2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was the 61st season of professional stock car racing in the United States, which began at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, with the 2009 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, a race for the top six teams of the four brands in the 2008 season on February 7, with the first points race being the 2009 Daytona 500 to be held on February 15. The 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup began on September 20 with the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, and ended November 22 with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports was crowned champion, his fourth consecutive in the series.

Schedule
The biggest changes for 2009 in a NASCAR schedule realignment added the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway to the 2009 Chase, the shifting of the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway to a later autumn date, and the placement of the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway to Labor Day weekend as a night race. Additionally, there was a fourth bye week between the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway and the Pep Boys 500. The schedule changes are listed in boldface on the chart below.


 * 11/30-12/4
 * Las Vegas Week
 * 3 races (613 laps)
 * Las Vegas Motor Speedway
 * Various

The total distance of the season will be 14461.9 mi.  Key to symbols:  1 – All races were broadcast on Sirius XM Radio. ♣ – This race was run at night or began in the day and finished that evening. ¶ – Non-points race. ♥ – This is a pair of races that will set the field for the Daytona 500. † – This race was produced and distributed by IMS Radio and the broadcast will be produced in conjunction with Performance Racing Network. § – This race was scheduled to have been run on Sunday, but was rescheduled to the following Monday due to rain.
 * – Television times are listed. Fox started (except for Daytona 500 and Aaron's 499) with a 30-minute pre-race show, TNT had a 90-minute pre-race show and ESPN/ABC had a one-hour pre-race show.  Add an extra fifteen minutes following the pre-race show for the scheduled green flag of the race.

Standings
For current top twelve driver point standings, see 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Teams
Because of the merger of DEI with Chip Ganassi, the #01 and #15 shops closed after the 2008 season. However, the owners' points from the #15 were transferred to the #34, while points from either the #01 or #41 will be transferred to the #07, with the #33 owned by Richard Childress possibly receiving the other. (NASCAR allows for a transfer if the original owner maintains some stake in the team to which points are transferred.) Also Bill Davis Racing was bought by Triad Racing, however the #22 was bought by Penske Racing with Bill Davis holding minority interest. The #22's points were transferred to the #77, thus guaranteeing that car a spot in the Daytona 500 should all other transfers occur.

Mergers, contractions, and alliances
The economic crisis of 2008 caused problems even before the 2009 season began. While gas (and diesel) prices came down to nearly $2.00 per gallon, corporate America is reluctant to shell out millions of dollars to sponsor teams due to the volatility of the stock market. As a result, Chip Ganassi Racing merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. They fielded the #1 and #8 from DEI and #42 from Ganassi, and shut down the DEI #01 and #15 teams as well as Ganassi's #40 and #41 teams, as the #40 was a full-time team in 2008 until July, when it was closed for a lack of sponsorship. The #42 team will run under the Chevrolet banner under the merger as it changes from Dodge. In addition, Front Row Motorsports has EGR support for their #34 car, to be driven by John Andretti. On January 19, Petty Enterprises merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports for the merger with Petty's famous #43 joining the newly renamed Richard Petty Motorsports. On December 22, 2008, Bill Davis Racing was sold to California businessman Mike Held and BDR vice president Marty Gaunt, and was renamed Triad Racing Development. Hall of Fame Racing announced an alliance with Yates Racing on January 13, 2009 and named Bobby Labonte as the new driver of the #96 team as they move from Toyota to Ford. The first in-season casualty was the #28 team of Travis Kvapil owned by Yates Racing, ceasing operations following the Food City 500 on March 22. On April 7, the second casualty of the season was the famous #8, which folded because of a lack of sponsorship, leaving Aric Almirola without a ride. On September 10, it was announced that Yates Racing and RPM would merge, closing the #44 and #96 teams as a result for the 2010 season and the #9, #19 and #43 teams will switch to Ford.

