2009 Kobalt Tools 500
The 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on March 8, 2009, in Hampton, Georgia, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, before a crowd of 94,400 attendees. The circuit is an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races. The 325-lap race was won by Penske Racing Championship's Kurt Busch from a second position start. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports took second, with Roush Fenway Racing driver Carl Edwards in third.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season | |||
|
2009 Kobalt Tools 500 program cover | |||
| Date | March 8, 2009 | ||
| Official name | Kobalt Tools 500 | ||
| Location | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi (2.48 km) | ||
| Distance | 330 laps, 508.2 mi (817.868 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures up to 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 127.573 miles per hour (205.309 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 94,400 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver |
| Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Time | 29.640 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kurt Busch | Penske Racing | |
| Laps | 234 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Kurt Busch | Penske Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox Broadcasting Company | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds | ||
| Nielsen Ratings |
| ||
Mark Martin won his first pole position since the 2001 season by posting the fastest lap in qualifying, and he held the lead for the first six laps, until Busch overtook him on the seventh lap. He lost it after the first pit stop cycle to Ryan Newman but he passed him on the 18th lap to retake the position. After that, Busch ceded the lead to Jimmie Johnson after a refuelling problem during a pit stop, but he returned to the lead on lap 103. At the green–white–checker restart on lap 330, Edwards was in the first position, but he was passed by Kurt Busch on the outside lane soon after, and the latter held off Gordon for the remainder of the race to win. There were eleven cautions and thirteen lead changes amongst eight different drivers during the course of the event.
The victory was Busch's first of the season, his second at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the 19th of his career, since he debuted in the 2000 season. The result advanced him from seventh to third in the Drivers' Championship; 46 points behind Gordon (whose second-place finish enabled him to increase his points advantage over Clint Bowyer). In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet lowered Ford's lead to two points, while Toyota and Dodge were tied for third with 33 races left in the season. The race had a television audience of 8,877,000 million.