2009 Food City 500
# 2009 Food City 500

The 2009 Food City 500 was the fifth race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. This 500 lap, 266.5 miles (428.9 km) race took place on March 22 of that year at the 0.533 miles (0.858 km) Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, and was telecast on Fox beginning at 1:30 PM US EDT, with radio broadcasting being handled by Performance Racing Network (terrestrial) and Sirius XM Radio (satellite) beginning at 1 PM US EDT.

This race was the last to use the 2008 season Top 35 in owners points rule. Beginning with the next race, the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500, each week's current standings will be used to determine automatic qualifiers for each week's race.

## Entry list

| Car | Driver | Hometown | Make | Sponsor | Team |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 00 | David Reutimann | Zephyrhills, FL | Toyota | Aaron's Dream Machine | Michael Waltrip |
| 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Mayetta, NJ | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | Teresa Earnhardt |
| 2 | Kurt Busch | Las Vegas, NV | Dodge | Miller Lite | Walter Czarnecki |
| 5 | Mark Martin | Batesville, AR | Chevrolet | Carquest / Kellogg's | Mary Hendrick |
| 6 | David Ragan | Unadilla, GA | Ford | UPS | Mike Dee |
| 07 | Casey Mears | Bakersfield, CA | Chevrolet | Jack Daniel's | Richard Childress |
| 7 | Robby Gordon | Bellflower, CA | Toyota | SPOT | Robby Gordon |
| 8 | Aric Almirola | Tampa, FL | Chevrolet | Champion Apparel | Chip Ganassi |
| 09 | Sterling Marlin | Columbia, TN | Dodge | Phoenix Racing | James Finch |
| 9 | Kasey Kahne | Enumclaw, WA | Dodge | Budweiser | George Gillett Jr |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chesterfield, VA | Toyota | FedEx Express | J D Gibbs |
| 12 | David Stremme | South Bend, IN | Dodge | Penske Racing | Roger Penske |
| 14 | Tony Stewart | Rushville, IN | Chevrolet | Office Depot / Old Spice | Margaret Haas |
| 16 | Greg Biffle | Vancouver, WA | Ford | 3M | Jack Roush |
| 17 | Matt Kenseth | Cambridge, WI | Ford | Dewalt | John Henry |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Las Vegas, NV | Toyota | Snickers | Joe Gibbs |
| 19 | Elliott Sadler | Emporia, VA | Dodge | Best Buy | George Gillett Jr |
| 20 | Joey Logano | Middleton, CT | Toyota | The Home Depot | Joe Gibbs |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Vallejo, CA | Chevrolet | DuPont | Rick Hendrick |
| 26 | Jamie McMurray | Joplin, MO | Ford | Crown Royal | Geoff Smith |
| 28 | Travis Kvapil | Janesville, WI | Ford | Golden Corral | Jeff Moorad |
| 29 | Kevin Harvick | Bakersfield, CA | Chevrolet | Shell / Pennzoil | Richard Childress |
| 31 | Jeff Burton | South Boston, VA | Chevrolet | Caterpillar | Richard Childress |
| 33 | Clint Bowyer | Emporia, KS | Chevrolet | BB&T | Bobby Ginn III |
| 34 | John Andretti | Bethlehem, PA | Chevrolet | WindowWorld.com | Teresa Earnhardt |
| 36 | Scott Riggs | Bahama, NC | Toyota | Array Lighting / Nexxus Lighting | Tommy Baldwin |
| 39 | Ryan Newman | South Bend, IN | Chevrolet | U.S. Army | Tony Stewart |
| 41 | Jeremy Mayfield | Owensboro, KY | Toyota | All Sport | Jeremy Mayfield |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Bogota, Colombia | Chevrolet | Target | Teresa Earnhardt |
| 43 | Reed Sorenson | Peachtree City, GA | Dodge | Paralyzed Veterans of America | Richard Petty |
| 44 | A.J. Allmendinger | Los Gatos, CA | Dodge | Charter Comm. | George Gillett Jr |
| 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Launceston, Tasmania | Toyota | Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox | Rob Kauffman |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | El Cajon, CA | Chevrolet | Lowe's | Jeff Gordon |
| 55 | Michael Waltrip | Owensboro, KY | Toyota | NAPA | Michael Waltrip |
| 64 | Todd Bodine | Chemung, NY | Toyota | Fred's Hometown Discount Store | Larry Gunselman |
| 66 | Dave Blaney | Hartford, OH | Toyota | Prism Motorsports | Phil Parsons |
| 71 | David Gilliland | Riverside, CA | Chevrolet | Capital Window | Kevin Buckler |
| 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Defiance, OH | Dodge | Mobil 1 | Bill Davis |
| 82 | Scott Speed | Manteca, CA | Toyota | Red Bull | Dietrich Mateschitz |
| 83 | Brian Vickers | Thomasville, NC | Toyota | Red Bull | Dietrich Mateschitz |
| 87 | Joe Nemechek | Lakeland, FL | Toyota | NEMCO Motorsports | Andrea Nemechek |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Kannapolis, NC | Chevrolet | National Guard / Amp Energy | Rick Hendrick |
| 96 | Bobby Labonte | Corpus Christi, TX | Ford | Academy Sports + Outdoors | Jeffrey Moorad |
| 98 | Paul Menard | Eau Claire, WI | Ford | Johns Manville / Menards | Max Jones |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Columbia, MO | Ford | Aflac | Jack Roush |