The elimination of testing
On November 14, 2008, NASCAR announced, as another cost-cutting measure, that teams will no longer be allowed to test on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks in all three major series. Traditionally, they had had preseason tests at Daytona and Las Vegas, along with as many as four additional in-season sessions at tracks, but all teams also use unsanctioned tracks (such as Rockingham Speedway) for their tests. The testing ban covers all tracks used on NASCAR's three national series, plus tracks that host events in the Camping World East and West circuits. This radically reduces the number of tracks that can be used for testing, with Rockingham being one of the few major tracks still available. This meant that the annual "Pre-Season Thunder" testing events, which covered all three major touring series at Daytona was cancelled for 2009. However, a fan fest remained in place with the thunder provided by the Richard Petty Driving Experience for fans to ride in a special two-seat stock car. However, Goodyear will still conduct tire tests, such as at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A total of seven tests were conducted at Indianapolis following the 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard tire debacle.

Reduction in manufacturer support
Following General Motors' bankruptcy, GM cut all financial support in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series, and considerably reduced financial support in the Sprint Cup Series. Similarly, the Chrysler bankruptcy led to several Dodge Sprint Cup teams, including Richard Petty Motorsports, losing their manufacturer support; as stated earlier, RPM will merge with Yates and have the #9, #19 and #43 cars switch to Ford for the 2010 season. Dodge claims that "funding is on hold." Toyota gave a small reduction in funding before the season, but has not made any mid-season cuts. Rumors have floated that Toyota may leave the Camping World Truck Series or Nationwide Series; the automaker has denied these reports. Ford, the healthiest of all the automakers, continues funding at pre-crisis levels. From the 2005 season it has been rumored that Honda will join the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series, and the rumor gets stronger entering the 2009 season, as Dodge claimed it's funding on hold. This was denied by the manufacturer.

Town-hall meeting
On Tuesday, May 26, 2009, NASCAR held a town-hall meeting closed to the public and media with its drivers and owners to discuss a range of topics. Major topics discussed included the Jeremy Mayfield substance abuse suspension controversy, along with double-file restarts, the controversial Car of Tomorrow, sponsorship, testing, the reduction in TV ratings and attendance, and competition in general. All attendees considered the meeting a success.

Double-file restarts
Before the start of the season, NASCAR changed restart rules regarding the final moments of all races in the Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Previously, when the race was inside the final ten laps, all cars/trucks on the lead lap were in a single-file restart in that window. As of the 2009 season, the window changed to the final 20 laps. The "lucky dog"/"free pass" rule will still be eliminated in the last ten laps of a race.

However, before the June Pocono race, the entire restart procedure changed entirely in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. After being run successfully at the NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race and in the Budweiser Shootout, NASCAR implemented a double-file restart system starting at Pocono for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. This change came at the request of fans, drivers, owners, and the media and as a result in a decrease in TV ratings during the NASCAR on Fox portion of the season. (The June Pocono race was the first race of the 2009 season on TNT.) The entire field will line up double-file, much like the start of the race at every restart. The leaders and other lead lap cars are now in front always when taking the green flag. Cars who choose to stay out and not pit during a caution flag who are in front of the leaders are now waved-around to restart (double file) at the back of the field. The lucky dog/free pass rule is now in effect the entire distance of the race, and the double-file restarts are for every restart, including green-white-checkered finishes. The only reasons cars do not line up double-file in the order they are position wise on the leaderboard is if they are serving a penalty (in most cases, for pit road violations). The leader of the race also has the option of selecting which lane, inside or outside, to restart in, however, the 3rd place car (and 5th, 7th, and so on) will always restart on the inside.

The new restart procedure began in the NASCAR Nationwide Series on July 3 at Daytona. NASCAR said it will not be it in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series until at least 2010.

Suspension
Two hours prior to the race at Darlington, NASCAR announced that driver Jeremy Mayfield had been suspended for a substance abuse policy violation. Mayfield said that the positive test was due to an interaction between a prescription drug and an over-the-counter drug. Mayfield had failed to qualify for the race.

