2009 Kobalt Tools 500

2009 Kobalt Tools 500

Race details
Race 4 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Date	March 8, 2009 (2009-March-08)
Official name	Kobalt Tools 500
Location	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi (2.48 km)
Distance	330 laps, 508.2 mi (817.868 km)
Scheduled Distance	325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)[1]
Average speed	127.573 miles per hour (205.309 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Mark Martin	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	29.640
Most laps led
Driver	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing
Laps	234
Winner
No. 2	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 was the fourth race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. This 501 miles (806 km) race took place on March 8, 2009 at the 1.54 miles (2.48 km) Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia near Atlanta.

Race report

Mark Martin became the second-oldest pole winner only to Bill Elliott to take the green flag alongside 2001 winner of this event, Kevin Harvick. David Ragan dropped to the rear due to an engine change. Martin pulled ahead to lead the opening lap and Kurt Busch falls in line for second. The first caution of the day came on Lap 2 when Reed Sorenson reported something on his car broke and he smacked the wall. KU. Busch passed Martin on the restart on lap 6 to collect 5 bonus points. The second caution of the day came on lap 12 when Bobby Labonte got loose and spun out. He described his car as "amazingly loose". He received no damage. Ryan Newman takes two tires to get track position. Joe Nemechek, Mike Bliss, and Dave Blaney stay out during this set of pit stops. Newman led to take 5 bonus points. KU. Busch takes the lead back from Newman the very next lap. By lap 23 Jeff Gordon, who started 16th, made his way up to the 8th position after passing Kyle Busch. On Lap 33 Travis Kvapil went to the garage with engine problems. Mike Bliss and Travis Kvapil both dropped out of the race on Lap 42 with overheating problems. The 3rd caution of the day happened on Lap 69 when Marcos Ambrose's tire carrier ran across the pit lane to retrieve a tire. Jeff Gordon is developing clutch problems on lap 77, but he still runs 8th. On Lap 100 Juan Montoya has a flat tire and goes to the pits to replace the tire. Labonte is reporting engine problems and his engine is beginning to sputter. Labonte uses Roush engines. Fourth caution comes when Labonte gets sucked around by Juan Montoya for his second spin of the day. Bobby Labonte took his car to the garage. Martin Truex Jr passed kidney stones less than 12 hours before race start. Kurt Busch held off Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards to score his first victory of 2009, leading 235 laps en route to doing so. Aside from Busch, Gordon and Edwards were the only two drivers who led more than 10 laps.

Notes

Bobby Labonte made his 550th Cup career start. Kurt Busch led more laps in this race (234) than the total laps in his 2008 season (164).^[2] Kurt Busch's win and brother Kyle Busch's win in the last race (2009 Shelby 427) resulted in brothers winning two races back-to-back. The Busch brothers, also, won consecutive races in 2008 with the first Loudon race (Kurt Busch) and the second Daytona race (Kyle Busch). Jimmy Watts, crew member for Marcos Ambrose's #47 car, retrieved a tire that had rolled across the pit lane and was halfway across the infield grass on lap 69. He would be suspended for 4 races and was put on probation for the rest of 2009. Crew chief Frank Kerr also was put on probation for the rest of 2009.

References