Gordon's first win of 2009 came at a track where he had not won in 16 attempts, and it held up after a late run from Jimmie Johnson fell short.
Jeff Gordon won the 2009 Samsung 500 at Texas, his first victory of the year and the 82nd of his career. He won from second on the grid, behind David Reutimann's pole, and he finished 0.378 seconds ahead of Jimmie Johnson.
Jeff Gordon won the 2009 Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on 5 April 2009, the 82nd victory of his career and his first of the season. He started second behind David Reutimann's pole and finished 0.378 seconds ahead of Jimmie Johnson after 334 laps.
Where did the Samsung 500 sit in the 2009 season?
The race was the seventh of thirty-six scheduled Sprint Cup events in 2009, and it drew a crowd of 176,300 to the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) quad-oval in Fort Worth. Gordon topped the Drivers' Championship on 959 points, with Clint Bowyer on 870 and Kurt Busch third on 827.
Jimmie Johnson was fourth with 817 points and Denny Hamlin fifth with 811. Kyle Busch was followed by Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards, while Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick completed the top ten. Chevrolet led the Manufacturers' Championship on 39 points, with Ford second on 32.
Carl Edwards was the defending race winner. Gordon had never won at Texas in 16 attempts, and he had finished second there in late 2008. He said that result would not decide anything for 2009, and he pointed to better performances on intermediate tracks as proof his team had moved on.
Gordon called the victory an incredible team effort and said he had never had a car like this one at Texas.
What happened in practice before the race?
Three practice sessions were held, one on the Friday and two on the Saturday. Mark Martin was fastest in the first session at 28.467 seconds, ahead of David Reutimann and Kurt Busch, while Greg Biffle was fourth and Johnson fifth.
Reutimann was quickest in Saturday's second session at 28.999 seconds, with Johnson second and Denny Hamlin third. Johnson closed out the final session at 29.393 seconds, and Hamlin and Kyle Busch were next, followed by Jamie McMurray and David Gilliland.
How did the field line up?
David Reutimann claimed his second Sprint Cup pole at 28.344 seconds, with Gordon alongside on the front row. Matt Kenseth was third, Ragan fourth in his best qualifying run of the season, and Paul Menard fifth.
Three Fords occupied the first five places, and Kahne was the only Dodge driver in the top ten. Joey Logano was tenth after struggling with a car that was difficult to steer. Five drivers missed the race: Nemechek, Speed, Mayfield, Bodine and Riggs.
Reutimann said his car had been excellent all day, straight from the truck, and he recalled that he had not made the field at Texas two years earlier.
What were the conditions at the start?
Wind speeds at the start were between 23 and 25 mph (37 and 40 km/h), and the race began at 2:17 pm. Roger Marsh of Texas Alliance Raceway Ministries gave the invocation, and pianist Lewis Warren Jr. sang the national anthem.
Mark Fredde, who had won a contest, gave the order to fire engines. Nobody had to start from the back at the green flag.
What happened in the first laps?
Gordon passed Reutimann almost at once, but Reutimann moved back in front by passing Gordon in the third turn on lap eight. By lap 20 Reutimann led Kenseth by about 1.6 seconds, and Kurt Busch had climbed from 26th to 19th by lap 24.
Kurt Busch collided with Robby Gordon early on, and both drivers carried on. Stewart claimed fifth from Menard on lap 29, and Earnhardt had moved up eight places to twelfth by lap 30.
By lap 42 Marcos Ambrose had moved into seventh. Kenseth then passed Reutimann, who had been blocked by Casey Mears, to take the lead around lap 47.
When did the lead change in the middle of the race?
Green-flag pit stops began on lap 51, and Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 54 when Stewart came down pit road. He handed the lead back to Kenseth with his own stop one lap later.
Stewart later claimed the lead from Kenseth, and Biffle passed Reutimann for third on lap 79 before going around Kenseth on the outside in the dogleg. A cut left-front tyre from contact with John Andretti forced Kyle Busch to pit on the 109th lap.
Biffle built a lead of about three seconds over Kenseth by the 135th lap, and Jeff Gordon passed Reutimann for fourth thirteen laps after Biffle's move.
How did the cautions shape the second half?
A caution for debris on the backstretch on the 97th lap brought the first stops of the race. A second caution followed Elliott Sadler's spin on lap 157, and a third came on lap 220 when Ambrose's engine failed.
Crew chief Steve Letarte told Gordon to stay out on the radio, and Gordon was then first to pick up speed at the 226th-lap restart. Hornish spun, and Labonte collided with the outside wall to bring a fourth caution.
Robby Gordon's engine then failed, bringing the fifth caution. All of the leaders pitted under that yellow, and Earnhardt took the lead, while Kenseth fell from second to 15th after a lug nut problem on his right-rear tyre.
| Finish | Driver | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports; 82nd career win and first of 2009 |
| 2nd | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports; teammate who closed in during the final laps |
| 3rd | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing; third place after a late pass on Stewart |
| 4th | Tony Stewart | Fourth place finish |
| 5th | Matt Kenseth | Fifth place, after a lug nut delay had cost him positions |
Pit stops under green began on the 152nd lap, and Johnson and Biffle pitted the lap after, which gave the lead to Gordon. After the stops Biffle reclaimed the top spot, and by the 190th lap his lead had grown to three seconds.
Another round of green-flag stops began on lap 203 when Truex pitted, with Kenseth following the next lap. Gordon took the lead on lap 208 after Biffle came down pit road, and Biffle reclaimed the top position after the stops.
Earnhardt was forced into an extra stop when his crew had to replace a missing lug nut.
How did Gordon hold the lead at the end?
Gordon moved back into the lead on lap 260, after Earnhardt fell to seventh, and he kept it through the late stops. By lap 323 he had built a lead of 1.7 seconds over Johnson, who was gaining on him.
Earnhardt hit the turn two wall on lap 290 and was forced onto pit road. Ragan also headed to pit road with overheating problems one lap later.
Edwards had lost the lead on the same pit cycle because his front tyres were slow to fit, and he dropped to 11th. Biffle passed Stewart for third on the 330th lap, and Gordon led six spells totalling 105 laps, more than any other driver.
There were twenty-eight changes of lead during the race. Gordon's car stayed in front while Johnson pressed in the closing stages.
What did the winner and the runner-up say?
Gordon called the victory an incredible team effort and said he had never had a car like this one at Texas. He said the team had finally put the car in position to win.
Johnson was pleased to get his car to the front and into clean air. He said the team had worked very hard all day to keep the car right, and he was proud of the crew.
Biffle said he had worked back to fourth and then third, and that he ran out of time to challenge the leaders. Edwards put his lost position down to a slow pit stop late in the race, which he said took him from the lead to 11th.
What did Stewart and Kurt Busch say?
Stewart called his fourth place a sign that his team had been good on the day, though not quite good enough. He said his car had been the quickest on the circuit at times after the first 25 laps.
Kurt Busch said his team did not believe it could challenge the leaders, but he called the result exactly what the team needed. He said his car had been better on the long runs and that the team had to stretch out its stints.
What did the result mean for the standings?
Gordon led the Drivers' Championship with 1154 points after the race. Johnson moved to second on 992 points, eighteen ahead of Kurt Busch.
In the Manufacturers' Championship Chevrolet rose to 48 points, while Ford climbed to second on 38 and Toyota dropped to third on 37. The broadcast drew 7.4 million viewers on television.
The race took 3 hours, 25 minutes and twenty-two seconds to complete, with a margin of 0.378 seconds at the finish. For Gordon it was the win that opened his 2009 account.