Mayfield violated his suspension by being at the Lowe's Motor Speedway for a press conference during the all-star race weekend.

The suspension is indefinite until Mayfield completes NASCAR's substance abuse program, which includes rehabilitation and additional testing.

Controversy
In the ensuing days and weeks following the initial suspension, NASCAR was widely criticized by fans, drivers, owners, the media, and the World Anti-Doping Agency for not publicly identifying the drug found in Mayfield's test and failing to publish its drug policy or a list of banned substances. NASCAR's drug policy was later published and reports and court filings (see below) indicate that the test was positive for amphetamines. Despite releasing this information, NASCAR has still not published a definitive list of banned substances, leading to continued criticism. However, NASCAR addressed the issue in its May meeting with the NASCAR owners and drivers, who now say they understand why NASCAR doesn't publish a list. Nonetheless, some remained skeptical of NASCAR's intentions, claiming that "if NASCAR sees something they don't like, they can suspend anyone at anytime." In the middle of the controversy, NASCAR randomly tested 10 NASCAR drivers, officials, and crew members during a rain delay at the Coca-Cola 600 during Memorial Day weekend.

ESPN reported on June 9 that Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamines. This was later confirmed in court.

Lawsuit
Mayfield sued NASCAR to have his suspension lifted. Mayfield says that he had taken Claritin-D, an allergy drug, in addition to Adderall, a prescription medication used to treat attention deficit disorder. Adderall is an amphetamine.

An initial court hearing for a restraining order that would have allowed Mayfield to compete at Dover was ruled in NASCAR's favor. Mayfield's team, which had been taken over by his wife and driver J.J. Yeley, withdrew from the race at Dover. Mayfield sold his team in late July to raise funds for his legal defense. NASCAR has said that Mayfield's team may continue to compete with a different driver and under a different owner. Since Mayfield is suspended, he cannot be in the NASCAR garage area or anywhere a NASCAR license is required.

NASCAR has successfully moved the case to federal court. NASCAR has also countersued Mayfield, accusing the suspended driver of willfully violating the substance abuse policy, breach of contract, and defrauding competitors of earnings. Mayfield earned approximately $150,000 from May 1 in NASCAR earnings. May 1 is when Mayfield claims he began taking the Claritin-D. On June 25, Mayfield formally denied ever taking methamphetamines in a pre-hearing affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, while NASCAR said that the test results proved he was a chronic user of meth and was a danger to public safety.

On July 1, U.S. District Court granted Mayfield a temporary injunction that lifted Mayfield's suspension and allowed him to resume his role as driver and owner. The court ruled the damage to Mayfield was far exceeding the damage to NASCAR, and that there was a high probability that the second test sample was compromised. Mayfield did not return to the track, as his race team was low on funds and sponsors do not want to associate with Mayfield. He sold his team in late July.

On July 7, NASCAR appealed the U.S. District Court's ruling. On July 8, NASCAR formally filed an appeal with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one step away from the United States Supreme Court. NASCAR claimed that the district court's ruling undermines NASCAR's ability to police drug use and is asking that Mayfield be re-suspended. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals granted NASCAR a motion to re-suspend Mayfield on July 24 following a second drug test. NASCAR re-suspended Mayfield immediately.

Second drug test
On July 7, Mayfield submitted to a drug test. NASCAR said Mayfield was notified by an Aegis representative at 1:18 p.m. Monday to report to a nearby testing center within two hours, but the driver said he had to first speak to his attorney. After a delay, Mayfield's attorney told NASCAR that Mayfield couldn't get to the center by 3:18 p.m., so NASCAR said it found a lab closer to his location. At 3:45 p.m., Mayfield called the lab to say he was close but lost, and a receptionist offered to talk him the rest of the way. NASCAR said Mayfield told the lab he would call right back but no one was contacted until 5:30 p.m., when Mayfield's attorney called NASCAR to inform them Mayfield could not find the location so the lawyer had sent him to an independent laboratory. Two testers and a NASCAR security officer arrived at Mayfield's home in Catawba County, N.C., at 7:20 p.m., could not gain access for 10 minutes, and then weren't able to persuade Mayfield to give a sample until 8:20 p.m. NASCAR called this seven-hour layover between the time requested for a test and the time a test was given a "classic delay tactic".

