2010 Aaron's 499

2010 Aaron's 499

Race details[1][2]
Race 9 of 36 in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Date	April 25, 2010 (2010-April-25)
Location	Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance	200 laps, 532 mi (856.171 km)
Weather	Partly sunny, then gradually became sunny, with a high near 79. West southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph.
Avg Speed	150.59 miles per hour (242.35 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
Driver	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing
Laps	28
Winner
29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing
Television
Network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2010 Aaron's 499 was the 9th race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. It started at 1 p.m. EDT on April 25, 2010. The 2010 Aaron's 499 was televised on Fox and was also broadcast on MRN radio at 12 p.m.^[3] After the major crashes such as Carl Edwards' and Ryan Newman's crashes at the races last year, officials decided that they would change from the rear wing to the rear spoiler which debuted in the 2010 Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500.^[4] The race, which was extended by 12 laps, had a record setting 29 different leaders and 88 lead changes.^[5] The race also had 8 cautions, and the winner was Kevin Harvick.^[6]

Race report

Practices and qualifying

Polesitter Jimmie Johnson in 2008

On April 23, there were two practice sessions that began with David Reutimann, Regan Smith, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, and Marcos Ambrose being the fastest.^[7] The fastest in the final practice were Jeff Burton, Brad Keselowski, Mike Bliss, Denny Hamlin, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.^[8] In the final practice there were two caution flags, one because Ryan Newman spun on the back stretch after being tapped by Mark Martin and received major damage to his car, the other being when spotters noticed a small, black bird near the SAFER barrier, which a member of the safety team was able to grab.^[9] On April 24, qualifying was canceled because of severe weather in the area; Jimmie Johnson, as he was first in the standings, started on the pole.^[10] The drivers that did not qualify were Aric Almirola and Terry Cook.^[11]

Race summary

To begin pre-race events, Reverend Mark Stokes of Alabama Raceway Ministries gave the invocation. Then, recording artist Brittini Black performed the national anthem. To start the engines, Mal Moore, director of athletics at the University of Alabama, gave the command: "Gentlemen, start your engines!" Before the race, NASCAR decided to have a competition caution on lap 20.^[12] Jimmie Johnson made a good start, but Kyle Busch had assistance from Jeff Burton and passed Johnson. Joey Logano, Kyle Busch's team mate, became the leader after passing Busch, but on lap 4, Matt Kenseth passed him. Kenseth led only one lap until Kevin Harvick claimed the lead. Harvick's vacated first position was filled by Denny Hamlin after he fell to second on the grid. On lap 8, Tony Stewart became the leader, but was passed by Elliott Sadler on the ninth lap. David Ragan became the leader after Sadler fell to the second position.^[12]

After leading three laps, Ragan was passed by Kurt Busch. Two laps later, Joey Logano passed Kurt Busch for the lead. Logano led until lap 19, because Jeff Burton passed him. A lap later, NASCAR's competition caution was given. Robby Gordon stayed out of pit road to receive the lead, but two laps later Kurt Busch passed him when he was going to pit road. On the restart on lap 24, Kurt Busch led them to the green flag. Brian Vickers, on lap 26, passed Kurt Busch for the lead. On lap 29, Hamlin passed Vickers for the lead. A lap afterwards, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. passed Hamlin. Michael Waltrip, on lap 31, passed Earnhardt Jr. Then, two laps later, A. J. Allmendinger passed Waltrip, but on the next lap Waltrip reclaimed the lead. On lap 38, Jimmie Johnson passed Waltrip for the lead. With a push from Vickers, Earnhardt Jr. passed Johnson on lap 39. On lap 42, Jeff Burton passed Earnhardt Jr., but a lap later Earnhardt Jr. repassed him. On the next lap, Kyle Busch passed Earnhardt Jr. for the lead, but Busch led only one lap until Earnhardt Jr. passed him. On lap 46, Kurt Busch passed Earnhardt Jr. for the lead. Two laps later, Brad Keselowski passed Busch for the lead. On lap 50, David Ragan passed Keselowski for the lead, but he led only one lap until Jeff Burton passed him.^[12]

