2011 Bank of America 500

The 2011 Bank of America 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 15, 2011, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval, it was the 31st race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the fifth race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season. The race was won by Matt Kenseth for the Roush Fenway Racing team. Kyle Busch finished second, and Carl Edwards clinched third.

2011 Bank of America 500
Race details[1][2][3]
Race 31 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date October 15, 2011 (2011-10-15)
Location Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806 km)
Weather Clear with temperatures around 72 °F (22 °C), wind WNW at 8 mph.
Average speed 146.194 miles per hour (235.276 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Stewart Haas Racing
Time 28.131
Most laps led
Driver Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 110
Winner
No. 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree

Report

Background

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

Charlotte Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate to hold NASCAR races; the others are Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.[4] The standard track at Charlotte Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long.[5] 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 had a five degree banking.[5] The racetrack has seats for 140,000 spectators.[5]

Heading into the fifth race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Ford driver Carl Edwards was leading the Drivers' Championship with 2,161 points; Chevrolet driver Kevin Harvick was second with 2,160 points, one point behind Edwards.[6] Behind Edwards and Harvick in the Drivers' Championship, Jimmie Johnson was third with 2,157 points in a Chevrolet, and Brad Keselowski was fourth with 2,150 points. Matt Kenseth was fifth with 2,149, four points ahead of Kurt Busch.[6] Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Jeff Gordon rounded out the first ten positions in the Drivers' Championship.[6] Chevrolet had already secured the Manufacturer's Championship one week earlier after the Hollywood Casino 400, and entered the race on 204 points, 43 points ahead of Ford on 161 points and 50 points ahead of Toyota.[7] Jamie McMurray was the race's defending winner.[8]

Practice and qualifying

Three practice sessions were held before the race; the first on Thursday, which lasted 90 minutes. The second and third were both on Friday afternoon. The first Saturday practice lasted 45 minutes, while the second lasted 60.[9] Kasey Kahne was quickest with a time of 28.205 seconds in the first session, 0.018 seconds faster than Paul Menard.[10] Greg Biffle was just off Busch's pace, followed by Mark Martin, Regan Smith, and Marcos Ambrose. Denny Hamlin was seventh, still within two-tenths of a second of Edwards's time.[10]

Forty-six cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[11] Stewart clinched the 13th pole position of his career, with a time of 28.131 seconds.[12] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Kenseth.[12] Edwards qualified third, A. J. Allmendinger took fourth, and Biffle started fifth.[12] Ryan Newman, Menard, Kahne, Johnson and Trevor Bayne rounded out the first ten positions. The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Geoffrey Bodine, Scott Speed, and Josh Wise.[12]

Once the qualifying session completed, Stewart commented, "I was watching guys' lap times, and looking at the sheet to seeing what they practiced, and it wasn't as much [of an increase] as what we've seen. I think, obviously, we've had a lot of cloud cover today and cool temperatures here the last couple of days, so I don't think the track changed as much and got as hot during the day as what we typically see here. I think that's the reason that we didn't have the big pick-ups. But you still anticipate that, at night, the guys are going to pick up speed. It just seems like the air's a little muggier right now. I don't know whether that hurt horsepower or even created more drag and kind of evened everything out."[13]

In the second practice session, Keselowski was fastest with a time of 28.810 seconds, less than a tenth of a second quicker than second-placed Kahne. Newman took third place, ahead of Kurt Busch, Stewart and Kyle Busch. Johnson was only quick enough for the 10th position.[14] In the third and final practice, Kahne remained quickest with a time of 28.700 seconds. Menard followed in second, ahead of Biffle and Johnson. Jeff Burton was fifth quickest, with a time of 28.855 seconds. Newman, Ambrose, Gordon, Allmendinger, and Kurt Busch rounded out the first ten positions.[15]

Results

Qualifying

No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed Grid
14Tony StewartStewart Haas RacingChevrolet28.131191.9591
17Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord28.137191.9182
99Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord28.144191.8703
43A. J. AllmendingerRichard Petty MotorsportsFord28.159191.7684
16Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord28.163191.7415
39Ryan NewmanStewart Haas RacingChevrolet28.186191.5856
27Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.204191.4627
4Kasey KahneRed Bull Racing TeamToyota28.214191.3948
48Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.222191.3409
21Trevor BayneWood Brothers RacingFord28.234191.25910
6David RaganRoush Fenway RacingFord28.272191.00211
9Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord28.272191.00212
5Mark MartinHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.287190.90013
29Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.288190.89414
88Dale Earnhardt, Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.297190.83315
20Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.299190.82016
11Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.302190.79917
56Martin Truex, Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota28.326190.63818
33Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.330190.61119
22Kurt BuschPenske RacingDodge28.336190.57020
78Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet28.357190.42921
47Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota28.383190.25522
24Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet28.420190.00723
13Casey MearsGermain RacingToyota28.462189.72724
18Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota28.490189.54025
2Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge28.493189.52026
1Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet28.511189.40127
31Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet28.559189.08228
00David ReutimannMichael Waltrip RacingToyota28.583188.92329
51Landon CassillPhoenix RacingChevrolet28.594188.85130
83Brian VickersRed Bull Racing TeamToyota28.606188.77231
42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet28.613188.72532
34David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord28.632188.60033
55Travis KvapilFront Row MotorsportsFord28.682188.27134
36Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet28.687188.23935
30David StremmeInception MotorsportsChevrolet28.736187.91836
66Michael McDowellHP RacingToyota28.807187.45437
38J. J. YeleyFront Row MotorsportsFord28.818187.38338
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota28.829187.31139
77Andy LallyTRG MotorsportsFord28.930186.65740
71Hermie SadlerTRG MotorsportsFord29.083185.67641
32Mike BlissFAS Lane RacingFord29.120185.44042
7Robby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsDodge28.985186.30343
Failed to Qualify
35Geoffrey BodineTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet28.994186.245
46Scott SpeedWhitney MotorsportsFord29.000186.207
37Josh WiseMax Q MotorsportsFord29.129185.382