On July 15, NASCAR filed documents in U.S. District court that indicated that Mayfield had once again tested positive for methamphetamines. In addition to the second test results, NASCAR also submitted a sworn affidavit from Mayfield's stepmother in which she says that Mayfield used meth over 30 times in 7 years through snorting it up his nose. Mayfield says that "Brian France talking about effective drug programs is like having Al Capone talking about effective law enforcement," and that "I don't trust anything NASCAR does, anything (program administrator) Dr. David Black does, never have, never will." As for his stepmother, Mayfield says that "She's basically a whore. She shot and killed my dad." Lisa Mayfield (Jeremy's Stepmother) has since filed a lawsuit suing Mayfield for $20,000 in damages. Mayfield says that he has been tested almost daily by an independent lab and every test result has come back negative.

Mayfield Motorsports' general manager resigned the same day, hours before the test results were released. The team has since been sold, and few expect Mayfield to return to the track soon, if ever again.

Effect on drug testing
Many drivers have said that since the controversy began, the drug testing time has gone from a quick 5 minute in and out to a prolonged 45-minute process that includes identity verification.

USA
In their third year of the current NASCAR television agreement, Fox carried the Bud Shootout, the Daytona 500 and the first 13 races through Dover's June race. Fox-owned Speed Channel aired the Gatorade Duels and Sprint All Star Race XXV. TNT then picked up the next six races starting at Pocono including the summer race at Daytona, the Coke Zero 400 with its "wide open format" coverage and ending at Chicago. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard started ESPN/ABC's coverage, including the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup on ABC.

New to Fox telecasts was 3-D CGI animated adventures of "Digger", the network's gopher cam mascot and his friends, Annie, Marbles, Grandpa and rival Lumpy Wheels (named after former Lowe's Motor Speedway chief Humpy Wheeler). According to Digger's backstory, created by Fox Sports chairman David Hill, Digger lives underground at Talladega Superspeedway. The characters were also used in segues into and out of commercial breaks. However, Digger later became a harbor of criticism, as well as what most have cited as a cause of a deeper ratings decline than in years past, adding to already lower-than-normal ratings. More is mentioned here.

Hours before the July New Hampshire race on TNT, Bill Weber was removed from the broadcast booth and replaced by Ralph Sheheen for undisclosed personal reasons. TNT and NASCAR announced on July 1 that Sheheen would replace Weber for the final two races on TNT at Daytona and Chicagoland.

The annual changes at ABC/ESPN continue. Mike Massaro became a third host of NASCAR Now on ESPN 2; Vince Welch replaced Massaro on pit road and Marty Reid is doing selected Nationwide Series events as well. But ESPN continues to face heavy criticism from NASCAR fans in result of bored announcers, bad camera work, excessive commercials and lack of post-race coverage.

On radio, Sirius XM Radio will carry all races in the series. Terrestrial radio rights are being handled as follows:
 * Motor Racing Network will carry races at tracks owned by their corporate sibling, International Speedway Corporation as well as the races at Dover and Pocono and the All-Star Race at Lowe's;
 * Speedway Motorsports, Inc.-owned Performance Racing Network will carry events from those SMI tracks, and will joinly produce the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.

Speed (replacing ESPN Classic) and MRN will be the broadcasters at the annual Sprint Cup Banquet at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel Casino in said city on December 4. Las Vegas replaces New York City as the host after 27 years there, 26 of the banquets being staged in The Waldorf=Astoria Hotel.

Other North American channels
In Canada, TSN and TSN 2 covered the 2009 season.

