The 2009 Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods was the 29th of 36 scheduled stock car races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the third in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on October 4, 2009, in Kansas City, Kansas, at Kansas Speedway, before a crowd of 100,000 spectators. Stewart–Haas Racing driver and co-owner Tony Stewart won the 267-lap race, starting from the fifth position. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports finished in second, with Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle in third.
Mark Martin won the 47th pole position of his career by posting the fastest lap in qualifying. He lost the lead to his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. who passed him on lap 12. Earnhardt kept it until his other teammate Jimmie Johnson emerged in the first position after the first round of green flag pit stops took place. Biffle took the lead for the first time on the 72nd lap, and he led six times for a total of 113 laps, more than any other driver. Stewart became the leader through strategy on lap 238 during a phase of pit stops under a caution period by taking only two tires, while Biffle chose to have four tires installed on his car. He held off the closing Gordon in the final laps to secure the victory. There were six cautions and a track-record 26 lead changes amongst 14 different drivers during the course of the event.
It was Stewart's second win at Kansas Speedway, his fourth of the season, and the 37th of his career. The result advanced him from fifth to fourth in the Drivers' Championship, and past his nearest rival, Penske Championship Racing driver Kurt Busch. He was 67 points behind Martin whose lead over his teammate Johnson was reduced to 18 because Martin finished seventh. Because of Stewart's victory, Chevrolet won its 33rd Manufacturers' Championship in NASCAR Cup Competition, as Toyota could not catch its points total with seven races left in the season. The race attracted 5.25 million television viewers.
Background
The 2009 Price Chopper 400 was the twenty-ninth of thirty-six scheduled stock car races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and the third in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on October 4, 2009, in Kansas City, Kansas, at Kansas Speedway, an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races. The standard track is a four-turn long D-shaped oval track. The track's turns are banked at 15 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is 10.4 degrees. The back stretch, opposite to the front, is five degrees.
Before the race, Mark Martin led the Drivers' Championship with 5,400 points, and Jimmie Johnson stood in second with 5,390. Juan Pablo Montoya was third in the Drivers' Championship with 5,335, ten ahead of Kurt Busch and 21 ahead of Tony Stewart in fourth and fifth. Denny Hamlin was two points ahead of Ryan Newman, as Jeff Gordon with 5,278 points, was 16 ahead of Greg Biffle, and 29 in front of Brian Vickers. Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne were eleventh and twelfth with 5,247 and 5,211 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet were leading with 208 points, 45 ahead of their rivals Toyota. Ford, with 123 points, were one point ahead of Dodge in the battle for third place. Johnson was the race's defending champion. The Manufacturers' Championship could have been sealed in Kansas in the event the highest-placed Chevrolet driver finished ahead of the highest-placed Toyota competitor.
Practice and qualifying Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, while the second session lasted 45 minutes. The third and final session lasted 60 minutes. During the first practice session, Newman was fastest, with a time of 31.080 seconds, placing ahead of Johnson in second and Montoya in third. Clint Bowyer was fourth fastest, and David Ragan placed fifth. Tony Stewart, Martin Truex Jr., A. J. Allmendinger, David Stremme and Brad Keselowski rounded out the session's top ten fastest drivers.
Forty-six drivers attempted to qualify on Friday afternoon; according to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, forty-three were allowed to race. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitor's fastest lap times. Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet took the first three places as Martin clinched his seventh pole position of the season, his first at Kansas Speedway, and the 48th of his career, with a time of 30.724 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. whose best lap was 0.084 seconds slower. Keselowski qualified third, Jamie McMurray took fourth, and Stewart started fifth. Kahne, Joe Nemechek, Bowyer, Gordon and Scott Speed completed the top ten positions. The three drivers who failed to qualify were David Gilliland, Michael McDowell and Kevin Hamlin. Once qualifying concluded, Martin said, "Have any of you ever stepped on a cat's tail? I have accidentally stepped on cat's tail before. They make a noise and go really fast. When I stepped on the gas of that No. 5 car today, it was like stepping on a cat's tail it had so much horsepower."
On Saturday morning, Johnson was fastest in the second practice session by setting a lap of 31.144 seconds, ahead of Hamlin in second, and Kenseth in third. Reutimann was fourth quickest, and Stewart took fifth. Joey Logano managed sixth. Bowyer, Gordon, Kurt Busch and Kahne followed in the top ten. Of the drivers in the Chase, Newman set the 12th fastest time, and Biffle was 15th quickest. Later that day, Johnson paced the final practice session with a lap of 31.217 seconds, with Martin in second, and Kenseth in third. Montoya was fourth quickest, and Bowyer took fifth. Gordon managed sixth, Vickers was seventh fastest, Logano eighth, McMurray ninth, and Edwards tenth. Other Chase drivers included Kahne in 12th and Hamlin in 15th.
