| Race details[1][2][3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 35 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 Official logo of the race | |||
| Date | November 15, 2009 | ||
| Official name | Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 | ||
| Location | Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona | ||
| Course | 1.000 mi (1.609 km) | ||
| Distance | 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 68 °F (20 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)[4] | ||
| Average speed | 110.486 miles per hour (177.810 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | ||
| Time | 26.643 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 238 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree | ||
| Nielsen Ratings |
| ||
The 2009 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was the thirty-fifth and penultimate stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the ninth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on November 15, 2009, at Phoenix International Raceway, in Avondale, Arizona before a crowd of 90,000. The 312-lap race was won by Jimmie Johnson of the Hendrick Motorsports team after starting from third position. Richard Childress Racing's Jeff Burton finished second and Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing placed third.
Entering the race, only Hendrick Motorsports teammates Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon remained in contention for the Drivers' Championship, with Johnson holding a 73-point margin over Martin in second. Martin Truex Jr. started from pole position by setting the fastest lap in the qualifying session, although he was passed by Kurt Busch by the end of the first lap. Fifty-six laps later, Johnson became the leader of the race. Many Chase for the Sprint Cup participants, including Gordon and Martin ran in the top ten for most of the race. Johnson maintained the first position to lead the most laps of 238, and to win his seventh race of the season. There were four cautions and nine lead changes among four different drivers during the course of the race.
The event saw Johnson claim his seventh race victory of the 2009 season, and the forty-seventh of his career. The result kept Johnson in the lead of the Drivers' Championship, one-hundred and eight points ahead of Martin and one-hundred and sixty nine in front of Gordon. Chevrolet maintained their lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, fifty-eight ahead of Toyota, ninety-five in front of Ford and one-hundred and eight ahead of Dodge. The race attracted 5.17 million television viewers.
- ^ "2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
- ^ Livingstone, Seth (November 15, 2009). "Truex takes pole, Chase leader Johnson third in Phoenix qualifying". USA Today. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ "The Race: Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Archive. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
- ^ Weather information for the 2009 Checker Auto Parts 500at The Old Farmers' Almanac. Accessed 2013-06-20. 2013-06-22.
- ^ "2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup TV Ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2015.