International
In Australia, Fox Sports showed all of the Sprint Cup races live across their networks. Network Ten also showed Qualifying, Final Practice (Happy Hour), a 1-hour highlights package and selected races live on its new digital sports multichannel, ONE.

In Portugal, all races this season were telecast on SportTv 3, while in Sweden, Viasat Motor televised the races. In nearby Finland, Urheilu+Kanava telecasted the season's events, and in Great Britain and Ireland, the whole season was again telecasted on Sky Sports, in Spain Teledeporte televised six races of the season live.

In Latin America all the races were broadcast on Speed Latin America (Fox Latin American Channels). They did not telecast practices or qualifying.

Ratings
NASCAR on Fox saw an 11% decrease in TV ratings for the first 13 races of 2009. Fox's NASCAR season suffered from a trio of negative on-track trends: more cautions, fewer lead changes, and lower average speeds. 649 laps were run under caution on Fox this season, a +15% increase over last year. Put another way, there was one caution flag for every 40 miles of racing this season. Last year it was one every 45 miles, in Fox's first NASCAR season (2001) it was one every 63 miles. Ten years ago it was one every 72 miles. Lead changes were down this year, with one coming every 20 miles compared to last year's once every 17 miles. That's at least one extra lap between lead changes, sometimes more. Average speed, which is obviously tied to number of cautions, was also down this year. This year's average speed during Fox races was 118 mph. Last year it was 124 mph. In 2001 it was 128 mph, and in 1999, before Fox arrived on the scene, it was 130 mph.

NASCAR on TNT saw the first and to date only increase in TV ratings at New Hampshire, up 2.5% from 2008. Ratings remained the same from 2008 at Michigan, but saw a decrease in ratings at its other races. Overall, TNT saw an 8% decrease in ratings from 2008.

Drivers
Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position set by owner's points standings. * – Most laps led.

Note:This list does not include exhibition races.

+ Scott Speed failed to qualify his normal ride, the #82 Red Bull Toyota at Darlington and Infineon, but drove Joe Nemechek's #87 Toyota for those two races, replacing Nemechek, who had a relationship with Jay Frye, vice president of Red Bull and the listed owner of Nemechek's #13 Ginn Racing Chevtolet in 2007 that would later be merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. on July 25, 2007.

2009 season races
See List of 2009 NASCAR races for a complete list and schedule of the 2009 season races.

Gatorade Duels
Drivers listed in boldface qualified outside the Top 35 owners points exemption from 2008 season.

Daytona 500
The 51st edition of "The Great American Race" was held on February 15, 2009. For only the fourth time in the history of the Daytona 500, the race was cut short due to rain. On Lap 145 of the 200 lap race, Matt Kenseth took the lead for the first time that day. On the next lap a caution was called due to a wreck between Sam Hornish, Jr. and Aric Almirola. After six caution laps the race was red-flagged and eventually called because of the weather. Kenseth won the race after having led only one lap under green. There was also controversy over a nine-car wreck that occurred on Lap 124 when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. attempted to pass Brian Vickers. When Vickers threw a block on Earnhardt and forced him below the yellow line, Earnhardt came back up and hit the left-rear side of Vickers' car causing the pile-up. Many believed that Earnhardt hit Vickers intentionally and that he should have been fined by NASCAR, though Earnhardt maintains that the contact was accidental. The fact that Earnhardt and Vickers were both a lap down further angered fellow drivers, especially Kyle Busch who was taken out of the race by the wreck after having led 88 laps.

NOTE: Race was shortened to 380 mi or 152 laps due to rain. Failed to qualify:
 * Race #1: Joe Nemechek (#87), Brad Keselowski (#09), Carl Long (#46), Tony Raines (#37), Kirk Shelmerdine (#27), Mike Skinner (#23).
 * Race #2: Mike Wallace (#71), Kelly Bires (#51), Derrike Cope (#75), Norm Benning (#57), Mike Garvey (#73), Geoffrey Bodine (#64), Boris Said (#08).

