2009 AAA 400: Johnson Leads 271 Laps to Win at Dover

Jimmie Johnson won the 2009 AAA 400 on 27 September 2009 at Dover International Speedway in Delaware, starting from pole. The race was the twenty-eighth of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the second event of the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. Johnson led the most laps, 271, and crossed the line 1.970 seconds ahead of his teammate Mark Martin.

What is Dover International Speedway?

Dover International Speedway is a four-turn oval that measures 1.6 km (1 mi) around. Its turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, where the finish line sits, and the backstretch are each banked at nine degrees. The track is a short oval that holds NASCAR races, and the event was staged there on the standard configuration.

The race drew 110,000 people to the grandstands. Johnson had already won the Autism Speaks 400 at the same track earlier in 2009, and he entered the AAA 400 believing the track's evolution would help create better racing.

The race was televised live on ESPN, and the commentary team was Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree. The broadcast later reported a television audience of 5.08 million viewers for the race.

Johnson led 271 laps, won from pole and rode out a lap 31 crash that rolled Logano's car.

What was the championship picture before Dover?

Mark Martin led the Drivers' Championship on 5,230 points before Dover. Johnson and Denny Hamlin shared second on 5,195 points, 35 adrift of Martin. Juan Pablo Montoya was fourth on 5,175, and Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart were fifth and sixth.

Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne filled the rest of the Chase top twelve, with Kahne closing the group on 5,069 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet led with 199 points, thirty-nine ahead of Toyota, and Dodge was one point clear of Ford for third.

Martin had won the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire before coming to Dover. He said he wanted to drive hard and win, but warned against getting overexcited because there was still a lot of racing to come. Montoya, third at New Hampshire, admitted that his team was inexperienced in the Chase and said they would do their best to fight for the title.

How did the practice sessions go?

Practice ran in three sessions before Sunday's race: one on Friday and two on Saturday. The first lasted 90 minutes, the second 45 minutes and the final session 60 minutes. Johnson was fastest in the first session at 22.781 seconds, ahead of Newman and Montoya, and Bowyer broke a rocker arm that forced an engine change.

On Saturday morning Kurt Busch was quickest in the second session at 23.524 seconds, with Montoya and Newman behind him. Kahne then set the fastest time in the final session at 23.682 seconds. Biffle was eleventh fastest in that session, and Hamlin was 18th in the Chase order.

How did qualifying set the grid?

Forty-four drivers entered the Friday qualifier, and forty-three were allowed to race under NASCAR's procedure. Each driver ran two laps, with the grid set by the fastest times. Johnson took his 21st career pole at 22.878 seconds on his first attempt, and Montoya lined up beside him, holding the position until Johnson's lap.

Newman qualified third, Biffle fourth and David Reutimann fifth. Kahne, Gordon, Bowyer, Sam Hornish Jr. and Paul Menard completed the top ten. Scott Wimmer was the driver who failed to qualify, and he had set the slowest lap of the session.

Johnson said the pole would make the weekend much better and give the team momentum going into the race, but he added that the team still had to perform.

What happened at the start?

The race began at 2:17 p.m. under cloudy skies at 22 degrees Celsius (71 degrees Fahrenheit), with a moderate chance of rain forecast. Sergeant Major John Jones of the Pennsylvania National Guard gave the order to start engines. Bowyer, Sadler and Tony Raines had to start from the rear because they had changed engines.

NASCAR announced a competition caution on lap 25 so teams could check tyre wear. Rain overnight had removed most of the rubber laid down on the track, so drivers were required to pit, and teams were not allowed to refuel during the caution.

Johnson kept the lead into the first turn, and Newman passed Montoya for second on the first lap. By the tenth lap Johnson had built a 1.2-second advantage over Newman. Bowyer, who had started at the back, moved up thirteen positions to 29th by lap 15, and Martin had lost four spots to be 18th by lap four.

The competition caution came out on lap 27. Many drivers had two tyres fitted during their stops, and Newman took the lead at the restart after Gilliland had briefly led on lap 28.

What was the crash on lap 31?

A multi-car collision in turn three on lap 31 brought out the second caution of the race. Joey Logano slowed to avoid Bobby Labonte, and Tony Stewart hit the back of Logano's car. Reed Sorenson then struck Logano, and his car went into the turn three barrier, rolling several times before coming to rest on its wheels.

