2011 Tums Fast Relief 500

The 2011 Tums Fast Relief 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 30, 2011, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States. Contested over 500 laps on the 0.526-mile (2.414 km) oval, it was the 33rd race of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the seventh race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season. The race was won by Tony Stewart for the Stewart Haas Racing team. Jimmie Johnson finished second, and Jeff Gordon clinched third.

2011 TUMS Fast Relief 500

Race details[1][2]
Race 33 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date	October 30, 2011
Location	Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States
Course	Permanent racing facility 0.526 mi (0.847 km)
Distance	500 laps, 263 mi (423 km)
Weather	Mostly sunny with a high around 60; wind out of the NNE at 4 mph.
Pole position
Driver	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	125
Winner
No. 14	Tony Stewart	Stewart Haas Racing
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree

Report

Background

Martinsville Speedway, the race track where the race was held.

Martinsville Speedway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.[3] The standard track at Martinsville Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.526 miles (0.847 km) long.[4] The track's turns are banked at eleven degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at zero degrees. The back stretch also has s zero degree banking.[4] The racetrack has seats for 63,000 spectators.[4]

Before the race, Carl Edwards led the Drivers' Championship with 2,237 points, and Matt Kenseth stood in second with 2,223 points. Brad Keselowski followed in third with 2,219 points, one ahead of Tony Stewart and eight ahead of Kevin Harvick in fourth and fifth. Kyle Busch with 2,197 was ten points ahead of Jimmie Johnson, as Kurt Busch with 2,185 points, was 22 ahead of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and 30 in front of Jeff Gordon.[5] Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman was eleventh and twelfth with 2,153 and 2,149 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 217 points, 44 points ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 164 points, was 14 points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.[6] Hamlin was the race's defending champion.[7]

Carl Edwards was given the pole position after qualifying was cancelled

Practice and qualifying

Two 90 minute practice sessions were scheduled to be held on Friday in preparation for the race.[8] However, wet track conditions postponed and combined the sessions into one practice session on Saturday.[9] Afterward, the only session was delayed because of the wet track conditions.[9] Once the first and only session of practice began,[10] Michael McDowell was quickest with a time of 19.747 seconds in the first session, 0.023 seconds faster than Clint Bowyer.[11] Johnson was just off Bowyer's pace, followed by Carl Jamie McMurray, Scott Speed, and Paul Menard. David Stremme was seventh, still within a tenth of a second of McDowell's time.[11] Also in the session, there was a collision involving Harvick and Greg Biffle. Neither car was severely damaged from the incident.[10]

Forty-five cars were entered for qualifying, but only forty-three could qualify for the race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.[12] Wet track conditions before the scheduled starting time canceled the session, causing the grid to be created by Owners' Championship points.[13] Edwards was given the pole position.[14] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Kenseth.[14] Keselowski started third, Stewart took fourth, and Harvick fifth.[14] Kyle Busch, Johnson, Kurt Busch, Earnhardt, Jr. and Gordon completed the top ten.[14] The two drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Dennis Setzer and Derrike Cope.[14] Afterward, Edwards commented:

"We hope to have a good run here. We're leaning on Matt Kenseth’s success here from the last race and how well he ran, and I feel that we've got a good car, but you never know. This place has been a really tough racetrack for me and for our team, but we have had some really good runs here, and Matt's good run in the spring is really what gives us the confidence we have here, and, hopefully, we can go run well and keep this points lead or extend it moving forward toward some tracks that we're really confident about."[15]

Race

Tony Stewart won the race.

The race, the 33rd in the season, began at 2:00 p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on ESPN.[1] The conditions on the grid were dry before the race with the air temperature around 50 °F (10 °C).[16] Tony Beach, associate Pastor at Ft. Trial Baptist Church in Stanleytown, Virginia, began pre-race ceremonies by giving the invocation. Next, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Blue and Gold Marching Machine performed the national anthem, and Ashley Young, winner of the Tums Sweepstakes, gave the command for drivers to start their engines.[16] A late race caution set up a restart with 3 laps remaining, with Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart on the front row. Johnson chose the heavily-favored inside line, but Stewart had a great restart and cleared Johnson off of Turn 4 coming to 2 to go. Brad Keselowski was spun out on the restart, but was able to get back going and NASCAR decided not to throw the caution. Stewart would go on to win the race, his 3rd race victory of the 2011 season, all of them coming during the Chase.