Auto Club 500
The Auto Club 500 took place on February 22 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Brian Vickers won the pole, but due to an engine change, would start in the back of the field. After not winning a race in 2008, Matt Kenseth became one of only five people in Sprint Cup history to win both of the first two races in a season, but Kyle Busch failed to be the first person in NASCAR history to win 3 different NASCAR races in one weekend.

Failed to qualify: Sterling Marlin (#09), Tony Raines (#37), David Starr (#51), Todd Bodine (#64), Mike Garvey (#73).

Shelby 427
The Shelby 427 was held on March 1, 2009 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch won the pole for the race. However, due to an engine change prior to qualifying, he had to start the race at the back of the field. Nevertheless, Busch went on to win for the first time at his hometown track.

Failed to Qualify: Travis Kvapil (#28), Dave Blaney (#66), Mike Garvey (#73), Jeremy Mayfield (#41), Sterling Marlin (#09), Scott Riggs (#36), Tony Raines (#37), Dexter Bean (#51)

Kobalt Tools 500
Kurt Busch crushed the field, getting the victory by holding off Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards on a green-white checkered finish. Mark Martin won the pole.

Failed to Qualify: Todd Bodine (#35), Scott Riggs (#36), Jeremy Mayfield (#41), Geoff Bodine (#64)

Food City 500
Failed to Qualify: Scott Riggs (#36), Jeremy Mayfield (#41)

Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500
Failed to Qualify: Sterling Marlin (#09), Tony Raines (#37), Dennis Setzer (#46), Derrike Cope (#75)

Samsung 500
Jeff Gordon ended his 47-race winless streak, the longest in his career, by winning the Samsung 500 on April 5, 2009. It was Gordon's first-ever win at Texas Motor Speedway in any event, the last track where he had not win any NASCAR-sanctioned race. (Although Gordon has yet to win a Sprint Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Gordon won the 2000 NASCAR Nationwide Series (Busch Series) race at Homestead.)

Failed to Qualify: Joe Nemechek (#87), Scott Speed (#82), Jeremy Mayfield (#41), Todd Bodine (#64), Scott Riggs (#36)

Subway Fresh Fit 500
Mark Martin wins ending a 97-race winless streak, scoring his first win since Kansas in 2005. Sam Hornish Jr. gets his first career top 10.

Failed to Qualify: Todd Bodine (#64), Jeremy Mayfield (#41), Dexter Bean (#51), Brandon Ash (#02), Trevor Boys (#06)

Aaron's 499
Brad Keselowski got his first Sprint Cup win after making contact with Carl Edwards, sending Edwards into Ryan Newman and flipping into the catchfence. It was Keselowski's fifth start, and it was also the first lap he ever led in a Sprint Cup series event. It was also Keselowski's first top 10 finish. Other first time top 10 finishers included Scott Speed and Joey Logano.

Failed to Qualify: Michael McDowell (#66), Eric McClure (#4)

Crown Royal Presents the Russell Friedman 400
Kyle Busch took the lead from Jeff Gordon with 48 laps to go and became only the second driver to get a win on his birthday.

Failed to Qualify: Todd Bodine (#64), Trevor Boys (#06)

Southern 500 presented by GoDaddy.com
The 2009 Southern 500 presented by GoDaddy.com was held at Darlington Raceway on May 9. The biggest news to come out of this race was the indefinite suspension of Jeremy Mayfield as both owner and driver of the self-owned #41 car in a pre-race media opportunity.

Failed to Qualify: Jeremy Mayfield (#41), Scott Speed (#82)

NOTE: Scott Speed's team paid Joe Nemechek to let Speed drive his car in this race.

NASCAR Sprint Showdown
Although a non-points race, Sam Hornish Jr. wins his first stock car race in his career.

