2009 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
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| Date | February 15, 2009 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
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| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km) |
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| Distance | 152 laps, 380 mi (610 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 132.816 miles per hour (213.747 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Earnhardt Ganassi Racing | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 88 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Fenway Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 9.2/19 (15.954 million viewers) |
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The 2009 Daytona 500, the 51st running of the event, was held on February 15, 2009 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first points-paying race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the last 500 of the 2000s decade. The race was won by Matt Kenseth, making a car numbered 17 winning the race for the first time in 20 years since Darrell Waltrip's win back in 1989 and the first Daytona 500 win for Roush Fenway Racing. The race was called off with 48 laps to go after a severe rainstorm that had been lingering throughout the area hit the track.
For the first time since 1981, the defending race champion driver and team have been split. Ryan Newman, the champion driver, drove for Stewart Haas Racing in the #39 Chevrolet Impala. The team that he won with, Penske Racing, fielded the #12 Dodge Charger with David Stremme behind the wheel.
The last time a driver and team split was when Buddy Baker drove for Harry Ranier Racing in winning the 1980 event, but the next year was the driver of Hoss Ellington's #1.
Former winners Kevin Harvick (2007), Michael Waltrip (2001, 2003), Jeff Gordon (1997, 1999, 2005), Bill Elliott (1985, 1987), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004), Jimmie Johnson (2006), and Ryan Newman (2008) did race in the event finishing second, seventh, thirteenth, twenty-third, twenty-seventh, thirty-first, and thirty-sixth respectively. Derrike Cope (1990) and Geoff Bodine (1986), also former winners, failed to qualify.
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