Logano climbed out unhurt and was taken by ambulance to the infield care centre, where he was checked and released. Stewart's car was damaged on the right side. The crash also took out Truex and Robby Gordon, and it was followed by a red flag on the next lap to clear debris.

The restart came 23 minutes and 38 seconds later under caution. Newman kept the lead at the restart, followed by Kurt Busch and Menard. Montoya and Gordon then passed Menard for fifth and sixth.

How did the lead change hands in the middle of the race?

Kurt Busch took the lead from Newman on lap 58, and Montoya passed Newman for second on lap 66. Gordon and Biffle then passed Newman for third and fourth on lap 67. Johnson was steadily making progress through the field, and he passed Biffle for fourth on lap 83.

Michael Waltrip's right-front tyre failed on the lap after Johnson passed Biffle, bringing out the third caution, and all the leaders pitted. Kurt Busch led the restart on the 90th lap, but Montoya moved up to third on lap 113. Johnson took the lead on the 147th lap after Labonte blocked Kurt Busch, and Kurt Busch later held the lead on the lap 169 restart.

Johnson passed Kurt Busch to retake the lead on the 176th lap and built a gap of 1.6 seconds by the 183rd lap. A fifth caution came when Kyle Busch hit the wall in turns three and four, and the race resumed on lap 212 with Johnson ahead of Gordon and Kurt Busch.

How did Johnson stay ahead late in the race?

Johnson built his lead gradually through the later laps. On lap 273 the pace car came out after Stremme hit the turn four wall, which erased Johnson's advantage, but by lap 319 his lead had grown back to 2.2 seconds. A seventh caution followed when debris was spotted on track, and most leaders made pit stops.

Johnson kept the lead at the restart, but Montoya moved into second and Martin then fell to fifth before climbing back. Martin passed Kurt Busch and then Kenseth to move into third. An eighth caution came on lap 342, when Regan Smith spun off turn four and collected Stremme, Truex and Sadler.

As the light began to fade, Johnson held the lead at the lap 348 restart. Kenseth moved into second on the next lap. Martin passed Stewart for fourth on lap 354, and Johnson's lead grew to 2.2 seconds by lap 357. Gordon also worked his way into the top nine.

How did the final laps play out?

Hornish spun on the backstretch on the 368th lap, bringing out the ninth and final caution of the race. Johnson kept the lead when the race resumed, and Newman passed Mears for eighth. On the 383rd lap, Kahne, Allmendinger and Stewart each passed Newman, and Martin then moved past Kenseth for second.

On the 391st lap Allmendinger passed Kahne for second. Two laps later Johnson's advantage stood at 2.2 seconds, and he held it to the flag. Martin finished second, Kenseth third, Montoya fourth and Kurt Busch fifth. Gordon, Allmendinger, Kahne, Stewart and Newman completed the top ten.

Johnson finished 1.970 seconds clear. Across the race there were six lead changes among four different drivers, and Johnson led three separate spells for a total of 271 laps.

What did the drivers say after the race?

Johnson said he had woken up optimistic and by lap two or three had felt that the car was balanced and competitive. He said he tried to ignore criticism and outside voices, and that he focused on his own car for the rest of the Chase.

Martin said finishing second was a good result, but he added that he did not feel his team had been in Johnson's league that day. Kenseth said the car had been good and that the pit stops had been strong, even though the team had not qualified well.

Hamlin said his car had handled poorly and that he had known from the start that the team was in trouble. Logano said he had been tagged from behind after the check-up in turn three, and Stewart said he felt sick about hitting Logano, adding that the worst part was not seeing the collision coming.

What were the race statistics?

The race took 3 hours, twenty-two minutes and eleven seconds. Johnson took home $276,076 in race winnings, and the margin was 1.970 seconds. There were nine cautions and six lead changes among four drivers.

What did the result mean for the Chase?

The win kept Martin at the top of the Drivers' Championship on 5,400 points, but Johnson moved into second, ten points behind, and was sixty-five points ahead of Montoya. Kurt Busch moved into fourth on 5,325 points, with Stewart fifth and Hamlin sixth.

Newman, Gordon, Biffle and Vickers followed in the top ten of the standings. Edwards and Kahne were the last two drivers in the Chase positions, in eleventh and twelfth. In the Manufacturers' Championship Chevrolet held the lead on 208 points, with Toyota second on 163 and Ford third on 123.