2009 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
The 2009 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on August 3, 2009, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 200 laps, it was the twenty-first race of the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, won the race.
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 21 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 Pocono Raceway, the race track where the race was held. | |||
| Date | August 3, 2009 | ||
| Official name | Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 | ||
| Location | Pocono Raceway Long Pond, Pennsylvania | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.500 mi (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.67 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 79 °F (26 °C); with wind speeds climbing up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 80,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Stewart-Haas Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 91 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Dr. Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree[3] | ||
It took three hours fifty-seven minutes to complete. Juan Pablo Montoya was humbly given a second-place finish by being .869 seconds slower than Hamlin. Eight drivers failed to finish the race; including last-place finisher Mike Wallace who parked his car on lap 13. Derrike Cope's vehicle was too slow to qualify for the race. Previous-day rain forced a competition caution on lap 22; most other yellow flags after this one were mainly for debris or accidents. Nearly 20% of the race was held under the caution flag; with a green flag run lasting an average of nearly 15 laps.[2]
Top ten finishers
| Pos[2] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 200 | 91 |
| 2 | 10 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 |
| 3 | 16 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | 200 | 23 |
| 4 | 29 | 77 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | Dodge | 200 | 0 |
| 5 | 8 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | 200 | 35 |
| 6 | 15 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 200 | 0 |
| 7 | 9 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 200 | 10 |
| 8 | 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 |
| 9 | 4 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 200 | 14 |
| 10 | 1 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 |
Timeline
- Start of race: Jimmie Johnson began the race in first place
- Lap 13: Mike Wallace decided to park his vehicle even though nothing was wrong with it
- Lap 17: The power steering malfunctioned in Tony Raines' vehicle
- Lap 24: David Gilliand's alternator stopped working properly
- Lap 26: Dave Blaney managed to overheat his vehicle
- Lap 30: Ignition problems forced Joe Nemechek out of the race
- Lap 36: Transmission issues caused Sterling Marlin to exit the race prematurely
- Lap 38: Patrick Carpentier's race weekend would be over due to a faulty transmission
- Lap 180: Bobby Labonte had a terminal crash; forcing him to retire from the race early
- Finish: Denny Hamlin was officially declared the winner of the event
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points[2] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Stewart | 3188 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 2991 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | 2989 |
| 4 | Kurt Busch | 2751 |
| 5 | Denny Hamlin | 2713 |
References
- "2009 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
- "2009 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500". Racing-reference. Yardbarker. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
- "The Race: Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.