2009 Sharpie 500

The 2009 Sharpie 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 22, 2009, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.[2]

2009 Sharpie 500
Race details[1]
Race 24 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Date August 22, 2009 (2009-August-22)
Official name Sharpie 500
Location Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee
Course Permanent racing facility
0.533 mi (0.857 km)
Distance 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km)
Weather Temperatures up to 82 °F (28 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)
Average speed 80.24 miles per hour (129.13 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Hendrick Motorsports
Time 15.414
Most laps led
Driver Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 240
Winner
No. 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett

The 500 lap race was the twenty-fourth in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Kyle Busch, of the Joe Gibbs Racing team, won the race, with Mark Martin finishing second, and Marcos Ambrose third. There were 11 cautions and 12 lead changes throughout the course of the race. [3] They finished the night in 27th

Summary

It took three hours, eight minutes and thirty-one seconds to fully resolve the race. An incredibly packed racetrack of 160,000 people would see eleven cautions for a duration of 76 laps. Approximately 15% of the race was held under caution; with accidents being the predominant cause of the yellow flags. Four drivers failed to make the race: Mike Skinner, Max Papis, Mike Wallace and Aric Almirola. The average green flag run was 35 laps; with a ten-lap caution period for rain.[4]

Dave Blaney was the worst driver of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season coming out of this race with a last-place finish; leaving the race on lap 8 due to an accident. Mark Martin was the undisputed best driver in the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season after this event; even though he finished in second place behind Kyle Busch.[5]

Gambling pundits were marvelled over Kyle Busch's victory in the 2009 Spring Bristol race along with another previous win at the Spring 2007 Bristol race. The same critics would pan the inferior performance of Kevin Harvick at Bristol Motor Speedway; acquiring only an average finish of 11th place in the seventeen previous races at Bristol before this one.[6]

Top ten finishers
Pos[4] Grid No. Driver Manufacturer Laps Laps led
1 1518Kyle BuschToyota50068
2 15Mark MartinChevrolet500240
3 2547Marcos AmbroseToyota5000
4 216Greg BiffleFord50076
5 4111Denny HamlinToyota5000
6 939Ryan NewmanChevrolet5000
7 132Kurt BuschDodge5000
8 2148Jimmie JohnsonChevrolet500107
9 2788Dale Earnhardt, Jr.Chevrolet5000
10 517Matt KensethFord5000

Timeline
  • Start of race: Mark Martin started with race in first place
  • Lap 8: Dave Blaney had a terminal crash; forcing him to become the last-place driver
  • Lap 27: Tony Raines had problems with his transmission and had to exit from the race
  • Lap 48: Joe Nemechek developed wheel bearing issues in his vehicle; making him the second DNF of the event
  • Lap 244: Terry Labonte cracked his vehicle's rear end; causing his race weekend to end suddenly
  • Lap 353: David Gilliand had a terminal crash; which prevented him from getting a respectable finish
  • Lap 438: Kevin Harvick had a terminal crash; forcing him to leave the race prematurely
  • Lap 490: Michael Waltrip had a terminal crash; ending any hopes of getting a "top 10" finish
  • Finish: Kyle Busch was officially declared the winner of the event

References
  1. "Official Weather Information : Sharpie 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
  2. "2009 Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Archived from the original on 1 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  3. "2009 Official Race Results : Sharpie 500". Nascar.Com. 2009-08-22. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  4. "2009 Official Race Results : Sharpie 500". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  5. "Weakest Driver and Strongest Driver : Sharpie 500". Jayski. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  6. "Gambling Pundits' Opinions : Sharpie 500". Cappers Picks. 2009-08-22. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
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