In pre-race practice, Carl Long blew a motor and requested to change his engine. Per NASCAR procedure and the one-engine per weekend rule, NASCAR confiscated the blown motor and allowed Long to change his engine. However, in inspecting the blown engine, the engine was found to be 358.17 cubic inches, 0.17 cubic inches too big. Long was penalized 200 driver and owner points, crew chief Charles Swing was fined $200,000, and the team was suspended for 12 races, a record penalty. Long appealed and lost to the appeals board, but the National Stock Car Racing Commissioner lowered the suspension from 12 to 8 races. The appeals board also allowed Long to compete in lower-level racing series. Long still must come up with $200,000 to for the fine, which he is unsure how he will come up with. Fans have so far raised $16,000.

Coca-Cola 600
The 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600 was scheduled to have been held on May 24 but was postponed to May 25 (Memorial Day in the USA) due to rain, marking the first time the race was held on that holiday. Kyle Busch led 173 of the 228 laps. During the last caution, David Reutimann opted not to go to his pit, a choice that led to his first Sprint Cup victory after the race was called due to rain. The race was also stopped at 3 PM US EDT to remember those who had given their lives in a moment of silence.Robby Gordon was penalized 50 owner and 50 driver points while crew chief Kirk Almquist was fined $50,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31 after the race. Officials said the rear axle housing of the #7 Toyota, which was taken following a third-place finish by Gordon, exceeded the maximum specified toe of plus or minus one degree.

Failed to Qualify: J.J. Yeley (#41), Mike Garvey (#73), Todd Bodine (#64), David Starr (#06)

Autism Speaks 400
The Autism Speaks 400 at Dover was run on May 31, 2009. This was the final race on NASCAR on Fox for the 2009 season. Jimmie Johnson came back from a bad final pit stop to win the race in a thrilling side-by-side battle with Tony Stewart at the end of the race. David Reutimann won the pole.

Failed to Qualify: Brad Keselowski (#25), Max Papis (#13), Derrike Cope (#75), David Starr #06

Pocono 500
NASCAR's first points race with double-file restarts and first race of 2009 for TNT turned into a fuel-saving and fuel-conserving race. Tony Stewart took the lead on the final round of pit stops to win his first race as driver-owner, the first time a driver-owner won a race since Ricky Rudd in 1998.

Failed to Qualify: Derrike Cope (#75), Mike Wallace (#64), Tony Raines (#37)

LifeLock 400
Jimmie Johnson dominated the race. Johnson and Greg Biffle went cat and mouse on fuel mileage late in the race, and both ran out of fuel on the last lap, allowing then-third place Mark Martin to get the win. Brian Vickers won the pole.

Failed to Qualify: Mike Skinner (#36)

Toyota/Save Mart 350
Kasey Kahne picked up his first win in more than a year, and his first-ever win on a road course. Car owner Richard Petty returned to victory lane for the first time in 10 years. Petty had all his cars in the top 10, except for Reed Sorenson.

Failed to Qualify: Scott Speed (#82), Tom Hubert (#27), Chris Cook (#37), Brian Simo (#36)

NOTE: Scott Speed's team paid Joe Nemechek to let Speed drive his car in this race.

Lenox Industrial Tools 301
Joey Logano, at the age of 19 years, 40 days, became the youngest driver to win a Cup Race after this event was shortened due to rain. He became the third first-time Sprint Cup race winner of the season.

Failed to Qualify: Dexter Bean (#51), Ted Christopher (#27)

Coke Zero 400
Tony Stewart, won the race by edging Kyle Busch, and Busch hit Kasey Kahne's roof, causing him to hit surrounding cars and nearly flipped his car, finishing 14th. Busch told the media several days later that Stewart should have gotten a black flag and the win would have been given to the 3rd place driver which was the position Jimmie Johnson was in before the accident happened. Stewart got the pole due to qualifying being rained out.

Failed to Qualify: Mike Wallace (#64), Max Papis (#13)

NOTE: Regan Smith's team made an agreement with Mike Wallace's team, which withdrew, allowing Smith to race.

