(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
The Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California has always been on many people’s minds when it comes to where NASCAR should be racing. The speedway isn’t known to hold large crowds on race day, many feel the racing is too freight train, and when racing in the fall in California the weather is almost unbearable.
When the 2009 Sprint Cup Series schedule was unveiled it was announced that the date for the Pepsi 500 had been moved to the second weekend in October, to find better weather and hope the fans come out to the racetrack. California also won big because that meant that they now would host the fourth race in the Chase.
Excited for these new changes the series headed west after Tony Stewart took the checkered flag last weekend in Kansas. Upon arriving at the track the weather forecast was showing sunny skies and temperatures much lower than what the teams and officials are used to, the weekend was finally underway.
Things got started on Friday with practice and qualifying which saw Kyle Busch have to change an engine to go along with the flu and strep throat that he’s battling. He would have to start at the rear of the field for Sunday’s race, and even relinquished his seat to teammate Denny Hamlin in the Nationwide race on Saturday.
Other incidents on Friday included Chaser Juan Pablo Montoya hitting the wall during his qualifying lap although he wouldn’t need to go to a backup car and would start the 500-mile race from the fourth position.
Denny Hamlin, another Chaser, was fastest at the two-mile oval during Friday’s qualifying session to win his first pole of the 2009 season, starting along side Chaser Greg Biffle who slides into the second position after David Reutimann’s time was disallowed following post-qualifying inspection. Reutimann had qualified second but NASCAR officials deemed that he had illegal shocks on his car and was put to the 42nd spot.
As for the rest of the Chase field, Jimmie Johnson would start third, Mark Martin ninth, Jeff Gordon tenth, Carl Edwards 11th, Tony Stewart 20th, Kurt Busch 24th, Kasey Kahne 25th, Brian Vickers 32nd, and Ryan Newman from the 36th position.
After a pre-race concert and the command to start engines from Kelsey Grammer, the Pepsi 500 and 250 laps of racing was underway.
Hamlin led the 43 drivers to the green flag and led the first lap as Biffle and Johnson battled for second. Montoya and Harvick looked on and would see Johnson take that position on lap four.
The racing quickly became strung out and single file and all eyes turn to the No.18 of Kyle Busch that was preparing to get out of his car as soon as he could and hand it over to David Gilliland. In order to do that Gilliland needed to head behind the wall and park his No.71 machine that did not have enough funding to run the entire race.
Back up front as Hamlin lead the first 10 laps, Montoya took third position from Biffle, as Kevin Harvick, Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Edwards, and Joey Logano held their positions in the top ten.
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