Results

Qualifying

No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Grid
99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	1
17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	2
2	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Dodge	3
14	Tony Stewart	Stewart Haas Racing	Chevrolet	4
29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	5
18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	6
48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	7
22	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing	Dodge	8
88	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	9
24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	10
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	11
39	Ryan Newman	Stewart Haas Racing	Chevrolet	12
33	Clint Bowyer	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	13
4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	14
16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	15
43	A. J. Allmendinger	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	16
9	Marcos Ambrose	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	17
6	David Ragan	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	18
5	Mark Martin	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	19
42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	20
27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	21
20	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	22
31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	23
56	Martin Truex, Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	24
83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	25
78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	26
1	Jamie McMurray	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	27
00	David Reutimann	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	28
47	Bobby Labonte	JTG Daugherty Racing	Toyota	29
51	Landon Cassill	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet	30
34	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	31
36	Dave Blaney	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	32
13	Casey Mears	Germain Racing	Toyota	33
32	Ken Schrader	FAS Lane Racing	Ford	34
38	Travis Kvapil	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	35
71	Hermie Sadler	TRG Motorsports	Ford	36
7	Reed Sorenson	Robby Gordon Motorsports	Dodge	37
37	Mike Skinner	Max Q Motorsports	Ford	38
46	Scott Speed	Whitney Motorsports	Ford	39
66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing	Toyota	40
87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Toyota	41
30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports	Chevrolet	42
55	J. J. Yeley	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	43
Failed to Qualify
92	Dennis Setzer	K-Automotive Motorsports	Chevrolet
75	Derrike Cope	Stratus Racing Group	Dodge
Note: Since qualifying was cancelled, there were no time trials.
Sources:[13][14][15][17][18]

Race results

Pos	Grid	Car	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps Run	Points
1	4	14	Tony Stewart	Stewart Haas Racing	Chevrolet	500	47
2	7	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	43
3	10	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	42
4	5	29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	500	41
5	11	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	500	40
6	23	31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	500	38
7	9	88	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	500	37
8	24	56	Martin Truex, Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	500	36
9	1	99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	500	36
10	12	39	Ryan Newman	Stewart Haas Racing	Chevrolet	500	35
11	16	43	A. J. Allmendinger	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	500	34
12	33	13	Casey Mears	Germain Racing	Toyota	500	32
13	26	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	500	31
14	8	22	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing	Dodge	500	30
15	15	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	500	29
16	35	38	Travis Kvapil	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	500	0
17	3	2	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Dodge	500	27
18	22	20	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	500	26
19	13	33	Clint Bowyer	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	500	25
20	28	00	David Reutimann	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	500	24
21	34	32	Ken Schrader	FAS Lane Racing	Ford	500	23
22	20	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	497	22
23	32	36	Dave Blaney	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	497	21
24	21	27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	497	21
25	14	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	495	19
26	36	71	Hermie Sadler	TRG Motorsports	Ford	493	0
27	6	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	493	19
28	19	5	Mark Martin	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	491	16
29	17	9	Marcos Ambrose	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	488	15
30	25	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	484	14
31	2	17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	477	14
32	29	47	Bobby Labonte	JTG Daugherty Racing	Toyota	464	12
33	18	6	David Ragan	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	444	11
34	31	34	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	357	11
35	27	1	Jamie McMurray	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	85	9
36	37	7	Reed Sorenson	Robby Gordon Motorsports	Dodge	77	0
37	39	46	Scott Speed	Whitney Motorsports	Ford	74	0
38	42	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports	Chevrolet	52	6
39	40	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing	Toyota	45	0
40	43	55	J. J. Yeley	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	40	4
41	41	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Toyota	33	0
42	30	51	Landon Cassill	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet	27	0
43	38	37	Mike Skinner	Max Q Motorsports	Ford	7	0
Source:

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Carl Edwards 2,273 2 Tony Stewart 2,265 3 Kevin Harvick 2,252 4 Brad Keselowski 2,246 5 Matt Kenseth 2,237 6 Jimmie Johnson 2,230 7 Kyle Busch 2,216 8 Kurt Busch 2,215 9 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 2,200 10 Jeff Gordon 2,197 11 Denny Hamlin 2,193 12 Ryan Newman 2,184

Manufacturers' Championship standings[6] Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 226 2 Ford 177 3 Toyota 170 4 Dodge 153 Note: Only the top twelve positions are included for the driver standings.

References

1. "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
2. "The Tums Fast Relief 500". rotoworld.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
3. "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
4. "NASCAR Tracks—The Martinsville Speedway". Martinsville Speedway. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
5. "Driver's Championship Classification". NASCAR. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
6. "Manufactures' Championship Classification". Jayski.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
7. "2010 Tums Fast Relief 500". racing-reference.com. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
8. "Jayski'sŽ NASCAR Silly Season Site – Sprint Cup Race Info / Rundown Page". Jayski.com. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
9. "NASCAR — CUP: Rain Only Winner At Martinsville". Speedtv.com. October 28, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
10. "NASCAR — CUP: Harvick, Biffle Have bumpup in Practice". Speedtv.com. October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
11. "Practice One Timing and Scoring". NASCAR. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
12. "Qualifying Entry List". NASCAR. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
13. "Wet track forces cancellation of M'ville Cup quals". Sporting News Wire Service. NASCAR. October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
14. "Race Official Lineup: Tums Fast Relief 500". NASCAR. October 29, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
15. "Rain hands Edwards Martinsville pole". inRacingNews.com. October 29, 2011. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
16. "Race Summary". NASCAR. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
17. "Lineup Statistics". MotorRacingNetwork.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
18. "Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site — Martinsville Sprint Cup Qualifying Order/Results, Lineup". Jayski.com. Retrieved October 29, 2011.