LifeLock.com 400
By finishing 1st and 2nd in both races sponsored by LifeLock this season, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon win the Musgrove family $1,000,000. Martin dominated, leading 4 times for 195 laps. The race had some wild final laps, as Martin went to the lead with 15 laps left after a pass on Brian Vickers when he and Denny Hamlin touched. Jeff Gordon was the highest car with fresh tires, making up six spots in only two laps. Brian Vickers won his fifth pole of the season.

Failed to Qualify: Mike Wallace (#64), Dexter Bean (#51), Tony Raines (#37)

Allstate 400 at the Brickyard
Juan Pablo Montoya led the most laps in a race for the first time in his career. He led 116 laps until a penalty stopped his chances of a win. Jimmie Johnson took off to the lead with 20 laps to go, holding off tenacious teammate Mark Martin for his third win of the season. Martin also won the pole.

Failed to Qualify: Sterling Marlin (#09), Max Papis (#13), Derrike Cope (#75)

Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 was originally scheduled to take place on August 2, but was postponed a day due to rain. Points leader, Tony Stewart, was to start on the pole, but because he wrecked in practice, third in points, Jeff Gordon, started from point. Denny Hamlin got his fifth career win, and his first of the 2009 season after leading the most laps. It was also the first race since 2004 that only 43 cars showed up to qualify.

Failed to Qualify: None

Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen
The Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, the second and final road course race of the season, was held on August 10 at Watkins Glen International in the New York village of said racetrack. Jimmie Johnson won the pole for the race and after a great qualifing run, Tony Stewart won the event.

Failed to qualify: Joe Nemechek (#87), Brian Simo (#36), and David Gilliland (#70).

Reed Sorenson was suffering from inhalation of carbon monoxide during Pocono. Petty Motorsports had Jacques Villeneuve on standby.

Carfax 400
The Carfax 400 was held August 16 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Team Red Bull's pole position was earned by Brian Vickers in qualifying, just as he did in 2008. Tony Stewart locked himself into the Chase with the 34 points for starting, getting a 17th place finish.

Failed to Qualify: Tony Raines (#37).

Sharpie 500
The Sharpie 500 was held August 22 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Mark Martin won the pole for this event. However Kyle Busch, after a horrible mid-season, won his second straight Bristol race, the first person to win both Cup Bristol races since 2003, which was his brother Kurt Busch.

Failed to qualify: Max Papis (#13), Mike Skinner (#36), Mike Wallace (#64), and Aric Almirola (#09).

Pep Boys Auto 500
The Pep Boys Auto 500 was held on September 6 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. As part of the 2009 NASCAR realignment, this race was moved to the Labor Day weekend. Kurt Busch, who dominated the race in March, started 6th. On a double file restart with 10 to go, Kasey Kahne, who started second, took the lead from Kevin Harvick, who has been struggling this season. Kahne then held off Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya for his second win of the season and keeping himself in contention to make the Chase.

Failed to qualify:  Patrick Carpentier (#36), Tony Raines (#37), and Regan Smith (#78).

DNQ For The Chase:  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#88), Jeff Burton (#31), Kevin Harvick (#29), Joey Logano (#20).

Green indicates that the driver is in contention to make the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup

Yellow indicates that the driver is on the bubble to make the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup

Red indicates that the driver is eliminated from the Chase

Chevy Rock & Roll 400
The final "regular season" race, the Chevy Rock and Roll 400, was held on Saturday, September 12, 2009. This race set the field for the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup with the top 12 drivers being eligible, and having their points reset to 5,000 with a ten-point bonus for each win they earned in the first 26 races of the season.

"Out of Chase": Kyle Busch (#18), Matt Kenseth (#17), David Reutimann (#00), Clint Bowyer (#33)

Rookie of the Year
The clear favorite for Rookie of the year was 18-year-old standout Joey Logano. Despite struggling early in the year, Logano became the youngest winner in Sprint Cup Series history by winning the rain shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301. The other competitors, former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed and Max Papis, struggled to adjust to stock cars.