2009 Ford 400

2009 Ford 400
Race details[1][2][3][4][5]
Race 36 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Map of Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gray dashed lines are other courses. Gray solid line is another pit road option.
Map of Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gray dashed lines are other courses. Gray solid line is another pit road option.
Date November 22, 2009 (2009-11-22)
Location Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Weather Warm with temperatures approaching 83.1 °F (28.4 °C); wind speeds up to 7 miles per hour (11 km/h)
Average speed 126.986 miles per hour (204.364 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Hendrick Motorsports
Time 31.049
Most laps led
Driver Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 71
Winner
No. 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree, Jerry Punch
Nielsen Ratings
  • 3.3/6 (Final)
  • 3.2/6 (Overnight)
  • (5.607 million)[6]

The 2009 Ford 400 was the thirty-sixth and final stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well as the tenth and final race of the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on November 22, 2009, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in Homestead, Florida, before a crowd of 70,000 people. The 267-lap race was won by Denny Hamlin of the Joe Gibbs Racing team after starting from thirty-eighth position. Richard Childress Racing driver Jeff Burton finished second and his teammate Kevin Harvick was third.

Going into the race only Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin remained in contention to win the Drivers' Championship, with Johnson leading Martin by 108 points. Johnson won the pole position by setting the fastest lap in qualifying, and he maintained his lead on the first lap of the race. Many Chase for the Sprint Cup participants, including Johnson, Kurt Busch and Mark Martin, were in the top ten for most of the race, although some encountered problems in the closing laps. Kyle Busch was leading the race with forty-six laps remaining, giving the lead to Hamlin on lap 223 who maintained it to win the race. There were seven cautions in the race, as well as eighteen lead changes among ten different drivers.

The race was Hamlin's fourth win in the 2009 season, and the eighth of his career. Johnson became the first driver to win four consecutive Drivers' Championships and was 141 points ahead of Mark Martin. Johnson's team owner Jeff Gordon won the Owners' Championship. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 262 points, fifty-five points ahead of Toyota and ninety-eight ahead of Ford. The race attracted 5.60 million television viewers.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference calendar was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference utqualify was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference schedule was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference foxresults was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Weather information for the 2009 Ford 400at The Old Farmers' Almanac. Accessed 2013-06-22. 2013-07-05.
  6. ^ "2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup TV Ratings". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved December 27, 2014.