## Qualifying

Mark Martin won his second pole in a row. He will start alongside Ryan Newman and teammate Jimmie Johnson in third.

### Full qualifying results

| Pos | Car # | Driver | Primary Sponsor | Make | Speed | Time | Behind |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Martin | Carquest / Kellogg's | Chevrolet | 125.773 | 15.256 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 39 | Ryan Newman | U.S. Army | Chevrolet | 125.741 | 15.260 | -0.004 |
| 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's | Chevrolet | 125.453 | 15.295 | -0.039 |
| 4 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 3M | Ford | 125.289 | 15.315 | -0.059 |
| 5 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Budweiser | Dodge | 124.954 | 15.356 | -0.100 |
| 6 | 00 | David Reutimann | Aaron's Dream Machine | Toyota | 124.808 | 15.374 | -0.118 |
| 7 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | Charter Comm. | Dodge | 124.541 | 15.407 | -0.151 |
| 8 | 66 | Dave Blaney | Prism Motorsports | Toyota | 124.508 | 15.411 | -0.155 |
| 9 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Irwin Industrial Tools | Ford | 124.492 | 15.413 | -0.157 |
| 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont | Chevrolet | 124.267 | 15.441 | -0.185 |
| 11 | 82 | Scott Speed | Red Bull | Toyota | 124.194 | 15.450 | -0.194 |
| 12 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Little Debbie / Kingsford / Clorox | Toyota | 124.130 | 15.458 | -0.202 |
| 13 | 42 | Juan Montoya | Target | Chevrolet | 124.130 | 15.458 | -0.202 |
| 14 | 71 | David Gilliland | TRG Motorsports | Chevrolet | 123.946 | 15.481 | -0.225 |
| 15 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Old Spice / Office Depot | Chevrolet | 123.897 | 15.487 | -0.231 |
| 16 | 64 | Todd Bodine | Gunselman Motorsports | Toyota | 123.698 | 15.512 | -0.256 |
| 17 | 28 | Travis Kvapil | Golden Corral | Ford | 123.658 | 15.517 | -0.261 |
| 18 | 8 | Aric Almirola | Guitar Hero | Chevrolet | 123.650 | 15.518 | -0.262 |
| 19 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's | Toyota | 123.626 | 15.521 | -0.265 |
| 20 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker | Chevrolet | 123.610 | 15.523 | -0.267 |
| 21 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | NAPA | Toyota | 123.562 | 15.529 | -0.273 |
| 22 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Stanley Tools | Dodge | 123.538 | 15.532 | -0.276 |
| 23 | 20 | Joey Logano | The Home Depot | Toyota | 123.523 | 15.534 | -0.278 |
| 24 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Freight | Toyota | 123.491 | 15.538 | -0.282 |
| 25 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr | Mobil 1 | Dodge | 123.427 | 15.546 | -0.290 |
| 26 | 44 | AJ Allmendinger | Charter Comm. | Dodge | 123.427 | 15.546 | -0.290 |
| 27 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Red Bull | Toyota | 123.372 | 15.553 | -0.297 |
| 28 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Toyota | 123.324 | 15.559 | -0.303 |
| 29 | 09 | Sterling Marlin | Miccosukee Resort & Gaming | Dodge | 123.189 | 15.576 | -0.320 |
| 30 | 12 | David Stremme | Penske Racing | Dodge | 123.118 | 15.585 | -0.329 |
| 31 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Shell / Pennzoil | Chevrolet | 123.071 | 15.591 | -0.335 |
| 32 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | BB&T | Chevrolet | 123.032 | 15.596 | -0.340 |
| 33 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite | Dodge | 123.024 | 15.597 | -0.341 |
| 34 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Dewalt | Ford | 122.827 | 15.622 | -0.366 |
| 35 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | National Guard / Amp Energy | Chevrolet | 122.725 | 15.635 | -0.379 |
| 36 | 7 | Robby Gordon | SPOT | Toyota | 122.709 | 15.637 | -0.381 |
| 37 | 96 | Bobby Labonte | Ask.com | Ford | 122.654 | 15.644 | -0.388 |
| 38 | 07 | Casey Mears | Jack Daniel's | Chevrolet | 122.404 | 15.676 | -0.420 |
| 39 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Aflac | Ford | 122.349 | 15.683 | -0.427 |
| 40 | 34 | John Andretti | Taco Bell | Chevrolet | 122.248 | 15.696 | -0.440 |
| 41 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Caterpillar | Chevrolet | 121.952 | 15.734 | -0.478 |
| 42 | 6 | David Ragan | Roush Fenmway Racing | Toyota | 121.194 | 15.733 | -0.447 |
| 43 | 98 | Paul Menard | Menards | Ford | 121.898 | 15.741 | -0.451 |
| Failed to qualify ||||||||
| 44 | 36 | Scott Riggs | Array Lighting / Nexxus Lighting | Toyota | 122.193 | 15.703 | |
| 45 | 41 | Jeremy Mayfield | All Sport | Toyota | 122.162 | 15.707 | |

