2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500
# 2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500

The 2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on April 18, 2009 at Phoenix International Speedway in Avondale, Arizona.

## Background

Phoenix International Raceway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway. The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long. The track's turns were banked at 11 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at three degrees. The back stretch, which has a dogleg shape instead of a straight, has 9 degrees of banking. The racetrack has seats for 76,800 spectators.

Before the race, Jeff Gordon led the Drivers' Championship with 1,154 points, followed by Jimmie Johnson in second on 992 points. Kurt Busch was in third on 974 points, Clint Bowyer was fourth with 967 points, and Tony Stewart was fifth on 963 points. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne rounded out the top ten. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 48 points, ten points ahead of their rival Ford in second. Toyota, with 37 points, was six points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third. Johnson was the race's defending champion.

## 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 |
| 02 | Brandon Ash | Umpqua, OR | Dodge | Sprinter Trucking Inc. | Kenneth Wood |
| 2 | Kurt Busch | Las Vegas, NV | Dodge | Miller Lite | Walter Czarnecki |
| 5 | Mark Martin | Batesville, AR | Chevrolet | Carquest / Kellogg's | Mary Hendrick |
| 06 | Trevor Boys | Calgary, Alberta Canada | Dodge | Boys Will Be Boys Racing Co. | Theresa Boys |
| 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 | Mapei / Menards | Robby Gordon |
| 09 | Sterling Marlin | Columbia, TN | Dodge | Miccosukee Resort & Gaming | James Finch |
| 9 | Kasey Kahne | Enumclaw, WA | Dodge | Budweiser | George Gillett Jr. |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chesterfield, VA | Toyota | FedEx Office / March for Babies | 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 | M&M's | Joe Gibbs |
| 19 | Elliott Sadler | Emporia, VA | Dodge | Stanley Tools | 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 |
| 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 | Cheerios / Hamburger Helper | Bobby Ginn III |
| 34 | John Andretti | Bethlehem, PA | Chevrolet | Taco Bell | Teresa Earnhardt |
| 36 | Scott Riggs | Bahama, NC | Toyota | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Tommy Baldwin |
| 39 | Ryan Newman | South Bend, IN | Chevrolet | Haas Automation | Tony Stewart |
| 41 | Jeremy Mayfield | Owensboro, KY | Toyota | Big Red | Jeremy Mayfield |
| 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Bogota, Colombia | Chevrolet | Target | Teresa Earnhardt |
| 43 | Reed Sorenson | Peachtree City, GA | Dodge | Auto Value / Bumper to Bumper | Richard Petty |
| 44 | A.J. Allmendinger | Los Gatos, CA | Dodge | Charter Comm. | George Gillett Jr. |
| 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Launceston, Tasmania | Toyota | Clorox / Kingsford / Bashas' | Rob Kauffman |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson | El Cajon, CA | Chevrolet | Lowe's | Jeff Gordon |
| 51 | Dexter Bean | Westby, WI | Dodge | LiveWire Energy | David Bean |
| 55 | Michael Waltrip | Owensboro, KY | Toyota | NAPA | Michael Waltrip |
| 64 | Todd Bodine | Chemung, NY | Toyota | Gunselman Motorsports | Larry Gunselman |
| 66 | Dave Blaney | Hartford, OH | Toyota | Prism Motorsports | Phil Parsons |
| 71 | David Gilliland | Riverside, CA | Chevrolet | American Monster | Kevin Buckler |
| 73 | Tony Raines | LaPorte, IN | Dodge | Quality Concrete | Barry Haefele |
| 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Defiance, OH | Dodge | Mobil 1 | Bill Davis |
| 78 | Regan Smith | Cato, NY | Chevrolet | Furniture Row Companies | Barney Visser |
| 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 | Ask.com | Jeffrey Moorad |
| 98 | Paul Menard | Eau Claire, WI | Ford | Peak / Menards | Max Jones |
| 99 | Carl Edwards | Columbia, MO | Ford | Subway | Jack Roush |

## Qualifying

Martin took the pole at Phoenix with a speed of 133.814 mph, 0.018 seconds in front of second place, Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch took third place 0.23 seconds of the leader and Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers rounded out the top five.

