Rain stopped the 51st running with 48 laps to go, and Matt Kenseth took the first Daytona 500 win for Roush Fenway Racing after a red flag and a late call.
Matt Kenseth won the 2009 Daytona 500 after a rain delay stopped the 51st running with 48 laps left. The race was called at 6:49 pm EST, and Kevin Harvick was second, giving Roush Fenway Racing its first Daytona 500 win.
The 2009 Daytona 500 ended in the rain. The 51st running of the event was the first points-paying race of the 2009 Sprint Cup season, and a severe storm halted it with 48 laps still to run. Matt Kenseth was declared the winner, and the victory was the first Daytona 500 win for Roush Fenway Racing.
The race also marked a break with tradition. It was the first Daytona 500 without a Petty family member in the field, and the first without Dale Jarrett since 1990.
What was the 2009 Daytona 500?
The 2009 Daytona 500 was the 51st running of the race, held on 15 February 2009 at Daytona International Speedway. Rain brought a red flag with 48 laps remaining, and NASCAR declared Matt Kenseth the winner in the No. 17 car. The result gave Roush Fenway Racing its first Daytona 500 victory.
Kenseth had been winless during 2008, and he said afterwards that winning meant a great deal to him after that year. It was also the last Daytona 500 of the 2000s.
A rain-shortened finish, a lap 124 wreck and the first split between a defending champion and his team since 1981 defined the 2009 Daytona 500.
How did the qualifying system work that year?
The Daytona 500 has a unique qualifying system among NASCAR events. Each team could run two laps in the single round of timed qualifying, and the fast lap set its time. The two fastest qualifiers took the front row and were the only guaranteed starting positions from qualifying alone.
The top 35 owners from the previous season were guaranteed places in the field, and they were split between two 150-mile (240 km) Gatorade Duels. The two highest non-top-35 teams also qualified automatically for the Duels. The owners were split between the two races by their 2008 owner points, with odd-numbered positions in the first Duel and even-numbered positions in the second.
Finishing positions in the Duels decided the rest of the grid, which made the 150-mile races far more than warm-ups. Four drivers made the field on Duel performance, with the remaining places filled by qualifying times. The 43rd starting spot was reserved for a past champion who had competed in the 2008 season, and if no past champion used it, it went to the next highest qualifier.
Which former winners and defending champions raced?
For the first time since 1981, the defending race champion and his team were split. Ryan Newman, the 2008 winner, drove the No. 39 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing, while Penske Racing ran the No. 12 Dodge Charger with David Stremme at the wheel. The last previous split had come in 1980, when Buddy Baker won for Harry Ranier Racing.
Several former winners took part. Kevin Harvick (2007), Michael Waltrip (2001 and 2003), Jeff Gordon (1997, 1999 and 2005), Bill Elliott (1985 and 1987), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004), Jimmie Johnson (2006) and Newman all raced. Derrike Cope (1990) and Geoff Bodine (1986) were former winners who failed to qualify.
What happened before the start?
Country singer Keith Urban performed a concert on the infield before the race. The first episode of the miniseries The Adventures of Digger and Friends premiered during FOX's pre-race coverage, and the show's theme song, Little Digger, also debuted. From that point on, the character drew a great deal of opposition, with sites, forums and blogs warning FOX about its use. Florida Governor Charlie Crist served as Grand Marshal, and RCA recording artist Gavin DeGraw sang the national anthem.
Earlier in the day, Ryan Newman had a pit stop complicated when his car fell off the jack on lap 72, and his crew needed two jacks to lift it clear before the stop could finish.
Actor Tom Cruise took the wheel of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro pace car. NASCAR announced a competition caution on lap 25 because of overnight rain, and despite threatening weather the race started at 3:30 pm. Bobby Allison, a three-time champion, waved the green flag at 3:41 pm.
What was the Big One?
The race was shaped by an incident on lap 124 that drew the most attention of the day. Earnhardt Jr. spun Brian Vickers into traffic near the end of the backstretch, and the wreck caught up Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray, along with the Busch brothers, Scott Speed and Robby Gordon. Many fans and drivers believed the contact was deliberate, and some requested that NASCAR black-flag Earnhardt Jr.
NASCAR penalised Earnhardt Jr. on two counts. He was sent to the tail of the longest line for overaggressive driving, and that penalty meant he could not benefit from the caution he had caused. Vickers was angry in his interview afterwards, and Earnhardt Jr. said the contact had been an accident. He later apologised publicly for the move.
Busch led the most laps of the race, 88 in total, and he had also won Gatorade Duel No. 2. He finished 41st after the lap 124 crash.
How did the race end?
On lap 138, Jeff Burton hit the wall and collected Paul Menard, and he was then black-flagged for a piece of sheet metal hanging from his bumper. On lap 146, Matt Kenseth took the lead from Elliott Sadler a lap after the action resumed. Kasey Kahne then spun Aric Almirola after Almirola made contact with Sam Hornish Jr. on the backstretch.
Rain began to fall on the track under the yellow flag. On lap 152, the cars came to pit road under a red flag, and some drivers got out of their cars while others, including Kenseth, stayed in them. Sixteen minutes after the red flag came out, NASCAR officials decided to call the race at 6:49 pm EST and declared Kenseth the winner.
Kenseth was emotional after the race and said that winning meant a lot after a year without a win. Harvick, winner of the Bud Shootout, finished second after pushing Kenseth into the battle for the lead earlier. Richard Petty Motorsports took third with Allmendinger and fifth with Sadler. Stewart finished eighth in his first race as both driver and team owner.
Who finished where?
The top of the order was Kenseth, Harvick and Allmendinger. Sadler was fifth, Reed Sorenson ninth and Michael Waltrip seventh, the best finish for a Toyota. Stewart took eighth, Truex 11th and Gordon, who had won Duel No. 1, 13th. Marcos Ambrose, in his first 500 starts, finished 17th.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Race date | 15 February 2009 |
| Running | 51st Daytona 500 |
| Winner | Matt Kenseth, No. 17 |
| Second | Kevin Harvick |
| Third | A. J. Allmendinger |
| Best Toyota | Michael Waltrip, seventh |
| Stopped by rain | 48 laps to go |
| Race called | 6:49 pm EST, sixteen minutes after the red flag |
| Johnson, defending champion | 31st |
| Kyle Busch | 41st after the lap 124 crash |
| Joey Logano | 43rd in his first Daytona 500 start |
Johnson, the defending series champion, finished 31st. Ryan Newman, the defending race winner, was 36th. Logano, making his first Daytona 500 start, finished 43rd after his crash on lap 80. The Duel results and the front-row times had set the order before the lights changed.