## Pre-Race Notes

* Michael Waltrip smacked the wall in practice and was forced to go to a backup car.
* The car of Kevin Harvick was so tight it would not turn at about 100 miles per hour. After inspecting the car, it was determined that the cause was the engine rubbing against the tires, but Harvick did not go to a backup car.
* Bobby Labonte and Greg Biffle both spun off turn 4 at one point in practice, but both cars suffered minor to no damage.

## Race recap

Bobby Allison, a NASCAR Cup Series driver who drove in the formative years in NASCAR, became the honorary starter for this race. He would give out the green flag and later surrendered his "duty" to the regular starter for the other flags.

The pundits predicted that Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch would be triumphant in the race while Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, David Ragan and Brian Vickers didn't have much of a chance to finish the race in a respectable position.

Kyle Busch led 378 laps en route to his second victory of 2009. JGR teammate Denny Hamlin finished second, while Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon finished third and fourth, while Kasey Kahne rounded up the top 5. Jeff Gordon still led the points standings, and got his 4th top-10 and 3rd top-5 of the season.

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Sponsor | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 19 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Snickers | Toyota | 503 | 378 | running | 195 | 232998 |
| 2 | 24 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Express | Toyota | 503 | 7 | running | 175 | 138275 |
| 3 | 3 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's | Chevy | 503 | 88 | running | 170 | 168876 |
| 4 | 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont | Chevy | 503 | 0 | running | 160 | 146051 |
| 5 | 5 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Budweiser | Dodge | 503 | 0 | running | 155 | 143398 |
| 6 | 1 | 5 | Mark Martin | CARQUEST Auto Parts, Kellogg's | Chevy | 503 | 2 | running | 155 | 109575 |
| 7 | 2 | 39 | Ryan Newman | U.S. Army | Chevy | 503 | 25 | running | 151 | 129729 |
| 8 | 40 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Caterpillar | Chevy | 503 | 0 | running | 142 | 137906 |
| 9 | 12 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Target | Chevy | 503 | 0 | running | 138 | 133473 |
| 10 | 13 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Little Debbie, Clorox, Kingsford | Toyota | 503 | 0 | running | 134 | 113923 |
| 11 | 32 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite | Dodge | 503 | 0 | running | 130 | 109075 |
| 12 | 6 | 00 | David Reutimann | Aaron's Dream Machine | Toyota | 503 | 1 | running | 132 | 116973 |
| 13 | 31 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | BB&T | Chevy | 503 | 0 | running | 124 | 92975 |
| 14 | 34 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | National Guard, AMP Energy | Chevy | 503 | 0 | running | 121 | 105650 |
| 15 | 38 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Aflac | Ford | 503 | 0 | running | 118 | 138606 |