| Start | Car | Driver | Make | Avg. Speed | Time | Behind |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 133.814 | 26.903 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 133.725 | 26.921 | 00.018 |
| 3 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 133.700 | 26.926 | 00.023 |
| 4 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 133.690 | 26.928 | 00.025 |
| 5 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 133.551 | 26.956 | 00.053 |
| 6 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 133.487 | 26.969 | 00.066 |
| 7 | 98 | Paul Menard | Ford | 133.482 | 26.970 | 00.067 |
| 8 | 00 | David Reutimann | Toyota | 133.457 | 26.975 | 00.072 |
| 9 | 78 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 133.437 | 26.979 | 00.076 |
| 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 133.338 | 26.999 | 00.096 |
| 11 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 133.318 | 27.003 | 00.100 |
| 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 133.259 | 27.015 | 00.112 |
| 13 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 133.240 | 27.019 | 00.116 |
| 14 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 133.156 | 27.036 | 00.133 |
| 15 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 133.121 | 27.043 | 00.140 |
| 16 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | 133.077 | 27.052 | 00.149 |
| 17 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Ford | 133.023 | 27.063 | 00.160 |
| 18 | 82 | Scott Speed | Toyota | 132.831 | 27.102 | 00.199 |
| 19 | 12 | David Stremme | Dodge | 132.812 | 27.106 | 00.203 |
| 20 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Chevrolet | 132.631 | 27.143 | 00.240 |
| 21 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | 132.626 | 27.144 | 00.241 |
| 22 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 132.616 | 27.146 | 00.243 |
| 23 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Toyota | 132.607 | 27.148 | 00.245 |
| 24 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | 132.602 | 27.149 | 00.246 |
| 25 | 44 | AJ Allmendinger | Dodge | 132.558 | 27.158 | 00.255 |
| 26 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 132.519 | 27.166 | 00.263 |
| 27 | 71 | David Gilliland | Chevrolet | 132.499 | 27.170 | 00.267 |
| 28 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Ford | 132.470 | 27.176 | 00.273 |
| 29 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Toyota | 132.402 | 27.190 | 00.287 |
| 30 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 132.353 | 27.200 | 00.297 |
| 31 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 132.168 | 27.238 | 00.335 |
| 32 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | 132.086 | 27.255 | 00.352 |
| 33 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 132.023 | 27.268 | 00.365 |
| 34 | 66 | Dave Blaney | Toyota | 131.950 | 27.283 | 00.380 |
| 35 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr | Dodge | 131.936 | 27.286 | 00.383 |
| 36 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | Dodge | 131.825 | 27.309 | 00.406 |
| 37 | 36 | Scott Riggs | Toyota | 131.670 | 27.341 | 00.438 |
| 38 | 07 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 131.608 | 27.354 | 00.451 |
| 39 | 09 | Sterling Marlin | Dodge | 131.521 | 27.372 | 00.469 |
| 40 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | 130.928 | 27.496 | 00.593 |
| 41 | 34 | John Andretti | Chevrolet | 130.567 | 27.572 | 00.669 |
| 42 | 96 | Bobby Labonte | Ford | 130.534 | 27.579 | 00.676 |
| 43 | 73 | Tony Raines | Dodge | 131.406 | 27.396 | 00.493 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||
| 44 | 64 | Todd Bodine | Toyota | 130.676 | 27.549 | |
| 45 | 41 | Jeremy Mayfield | Toyota | 130.317 | 27.625 | |
| 46 | 51 | Dexter Bean | Dodge | 129.716 | 27.753 | |
| 47 | 02 | Brandon Ash | Dodge | 128.141 | 28.094 | |
| 48 | 06 | Trevor Boys | Dodge | 124.249 | 28.974 | |

## Race recap

Phoenix International Raceway chaplain Ken Bowers would give out the invocation. Big Machine Records recording artists Kate & Kacey sang the national anthem for this race and future talk show host Michael Strahan delivered the command to start engines 5 minutes after the anthem was sung.

Mark Martin started from the pole and dominated the first one hundred laps of the race, relinquishing the lead only under caution. At this point, the front runners were Martin, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, and Tony Stewart. Those four were consistently in the top five for the first two hundred laps. On lap 167, the caution came out for Robby Gordon's wreck and several cars stayed out. By lap 267, all cars that have stayed out have pitted except Dale Earnhardt Jr. On lap 300, Earnhardt made slight contact with Casey Mears and hit the wall. Ryan Newman, during this caution, accidentally stayed out of the pits because of having radio problems. He was the only car that didn't pit. On the restart, Martin blew by Newman and cruised to his first win since August 2005.

