2009 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

Race details[1][2][3]
Race 35 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Official logo of the race
Date	November 15, 2009 (2009-November-15)
Official name	Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
Location	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona
Course	1.000 mi (1.609 km)
Distance	312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 68 °F (20 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)[4]
Average speed	110.486 miles per hour (177.810 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Martin Truex Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Time	26.643
Most laps led
Driver	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	238
Winner
No. 48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree
Nielsen Ratings	3.6/6 (Final) 2.9/6 (Overnight) (5.17 million)[5]

The 2009 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was the thirty-fifth and penultimate stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the ninth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on November 15, 2009, at Phoenix International Raceway, in Avondale, Arizona before a crowd of 90,000. The 312-lap race was won by Jimmie Johnson of the Hendrick Motorsports team after starting from third position. Richard Childress Racing's Jeff Burton finished second and Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing placed third.

Entering the race, only Hendrick Motorsports teammates Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon remained in contention for the Drivers' Championship, with Johnson holding a 73-point margin over Martin in second. Martin Truex Jr. started from pole position by setting the fastest lap in the qualifying session, although he was passed by Kurt Busch by the end of the first lap. Fifty-six laps later, Johnson became the leader of the race. Many Chase for the Sprint Cup participants, including Gordon and Martin ran in the top ten for most of the race. Johnson maintained the first position to lead the most laps of 238, and to win his seventh race of the season. There were four cautions and nine lead changes among four different drivers during the course of the race.

The event saw Johnson claim his seventh race victory of the 2009 season, and the forty-seventh of his career. The result kept Johnson in the lead of the Drivers' Championship, one-hundred and eight points ahead of Martin and one-hundred and sixty nine in front of Gordon. Chevrolet maintained their lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, fifty-eight ahead of Toyota, ninety-five in front of Ford and one-hundred and eight ahead of Dodge. The race attracted 5.17 million television viewers.

Background

Phoenix International Raceway, where the race was held.

The 2009 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was the thirty-fifth of thirty-six scheduled stock car races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the ninth in the ten race season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup.^[3] It took place on November 15, 2009, in Avondale, Arizona, at Phoenix International Raceway,^[6] a short track that holds NASCAR races.^[7] The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long.^[8] The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at three degrees. The back stretch, which has a dogleg shape instead of a straight, has nine degrees of banking.^[8]

Before the race, Jimmie Johnson led the Drivers' Championship with 6,297 points, and Mark Martin stood in second with 6,224 points. Jeff Gordon followed in third with 6,185 points, fifty-nine ahead of Kurt Busch, and ninety-eight in front of Tony Stewart in fourth and fifth. Juan Pablo Montoya with 6,061 was eleven points ahead of Greg Biffle, as Denny Hamlin with 5,975 points, was two ahead of Ryan Newman, and seventy-seven in front of Kasey Kahne. Carl Edwards and Brian Vickers in eleventh and twelfth with 5,857 and 5,777 points rounded out the contenders for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.^[9] Johnson had to attain 122 more points than Martin to be leading the championship standings by 195 points and become the Drivers' Champion at Phoenix.^[10] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet were leading with 247 points, fifty-five ahead of their rival Toyota. Ford, with 158 points, were seven points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.^[11] Johnson was the race's defending champion.^[10]

At the previous race at Texas Motor Speedway, the Dickies 500,^[12] the gap between Johnson and his teammate Martin was reduced by 111 points to 73 points.^[13] Johnson came 38th after becoming involved in a three-car accident three laps into the event while Martin finished fourth.^[14] For his part, Johnson remained confident about his chances of winning the title, "We still have a nice lead and we'll take it from here... We're still in a great position and we'll go to Phoenix and race."^[15] He deemed his 73-point advantage to be "very, very healthy" and noted that Martin could be affected by problems at Phoenix.^[16] Martin said he would not change his strategy of attempting to secure victory in his bid to win his first championship, adding, "We aren't in control of anything else that happens. I've said all along that you can't make predictions, and I still say that it's not over."^[14] He added that he concentrated on the race at Phoenix and not on scoring points.^[17]

Practice and qualifying

Martin Truex,Jr. who won pole position with the fastest time, 26.643.

