2011 AdvoCare 500

The 2011 AdvoCare 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race scheduled to be held on September 4, 2011, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, but was rescheduled to September 6, 2011 because of Tropical Storm Lee. Contested over 325 laps, it was the 25th race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon's win, the 85th of his Cup Series career, gave him sole possession of the record for most Cup wins in NASCAR's "modern era" (1972–present), surpassing Darrell Waltrip.[5] Gordon also took sole possession of third place on the all-time Cup Series wins list, ahead of Waltrip and Bobby Allison.[6] The race was also known for being the first NASCAR race since 2007 to be run on a Tuesday.

2011 AdvoCare 500
Race details[1][2][3][4]
Race 25 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date September 6, 2011 (2011-09-06)
Location Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia
Course Permanent racing facility
1.54 mi (2.48 km)
Distance 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.5 km)
Weather Partly cloudy with temperatures around 95°F; wind out of the SW at 5 mph.
Pole position
Driver Red Bull Racing Team
Time 29.775
Most laps led
Driver Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 146
Winner
No. 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree

Report

Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.[7] The standard track at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long.[8] The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.[8]

Before the race, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson led the Drivers' Championship with 830 points, and Matt Kenseth stood in third with 798 points. Carl Edwards was fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 795 points, and Kevin Harvick was fifth with 782 points. Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart rounded out the first ten positions.[9] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 153 points, 19 points ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 133 points, was 25 points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[10] Stewart was the race's defending champion.[11]

Practice and qualifying

Two practice sessions were held before the Sunday race, one on Friday and the other on Saturday. The first session lasted 80 minutes, while the second session ran for 90 minutes.[12] During the first practice session, Brad Keselowski was quickest, ahead of Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer in second and third.[13] Martin Truex, Jr. was scored fourth quickest, while Mark Martin was fifth.[13] In the second and final practice session, Gordon was scored quickest, as Stewart and Bowyer followed in the second and third positions.[14] Keselowski was scored in the fourth position, while Greg Biffle followed in fifth.[14]

During qualifying, forty-seven cars were entered, but only forty-three would be able because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[15] Kasey Kahne clinched his eighth career pole position, with a time of 29.775 seconds.[16] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Bowyer.[16] Kyle Busch qualified third, Brian Vickers took fourth, and Gordon started fifth.[16] Kenseth, Edwards, Truex, Jr., Newman, and Kurt Busch rounded out the first ten positions.[16] The four drivers that failed to qualify for the race were T. J. Bell, David Stremme, Geoffrey Bodine, and Tony Raines.[16]

After winning the pole position, Kahne stated, "It was definitely not a perfect lap, but it was a little better than what everyone else did. I've ran better laps than that before and not been on the pole. You never know what you're going to get, but the track is pretty slippery right now and I like it like that." He also commented, "We need to win if we want to make the Chase. Right now we're one of the ones on the outside looking in." Bowyer, who qualified second, was relieved because of his good starting position: "A good qualifying run is a breath of fresh air for all of us. We need a good run desperately." He continued, "She was loose, holy cow! It was a handful for all of us."[17]

Race

The race, the 25th in the season, was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. EDT.[1] However, because of inclement weather from Tropical Storm Lee, NASCAR moved the start time twenty minutes earlier than the scheduled time.[18] The race was not able to be held as expected on September 4, 2011 and was rescheduled on September 6, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. EDT.[19] The race was televised live in the United States on ESPN.[1] This race was the first NASCAR race to be held on a Tuesday since 2007.