Qualifying results Driver Team Manufacturer 1 5Mark MartinHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet 30.724175.758 2 88Dale Earnhardt Jr.Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.808175.279 3 25Brad KeselowskiHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet 30.821175.205 4 26Jamie McMurrayRoush Fenway RacingFord 30.822175.199 5 14Tony StewartStewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 30.850175.040 6 9Kasey KahneRichard Petty MotorsportsDodge 30.860174.984 7 87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsToyota 30.895174.786 8 33Clint BowyerRichard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.902174.746 924Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.908174.712 10 82Scott SpeedRed Bull Racing Team Toyota 30.918174.656 11 48Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.923174.627 12 83Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 30.926174.610 13 00David ReutimannMichael Waltrip RacingToyota 30.932174.577 14 42Juan Pablo MontoyaEarnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 30.934174.565 15 44A. J. AllmendingerRichard Petty Motorsports Dodge 30.943174.514 1621Bill ElliottWood Brothers Racing Ford 30.996174.216 17 99Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 31.015174.109 18 20Joey LoganoJoe Gibbs Racing Toyota31.015174.109 19 09Mike BlissPhoenix Racing Dodge31.060173.857 20 98Paul MenardYates Racing Ford31.071173.796 21 1Martin Truex Jr.Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet31.076173.768 22 11Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 31.084173.723 23 17Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 31.120173.522 24 66Dave BlaneyPrism Motorsports Toyota31.129173.472 25 6David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford31.146173.377 26 71Bobby LabonteTRG MotorsportsChevrolet 31.151173.349 27 47Marcos AmbroseJTG Daugherty Racing Toyota31.163173.282 2843Reed Sorenson Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 31.164173.277 29 55Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 31.192173.121 30 39Ryan Newman Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet31.196173.099 31 16Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 31.203173.060 32 12David StremmePenske Championship RacingDodge31.214172.999 33 77Sam Hornish Jr. Penske Championship Racing Dodge 31.269172.695 34 18Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 31.310172.469 35 31Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31.318172.425 36 07Casey Mears Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet31.368172.150 37 7Robby GordonRobby Gordon Motorsports Toyota 31.388172.040 38 29Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31.408171.931 39 2Kurt Busch Penske Championship Racing Dodge 31.554171.135 40 34John AndrettiFront Row Motorsports Chevrolet31.640170.690 41 96Erik DarnellHall of Fame Racing Ford31.704170.326 42 19Elliott SadlerRichard Petty Motorsports Dodge31.731170.181 43 13Max PapisGermain Racing Toyota31.281172.629Failed to qualify 44 04David Gilliland Robby Gordon Motorsports Toyota31.324172.392 45 36Michael McDowellTommy Baldwin Racing Toyota31.557171.119 46 37Kevin HamlinFront Row Motorsports Dodge31.732170.176
Race Live television coverage of the race began in the United States at 2:00 p.m. EDT (UTC−05:00) on ABC. Around the start of the race, weather conditions were sunny, with the air temperature . Pastor Jimmy Ybarra began pre-race ceremonies by giving the invocation. Country music singer Blaine Larsen performed the national anthem, and the Grand Marshal of the race Kent Blair commanded the drivers to start their engines.
Martin retained his pole position lead into the first corner, with Earnhardt behind him. Keselowski fell to the sixth position on the same lap. On lap two, Logano lost control of his car, and spun sideways off the track at turn two, causing the first caution. All of the leaders stayed out on track, allowing Martin to remain the leader on the restart. On lap 6, McMurray passed Earnhardt to claim the second position. One lap later, the second caution was prompted after Paul Menard spun sideways at turn two, collecting Ragan, Michael Waltrip, Max Papis, and Bobby Labonte. During the caution, most of the leaders elected to make pit stops. Martin maintained his lead on the restart, with Earnhardt in second, and Keselowski third. On the 12th lap, Earnhardt moved into the first position after passing his teammate Martin at turn four. Keselowski overtook Martin shortly after. One lap later, Ragan drove to pit road after smoke billowed from his car.
On lap 15, Johnson passed Reutimann for eighth. After starting the race in 22nd, Hamlin had moved up eleven positions to eleventh by lap 18. One lap later, Johnson passed Gordon for seventh, as Montoya moved into the tenth position by lap 20. On the 21st lap, Johnson claimed the sixth position from Kahne, while Montoya passed Gordon for eighth. By lap 23, Earnhardt had a 1.9 second lead over Keselowski. Two laps later, McMurray passed Martin for the third position. By lap 31, Johnson had moved into the fourth position after passing Stewart and Martin. Four laps later, Stewart moved into fifth after passing Martin. On the 37th lap, Johnson passed McMurray for third. Stewart and Martin got ahead of McMurray to take over the fourth and fifth positions three laps later. Reuitmann got into sixth by the 45th lap. Two laps later, Gordon fell to 12th because of handling difficulties.
On lap 48, Montoya was overtaken by Biffle for the eighth position, and Reuitmann got ahead of Martin on the outside lane to take fifth on the backstretch. Green flag pit stops commenced on lap 52 as Keselowski became the first driver to stop for an air pressure adjustment and tires. They lasted until the 62nd lap, and Johnson took the lead after their conclusion with Keselowski second, and Stewart in third. Seven laps later, the third caution was necessitated for Reed Sorenson who hit the turn two wall. During the caution, several drivers (including Johnson), elected to make pit stops for tires. Biffle won the race off pit road, and lead at the restart on lap 75. Kenseth was passed by Montoya for second on lap 76, and Keselowski and Kurt Busch battled for fourth place. On lap 88, Johnson caught the leader Biffle and they battled alongside each other for the next few laps.