Two practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—both on Saturday. A practice session scheduled for Friday morning was cancelled because of rain. The first session lasted 45 minutes, and the second and final session lasted 60 minutes.^[3]

Forty-six drivers were entered in the qualifier on Friday evening;^[3][18] according to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, forty-three were allowed to race. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitor's fastest times.^[3] A majority of drivers recorded their fastest laps during their second timed lap.^[19] Martin Truex Jr. clinched his third pole position of the season and the fourth of his career at his first attempt to set a time, with a lap of 26.643 seconds.^[19][20] He was joined on the grid's front row by Kurt Busch. Johnson qualified third, Kahne took fourth after he had held pole position earlier in the session, and Hamlin started fifth.^[19] Biffle, Kyle Busch, Stewart, Casey Mears and Martin completed the top ten positions. The three drivers that failed to qualify were Regan Smith, Kevin Conway and Brandon Ash.^[21] After the qualifier Truex said, "(Today) we were pretty good in practice. This is a weird track where you go out in practice, then expect to pick up a half-second somehow (in qualifying). We did. It's strange, but it felt good."^[2]

In the first practice session, Sam Hornish Jr. was fastest with a lap of 26.889 seconds, finishing ahead of Kahne in second, and Kyle Busch in third. Biffle was fourth fastest, and Hamlin placed fifth. Montoya, Johnson, Martin, Stewart and Gordon rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session. Of the other drivers in the chase, Vickers was fifteenth fastest, while Newman placed seventeenth.^[22] Later that day, Johnson was fastest in the second and final practice session with a time of 27.201 seconds, ahead of Martin in second, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in third. Truex was fourth quickest, and Kurt Busch took fifth. Jeff Burton managed sixth. Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano and Kahne followed in the top ten. Other chase drivers included Montoya in seventeenth and Edwards in twenty-third.^[23] Kahne scraped the turn two wall and sustained minor damage to the right-hand quarter of his car.^[3]

Race

The race began at 3:15 p.m. EST and was televised in the United States on ESPN.^[1] Commentary was provided by play-by-play caller Jerry Punch, and both Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree provided analysis.^[3] Approximately 90,000 spectators attended the event.^[25] Around the start of the race, weather conditions were sunny. Phoenix International Raceway chaplin Ken Bowers began pre-race ceremonies by giving the invocation. Former J Records recording artist Tyrese Gibson performed the national anthem, and Senator John McCain commanded the drivers to start their engines. No driver had to move to rear of the grid at the start of the race.^[26]

Truex retained his pole position lead into the first lap. On the same lap, Kurt Busch passed Truex to become the new race leader. One lap later, Martin, who started tenth, fell to eleventh. On the 4th lap, Hornish had moved up to seventh position after passing Kyle Busch and Gordon. Two laps later, Montoya moved into the sixteenth position, as Martin passed Stewart for tenth on lap 7. By the 9th lap, Kurt Busch had a one-second lead over Truex One lap later, Kurt Busch increased his lead to 1.5 seconds. On lap 13, Martin passed Kyle Busch to claim ninth. Two laps later, Martin moved into eighth.^[26]

Gordon who began the race in fourteenth, had progressed eight positions to sixth by lap 22. Three laps later, Truex had reduced Kurt Busch's lead to one second, as Martin moved into seventh on lap 28. One lap later, Kurt Busch extended his lead over Truex to 1.6 seconds, as Gordon moved into fifth position.^[26] On lap 34, Johnson passed Truex for second and began closing up to Kurt Busch; Martin passed Gordon to claim fifth on lap 39.^[27] Four laps later, Johnson closed to half a second from Kurt Busch. Twelve laps later, Earnhardt dropped to twentieth position.^[26] On lap 54, Johnson passed Kurt Busch to claim the lead as slower traffic impeded Busch.^[27] Martin moved to fourth four laps later.^[26]

By lap 60, Johnson built up a 1.5 second lead over Kurt Busch, while Hamlin moved into the third position. Green flag pit stops took place from lap 65 to 73; Kurt Busch reclaimed the lead at the end of the cycle.^[26] On lap 90, Johnson passed Kurt Busch to take over the lead position by using Reed Sorenson for drafting purposes.^[27] Hamlin took over fifth position on the following lap. On the 102nd lap, Martin and Gordon moved into third and fourth respectively. Four laps later, Montoya moved into fourth. Having started on pole position, Truex clinched sixth position on lap 107. On lap 115, the pace car moved on track because debris was spotted on the track. During the caution, most of the leaders made pit stops.^[26]