Results

Qualifying

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
4Kasey KahneRed Bull Racing TeamToyota29.775186.1971
33Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet29.819185.9222
18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota29.832185.8413
83Brian VickersRed Bull Racing TeamToyota29.843185.7724
24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet29.849185.7355
17Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord29.853185.7106
99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord29.877185.5617
56Martin Truex, Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota29.880185.5428
39Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet29.889185.4869
22Kurt BuschPenske RacingDodge29.915185.32510
43A. J. AllmendingerRichard Petty MotorsportsFord29.921185.28811
42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet29.939185.17612
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota29.947185.12713
2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge29.949185.11514
16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord29.958185.05915
00David ReutimannMichael Waltrip RacingToyota30.000184.80016
48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.055184.46217
9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord30.086184.27218
6David RaganRoush Fenway RacingFord30.128184.01519
14Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet30.147183.89920
29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30.163183.80121
27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30.183183.68022
47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota30.230183.39423
20Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota30.232183.38224
1Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet30.239183.33925
78Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet30.270183.15226
31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet30.275183.12127
66Michael McDowellHP RacingToyota30.291183.02528
88Dale Earnhardt, Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.312182.89829
46Scott SpeedWhitney MotorsportsFord30.319182.85630
38J. J. YeleyFront Row MotorsportsFord30.378182.50131
5Mark MartinHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet30.388182.44032
7Robby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsDodge30.502181.75933
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota30.513181.69334
36Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet30.556181.43735
34David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord30.673180.74536
51Landon CassillPhoenix RacingChevrolet30.702180.57537
13Casey MearsGermain RacingToyota30.757180.25238
60Mike SkinnerGermain RacingChevrolet30.798180.01239
32Mike BlissFAS Lane RacingFord30.819179.88940
55Travis KvapilFront Row MotorsportsFord30.822179.87241
71Andy LallyTRG MotorsportsFord31.060178.49342
95David StarrLeavine Family RacingFord30.845179.73743
Failed to Qualify
37Tony RainesMax Q MotorsportsFord30.870179.592
30David StremmeInception MotorsportsChevrolet30.883179.516
35Geoffrey BodineTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet31.014178.758
50T. J. BellLTD PowersportsChevrolet31.034178.643

Race results

Jeff Gordon scored the 85th win of his Cup Series career.
Race results
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 524Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet32548
2 1748Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet32543
3 2014Tony StewartStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet32541
4 1022Kurt BuschPenske RacingDodge32540
5 799Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord32540
6 142Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge32539
7 2129Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32537
8 1311Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota32537
9 617Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord32536
10 1143A.J. AllmendingerRichard Petty MotorsportsFord32534
11 483Brian VickersRed Bull Racing TeamToyota32533
12 1516Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord32532
13 2731Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32531
14 856Martin Truex, Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota32531
15 1242Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet32529
16 251Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet32528
17 325Mark MartinHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet32527
18 2227Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32526
19 2988Dale Earnahrdt, Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet32525
20 939Ryan NewmanStewart-Haas RacingChevrolet32524
21 189Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord32423
22 3751Landon CassillPhoenix RacingChevrolet3240
23 318Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota32422
24 2420Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota32420
25 3138J. J. YeleyFront Row MotorsportsFord32420
26 4032Mike BlissFAS Lane RacingFord3240
27 3536Mike SkinnerTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet3230
28 3813Casey MearsGermain RacingToyota32116
29 4395David StarrLeavine Family RacingFord3200
30 4271Andy LallyTRG MotorsportsFord31915
31 1600David ReutimannMichael Waltrip RacingToyota31513
32 3046Scott SpeedWhitney MotorsportsFord3100
33 2678Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet28411
34 14Kasey KahneRed Bull Racing TeamToyota26911
35 196David RaganRoush Fenway RacingFord2499
36 233Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2439
37 3634David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord1747
38 2347Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota910
39 337Robby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsDodge345
40 3487Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota270
41 2866Michael McDowellHP RacingToyota233
42 4155Travis KvapilFront Row MotorsportsFord170
43 3960Dave BlaneyGermain RacingChevrolet21
Source:[21]

Standings after the race

References

  1. "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  2. Brown, Brian (August 30, 2011). "The AdvoCare 500". Rotoworld.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  3. "Kahne wins pole at Atlanta; Bowyer second — Sep 03, 2011 - NASCAR.COM". Sporting News Wire Service. NASCAR. September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  4. Jensen, Tom (September 4, 2011). "NASCAR – CUP: Wet 'Lanta Rained Out". Speedtv.com. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  5. "Talking Points: Gordon's 85th". The Columbian. Vancouver, Washington. September 10, 2011. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  6. Newberry, Paul (September 7, 2011). "Gordon holds on at Atlanta for 85th career win". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  7. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  8. "NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway". Atlanta Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  9. "Driver's Championship Classification". NASCAR. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  10. "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  11. "2010 Emory Healthcare 500". racing-reference.com. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  12. "Event Schedule". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  13. "Practice 1 Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
  14. "Practice 2 Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  15. "Qualifying Order". NASCAR. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  16. "Race Lineup: Atlanta". NASCAR. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  17. "Kasey Kahne wins Sprint Cup pole on Atlanta's slippery track — USATODAY.com". USA Today. Atlanta, Georgia. Associated Press. September 3, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  18. Aumann, Mark (September 4, 2011). "Racing the weather — Sep 04, 2011 - NASCAR.COM". NASCAR. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  19. "Lap-by-Lap: Atlanta — Sep 04, 2011 - NASCAR.COM". NASCAR. September 4, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  20. "2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup AdvoCare 500 Starting Lineup". Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  21. http://racing-reference.info/race/2011_AdvoCare_500/W
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