## Results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Sponsor | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | 5 | Mark Martin | Carquest, Kellogg's | Chevy | 312 | 157 | running | 195 |
| 2 | 6 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Office Depot, Old Spice | Chevy | 312 | 19 | running | 175 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | Kurt Busch | Miller Lite | Dodge | 312 | 63 | running | 170 |
| 4 | 10 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Lowe's | Chevy | 312 | 1 | running | 165 |
| 5 | 13 | 16 | Greg Biffle | 3M | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 155 |
| 6 | 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Office, March for Babies | Toyota | 312 | 0 | running | 150 |
| 7 | 26 | 1 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats | Chevy | 312 | 0 | running | 146 |
| 8 | 8 | 00 | David Reutimann | Aaron's Dream Machine | Toyota | 312 | 1 | running | 147 |
| 9 | 35 | 77 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Mobil 1 | Dodge | 312 | 0 | running | 138 |
| 10 | 11 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Subway | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 134 |
| 11 | 28 | 26 | Jamie McMurray | Crown Royal | Ford | 312 | 0 | running | 130 |
| 12 | 36 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | Auto Value Bumper to Bumper | Dodge | 312 | 0 | running | 127 |
| 13 | 21 | 9 | Kasey Kahne | Budweiser | Dodge | 312 | 0 | running | 124 |
| 14 | 29 | 47 | Marcos Ambrose | Clorox, Kingsford, Bashas' | Toyota | 312 | 0 | running | 121 |
| 15 | 16 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Caterpillar | Chevy | 312 | 0 | running | 118 |
| 16 | 30 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Haas Automation | Chevy | 312 | 4 | running | 120 |
| 17 | 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's | Toyota | 312 | 0 | running | 112 |
| 18 | 19 | 12 | David Stremme | Penske Racing | Dodge | 311 | 0 | running | 109 |
| 19 | 5 | 83 | Brian Vickers | Red Bull | Toyota | 311 | 2 | running | 111 |
| 20 | 38 | 07 | Casey Mears | Jack Daniel's | Chevy | 311 | 0 | running | 103 |
| 21 | 31 | 20 | Joey Logano | Home Depot | Toyota | 311 | 0 | running | 100 |
| 22 | 14 | 6 | David Ragan | UPS | Ford | 311 | 0 | running | 97 |
| 23 | 7 | 98 | Paul Menard | Peak, Menards | Ford | 311 | 0 | running | 94 |
| 24 | 20 | 42 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Target | Chevy | 311 | 0 | running | 91 |
| 25 | 4 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont | Chevy | 311 | 0 | running | 88 |
| 26 | 24 | 33 | Clint Bowyer | Cheerios, Hamburger Helper | Chevy | 311 | 0 | running | 85 |
| 27 | 17 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | DeWalt | Ford | 311 | 0 | running | 82 |
| 28 | 9 | 78 | Regan Smith | Furniture Row | Chevy | 311 | 0 | running | 79 |
| 29 | 42 | 96 | Bobby Labonte | Ask.com | Ford | 311 | 1 | running | 81 |
| 30 | 33 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Shell, Pennzoil | Chevy | 311 | 0 | running | 73 |
| 31 | 15 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | National Guard, AMP Energy | Chevy | 310 | 63 | running | 75 |
| 32 | 40 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Stanley Tools | Dodge | 310 | 0 | running | 67 |
| 33 | 27 | 71 | David Gilliland | American Monster | Chevy | 310 | 0 | running | 64 |
| 34 | 18 | 82 | Scott Speed | Red Bull | Toyota | 310 | 0 | running | 61 |
| 35 | 25 | 44 | A.J. Allmendinger | Charter Communications | Dodge | 309 | 0 | running | 58 |
| 36 | 37 | 36 | Scott Riggs | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Toyota | 307 | 0 | running | 55 |
| 37 | 32 | 55 | Michael Waltrip | NAPA | Toyota | 307 | 1 | running | 57 |
| 38 | 41 | 34 | John Andretti | Taco Bell | Chevy | 307 | 0 | running | 49 |
| 39 | 23 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Mapei, Menards | Toyota | 243 | 0 | running | 46 |
| 40 | 39 | 09 | Sterling Marlin | Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts | Dodge | 117 | 0 | crash | 43 |
| 41 | 22 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | NEMCO Motorsports | Toyota | 76 | 0 | rear axle | 40 |
| 42 | 34 | 66 | Dave Blaney | Prism Motorsports | Toyota | 59 | 0 | brakes | 37 |
| 43 | 43 | 73 | Tony Raines | Quality Concrete | Dodge | 56 | 0 | brakes | 34 |
| Failed to qualify |||||||||||
| 44 | | 64 | Todd Bodine | Gunselman Mortorsports | Toyota | | | | |
| 45 | | 41 | Jeremy Mayfield | Big Red | Toyota | | | | |
| 46 | | 51 | Dexter Bean | LiveWire Energy | Dodge | | | | |
| 47 | | 02 | Brandon Ash | Sprinter Trucking, Inc. | Dodge | | | | |
| 48 | | 06 | Trevor Boys | Boys Will Be Boys Racing Co. | Dodge | | | | |