Race results

Matt Kenseth won the race.
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Run Points
1217Matt KensethRoush Fenway RacingFord33447
22518Kyle BuschJoe Gibbs RacingToyota33444
3399Carl EdwardsRoush Fenway RacingFord33442
484Kasey KahneRed Bull Racing TeamToyota33440
5129Marcos AmbroseRichard Petty MotorsportsFord33439
61429Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet33438
7443A. J. AllmendingerRichard Petty MotorsportsFord33437
8114Tony StewartStewart Haas RacingChevrolet33437
91711Denny HamlinJoe Gibbs RacingToyota33435
10639Ryan NewmanStewart Haas RacingChevrolet33435
11116David RaganRoush Fenway RacingFord33434
121620Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs RacingToyota33432
132022Kurt BuschPenske RacingDodge33431
143242Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet33431
15516Greg BiffleRoush Fenway RacingFord33430
16262Brad KeselowskiPenske RacingDodge33328
17727Paul MenardRichard Childress RacingChevrolet33327
182831Jeff BurtonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet33326
191588Dale Earnhardt, Jr.Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet33325
203183Brian VickersRed Bull Racing TeamToyota33324
212324Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet33323
223838J. J. YeleyFront Row MotorsportsFord33323
231856Martin Truex, Jr.Michael Waltrip RacingToyota33221
241933Clint BowyerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet33220
252178Regan SmithFurniture Row RacingChevrolet33219
262900David ReutimannMichael Waltrip RacingToyota33218
27271Jamie McMurrayEarnhardt Ganassi RacingChevrolet33217
283051Landon CassillPhoenix RacingChevrolet3320
292247Bobby LabonteJTG Daugherty RacingToyota33115
304232Mike BlissFAS Lane RacingFord3310
311021Trevor BayneWood Brothers RacingFord3290
322413Casey MearsGermain RacingToyota32312
334171Hermie SadlerTRG MotorsportsFord3220
34948Jimmie JohnsonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet31611
353536Dave BlaneyTommy Baldwin RacingChevrolet2929
363334David GillilandFront Row MotorsportsFord2898
37135Mark MartinHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet2877
38437Robby GordonRobby Gordon MotorsportsDodge336
393766Michael McDowellHP RacingToyota305
403455Travis KvapilFront Row MotorsportsFord270
413630David StremmeInception MotorsportsChevrolet223
424077Andy LallyTRG MotorsportsFord200
433987Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota110
Source:[18]

Standings after the race

References

  1. "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  2. Brown, Brian. "The Bank of America 500". October 11, 2011. RotoWorld.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  3. "Stewart claims pole at Charlotte". inRacingNews.com. October 14, 2011. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  4. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  5. "NASCAR Tracks—The Charlotte Motor Speedway". Charlotte Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on September 28, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  6. "Pre-race Drivers' Championship Standings". NASCAR. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  7. "Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site – 2011 Manufacturers Championship Standings". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  8. "2010 Bank of America 500". Racing-Reference.info. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  9. "Jayski'sŽ NASCAR Silly Season Site – Sprint Cup Race Info / Rundown Page". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  10. "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  11. "Qualifying Entry List". NASCAR. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  12. "Race Official Lineup". Nascar.Com. October 13, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  13. "Stewart scores Charlotte Cup pole, his first of '11". Sporting News Wire Service. NASCAR. October 13, 2011. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  14. "Practice Two Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  15. "Practice Three Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  16. "Lineup Statistics". Motor Racing Network. International Speedway Corporation. Archived from the original on November 23, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  17. "Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site — Indianapolis Sprint Cup Qualifying Order/Results, Lineup". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  18. "Bank of America 500 Race Results". Motor Racing Network. International Speedway Corporation. October 15, 2011. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
Previous race:
2011 Hollywood Casino 400
Sprint Cup Series
2011 season
Next race:
2011 Good Sam Club 500
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