| 16 | 26 | 44 | A.J. Allmendinger | Charter Communications | Dodge | 503 | 0 | running | 115 | 91225 |
| 17 | 15 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Office Depot, Old Spice | Chevy | 502 | 0 | running | 112 | 101648 |
| 18 | 17 | 28 | Travis Kvapil | Golden Corral | Ford | 502 | 0 | running | 109 | 91475 |
| 19 | 29 | 12 | David Stremme | Penske Racing | Dodge | 502 | 0 | running | 106 | 123540 |
| 20 | 22 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Best Buy | Dodge | 502 | 0 | running | 103 | 99975 |
| 21 | 35 | 7 | Robby Gordon | FindMeSpot.com | Toyota | 501 | 0 | running | 100 | 108660 |
| 22 | 36 | 96 | Bobby Labonte | Academy Sports & Outdoors | Ford | 501 | 0 | running | 97 | 117629 |
| 23 | 7 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | Paralyzed Veterans of America | Dodge | 501 | 0 | running | 94 | 127676 |
| 24 | 37 | 07 | Casey Mears | Jack Daniel's | Chevy | 501 | 0 | running | 91 | 103900 |
| 25 | 42 | 98 | Paul Menard | Johns Manville, Menards | Ford | 501 | 0 | running | 88 | 119681 |
| 26 | 20 | 1 | Martin Truex, Jr. | Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats | Chevy | 501 | 0 | running | 85 | 124190 |
| 27 | 41 | 6 | David Ragan | UPS | Ford | 500 | 0 | running | 82 | 96450 |
| 28 | 11 | 82 | Scott Speed | Red Bull | Toyota | 500 | 0 | running | 79 | 101873 |
| 29 | 27 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Red Bull | Toyota | 499 | 0 | running | 76 | 116023 |
| 30 | 30 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Shell, Pennzoil | Chevy | 499 | 0 | running | 73 | 122703 |
| 31 | 25 | 77 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | Mobil 1 | Dodge | 499 | 0 | running | 70 | 103810 |
| 32 | 21 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | NAPA | Toyota | 497 | 2 | running | 72 | 91975 |
| 33 | 33 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | DeWalt | Ford | 497 | 0 | running | 64 | 131115 |
| 34 | 39 | 34 | John Andretti | WindowWorld.com | Chevy | 495 | 0 | running | 61 | 91875 |
| 35 | 18 | 8 | Aric Almirola | Champion Apparel | Chevy | 494 | 0 | running | 58 | 91825 |
| 36 | 14 | 71 | David Gilliland | Capital Windows | Chevy | 493 | 0 | running | 55 | 83775 |
| 37 | 9 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Crown Royal | Ford | 491 | 0 | running | 52 | 91725 |
| 38 | 23 | 20 | Joey Logano | Home Depot | Toyota | 490 | 0 | engine | 49 | 131026 |
| 39 | 4 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 3M | Ford | 326 | 0 | engine | 46 | 103325 |
| 40 | 43 | 09 | Sterling Marlin | Phoenix Racing | Dodge | 91 | 0 | steering | 43 | 83550 |
| 41 | 28 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Huckleberry's BBQ Sauce | Toyota | 82 | 0 | rear end | 40 | 83475 |
| 42 | 16 | 64 | Todd Bodine | Fred's | Toyota | 58 | 0 | crash | 37 | 83390 |
| 43 | 8 | 66 | Dave Blaney | Hyde Park Storage Suites | Toyota | 33 | 0 | steering | 34 | 82968 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 44 | | 36 | Scott Riggs | Array Lighting / Nexxus Lighting | Toyota | | | | | |
| 45 | | 41 | Jeremy Mayfield | All Sport | Toyota | | | | | |
