos Ambrose JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 28.538 189.221
12 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. Team Penske Dodge 28.539 189.215
13 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.545 189.175
14 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.548 189.155
15 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.553 189.122
16 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.593 188.857
17 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.597 188.831
18 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 28.605 188.778
19 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.606 188.772
20 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.610 188.745
21 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 28.628 188.626
22 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 28.641 188.541
23 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.645 188.515
24 96 Bobby Labonte Hall of Fame Racing Ford 28.652 188.469
25 44 A.J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 28.678 188.298
26 34 John Andretti Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 28.679 188.291
27 09 Mike Bliss Phoenix Racing Dodge 28.722 188.009
28 2 Kurt Busch Penske Championship Racing Dodge 28.731 187.950
29 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota 28.739 187.898
30 171 David Gilliland TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 28.749 187.833
31 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 28.772 187.682
32 12 David Stremme Penske Racing Dodge 28.801 187.493
33 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 28.802 187.487
34 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 28.830 187.305
35 07 Casey Mears Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.834 187.279
36 26 Jamie McMurray Roush Fenway Racing Ford 28.840 187.240
37 21 Bill Elliott Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.871 187.039
38 43 Reed Sorenson Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 28.885 186.948
39 113 Max Papis Germain Racing Toyota 28.955 186.496
40 25 Brad Keselowski Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.977 186.355
41 8 Aric Almirola Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 29.008 186.156
42 19 Elliott Sadler Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 29.606 182.395
43 66 Dave Blaney Prism Motorsports Toyota 29.015 186.111
Failed to qualify
44 187 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 29.027 186.034
45 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 29.065 185.790
46 41 Jeremy Mayfield Mayfield Motorsports Toyota 29.135 185.344
47 64 Todd Bodine Gunselman Motorsports Toyota 29.261 184.546
48 36 Scott Riggs Tommy Baldwin Racing Toyota 29.352 183.974
Source:[13]

Race results

 Race results
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Points
1 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 195
2 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 175
3 14 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 334 170
4 7 14 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 334 165
5 3 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 334 160
6 23 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 155
7 16 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 334 146
8 28 2 Kurt Busch Penske Championship Racing Dodge 334 147
9 15 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 334 138
10 13 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 334 139
11 1 00 David Reuitmann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 334 135
12 22 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 334 127
13 5 98 Paul Menard Robert Yates Racing Ford 334 129
14 32 12 David Stremme Phoenix Racing Dodge 334 121
15 21 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 334 118
16 18 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 334 120
17 12 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. Team Penske Dodge 334 112
18 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 333 114
19 6 9 Kasey Kahne Evernham Motorsports Dodge 333 106
20 20 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 333 108
21 35 07 Casey Mears Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 333 100
22 19 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 333 97
23 40 25 Brad Keselowski Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 332 94
24 34 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 332 91
25 31 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 332 88
26 26 34 John Andretti Front Row Motorsports Chevrolet 332 85
27 17 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 331 72
28 37 21 Bill Elliott Wood Brothers Racing Ford 331 79
29 30 171 David Gilliland TRG Motorsports Chevrolet 330 76
30 10 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 330 73
31 33 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 330 70
32 42 19 Elliott Sadler Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 329 67
33 41 8 Aric Almirola Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 328 64
34 25 44 A.J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 328 61
35 39 113 Max Papis Germain Racing Toyota 326 58
36 38 43 Reed Sorenson Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 315 55
37 4 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 293 52
38 36 26 Jamie McMurray Roush Fenway Racing Ford 255 49
39 29 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota 249 46
40 24 96 Bobby Labonte Hall of Fame Racing Ford 229 43
41 11 47 Marcos Ambrose JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 216 40
42 27 09 Mike Bliss Phoenix Racing Dodge 76 37
43 43 66 Dave Blaney Prism Motorsports Toyota 48 34
Source:[1][19]

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Jeff Gordon 1154
2 Jimmie Johnson 992
3 Kurt Busch 974
4 Clint Bowyer 967
5 Tony Stewart 963
Source:[23]
Manufacturers' Championship standings
Pos Manufacturer Points
1 Chevorlet 48
2 Ford 38
3 Toyota 37
4 Dodge 31
Source:[9]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Samsung 500". Fox Sports. MSN. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "NASCAR: Reutimann captures pole for Sprint Cup race in Texas". Autoweek. Crain Communications, Inc. April 2, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "The Race: Samsung 500". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ "2009 Samsung 500 weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Yankee Publishing. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup TV Ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on 11 November 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Track Facts". Texas Motor Speedway. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  8. ↑ "Drivers' Championship Classification". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 27, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Manufacturers' Championship Classification". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  10. ↑ "2008 Samsung 500". Racing-Reference. Fox Sports Digital. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Practice One Speeds". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Qualifying Order". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Race Lineup". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Practice Two Speeds". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on April 7, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Practice Three Speeds". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on April 7, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 "Lap by Lap: Texas". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 6, 2009. Archived from the original on June 25, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  17. ↑ Graves, Gary (April 6, 2009). "Gordon drives away at Texas, snaps winless streak at 47". USA Today (Gannett Company). Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  18. ↑ "2009 Samsung 500". Racing-Reference. Fox Sports Digital. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "2009 Official Race Results: Samsung 500". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on July 7, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  20. ↑ Hawkins, Stephen (April 6, 2009). "Gordon snaps winless streak with victory at Texas". U-T San Diego (MLIM Holdings). Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  21. ↑ Sporting News Wire Service (April 6, 2009). "Gordon gets first victory at Texas to end winless skid". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  22. ↑ Rodman, Dave (April 6, 2009). "Biffle, Martin, Montoya gain momentum, ground at TMS". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Points Standings". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 2, 2010. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
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