Johnson maintained his lead on the lap 120 restart,^[6] followed by Martin and Gordon. Also, the second caution was prompted when Michael Waltrip damaged his car on that restart, Brad Keselowski was hit from behind and David Ragan spun sideways. None of the leaders chose to make pit stops, as the clean-up crew came on track to clear debris and fluids.^[26] Johnson held the lead at the lap 128 restart.^[6] Gordon accelerated slower than the leaders and dropped to sixth position by the next lap. On lap 129, Kyle Busch and Gordon made contact, but both managed to continue, without damaging their cars. By the next lap, Hamlin passed Martin for second position. On lap 134, Johnson had a 1.5 second lead, as Clint Bowyer moved into the fifth position. By the 138th lap, Johnson's lead was increased to two seconds.^[26]

Jimmie Johnson won the race after leading the most laps, and maintained his lead in the Drivers' Championship

Kurt Busch and Montoya moved into fourth and ninth positions respectively on lap 141. By the 150th lap, Johnson had built up a 2.7 second lead over Hamlin. On lap 162, Johnson's lead of 3.4 seconds was reduced to nothing when debris was spotted on the track, causing a caution. During the caution, some of the leaders elected to make pit stops.^[26] Johnson remained the leader on the restart on lap 169,^[6] ahead of Bowyer and Hamlin.^[26] Two laps later, a multi-car collision occurred on the narrow front straightway as Earnhardt lost control of his car while driving on the inside of Ambrose,^[25][28] and collected Logano, Scott Speed, Hornish, Bobby Labonte, Kenseth, Stewart, Vickers and Keselowski. The damaged cars headed to the pit road during the caution as crews cleaned up debris.^[26]

Johnson maintained his lead at the lap 179 restart.^[6] On the same lap, Earnhardt headed for his garage because of an oil leak. Three laps later, Vickers and Labonte retired from the race, and Gordon dropped to tenth position. By the 186th lap, Johnson rebuilt his lead to 2.3 seconds, as Bowyer passed Gordon to claim third. Five laps later, Martin and Gordon moved into sixth and ninth positions respectively. Johnson's lead over Kurt Busch was three seconds by lap 196. Four laps later, Edwards moved up to eighteenth position, while Montoya moved to eighth, one lap later. By lap 203, Johnson maintained a 3.4 second lead, while Burton was passed by Martin for fifth position five laps later. Johnson's lead was increased to 4.3 seconds by the 215th lap. On lap 219, Hamlin moved into the third position, and one lap later, Martin moved up another place to fourth. On lap 222, Johnson increased his lead over Kurt Busch to almost five seconds. Six laps later, Earnhardt rejoined the race.^[26]

Green flag pit stops began on lap 240; Johnson made a pit stop on lap 242, giving the lead to Kenseth. After pit stops, Johnson regained the first position. By lap 277, the drivers reported their cars becoming loose as track temperatures began to drop. Twelve laps later, Burton passed Hamlin for the second position. On lap 296, Gordon passed Ambrose to claim ninth, while Truex moved into the fifth position. By lap 302, Johnson maintained a 1.8 second lead over Burton. Two laps later, David Reutimann moved back into the top ten after passing Ambrose, while Kurt Busch moved up to sixth on lap 310.^[26] Johnson maintained his lead to secure his seventh race victory of the 2009 season, the best win record of any driver over the course of the season,^[25] and the 47th of his career.^[29] Burton finished a season-high second, ahead of Hamlin in third, Martin in fourth, and Truex in fifth. Kurt Busch, Bowyer, Montoya, Gordon and Reutimann rounded out the top ten finishers.^[28] There were nine lead changes among four different drivers during the race. Johnson led four times for a total of 238 laps, more than any other driver.^[6]

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos +/– Driver Points 1 Jimmie Johnson 6,492 2 Mark Martin 6,384 (−108) 3 Jeff Gordon 6,323 (−169) 4 Kurt Busch 6,281 (−211) 5 Tony Stewart 6,207 (−285) 6 Juan Pablo Montoya 6,203 (−289) 7 Greg Biffle 6,171 (−321) 8 Denny Hamlin 6,140 (−352) 9 Ryan Newman 6,081 (−411) 10 Kasey Kahne 6,016 (−476) 11 Carl Edwards 5,972 (−520) 12 Brian Vickers 5,826 (−666) Source:[33]

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos +/– Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 256 2 Toyota 198 (−58) 3 Ford 161 (−95) 4 Dodge 155 (−101) Source:[11] Note: Only the top twelve positions are included for the driver standings. These drivers qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

References