Ragan led eight laps until Sam Hornish, Jr. passed him. On lap 60, Kyle Busch passed Hornish Jr. for the lead. Two laps later Brian Vickers passed Busch to lead. On lap 64, Jimmie Johnson passed Vickers to lead his first lap of the day. A lap later, Jeff Burton passed Johnson for the lead. From laps 65 to lap 66 green flag pit stops were going on. On lap 66, Denny Hamlin moved into the lead spot. One lap later, Johnson retook the lead. On lap 68, Jeff Gordon passed Johnson for the lead, but a lap later Johnson reclaimed the lead. On lap 70, Michael Waltrip passed Johnson. One lap later, Logano passed Waltrip to lead. Regan Smith, on lap 71, passed Logano for the lead. On lap 72, Kyle Busch passed Smith to lead. On lap 75, Elliott Sadler passed Busch for the lead.^[12]

One lap later the second caution was given, where Denny Hamlin spun on the front stretch.^[13] On lap 79, Kurt Busch claimed the lead coming off pit road. On the restart, on lap 80, Kurt Busch led the field to the green flag. A lap later, Kurt was passed by Kyle Busch. On lap 82, Jeff Gordon passed Kyle Busch. A lap later, Gordon was passed by David Reutimann. On lap 84, the third caution was given because of a multiple car accident on the front stretch. To start the accident, Johnny Sauter received a push from Kyle Busch that then led him to get loose and cause a chain reaction. The drivers in the accident were Johnny Sauter, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Michael Waltrip, Max Papis, David Stremme, Paul Menard, Sam Hornish Jr., and Elliott Sadler.^[14] Under the caution Ryan Newman and Travis Kvapil stayed out to lead a lap, but they ended up pitting anyway.^[12]

Race winner Kevin Harvick in 2008

On the restart, on lap 89, Jimmie Johnson led them to the green flag. On the following lap, David Reutimann, with assistance from Jeff Gordon, passed Johnson, but Reutimann, on lap 91, was passed by Gordon. Jeff Gordon led until lap 92 because Kyle Busch passed him. On lap 94, Kasey Kahne passed Busch to become the 25th leader in the race, but two laps later Regan Smith passed him for the lead. One lap later Kasey Kahne reclaimed the lead. On lap 100, the fourth caution came out as a result of Regan Smith's engine blowing up in smoke. There were 3 lead changes under caution; the drivers who led were Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, and Greg Biffle. On lap 105, Greg Biffle led the field to the green flag. A lead change happened on lap 106 with Denny Hamlin passing Biffle. Two laps later, Joey Logano passed Hamlin, but on lap 111, he was passed by Brian Vickers. On the next lap, Logano reclaimed the lead from Vickers. On lap 113, Kyle Busch passed Logano, but after a lap of leading, he was passed by A.J. Allmendinger. Then, on lap 117, Johnson passed Allmendinger for the lead, but on the next lap A.J. Allmendinger reclaimed the lead.^[12]

Four laps later, on lap 122, Allmendinger was passed by Vickers for the lead. Brian Vickers led until lap 130 when Denny Hamlin passed him. On the next lap, Kyle Bush claimed the lead from Hamlin. Kyle Busch led nine laps until giving up the lead back to Denny Hamlin. On lap 144, David Ragan claimed the lead from Hamlin, but Hamlin re-passed him one lap later. On lap 146, several drivers come to pit road to pit. One lap later, Juan Pablo Montoya claimed the lead as more drivers pitted. On lap 152, Denny Hamlin reclaimed the lead, but David Reutimann passed him on the following lap. On lap 157, Jamie McMurray passed Reutimann for the lead. Two laps later, Jeff Gordon passed McMurray, but on lap 160, McMurray reclaimed the lead from him. On lap 161, Jeff Burton passed McMurray for the lead. On lap 176, the fifth caution came out because Bobby Labonte was spinning.^[15] Jeff Burton pitted, giving the lead to Jamie McMurray on the restart.^[12]

Four laps after the restart, the sixth caution came out because of a multiple car accident in turn 3. It started when Jimmie Johnson blocked Jeff Gordon who caused Jeff Burton to slow down, then getting pushed into the wall. The cars involved in the accident were Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, and Scott Speed.^[16] On the green-white-checkered restart, on lap 189, Jamie McMurray led them down to the green flag. One lap later, another multiple car accident bringing out the seventh caution, beginning with Joey Logano making Ryan Newman loose, which spun him out to cause a chain reaction. The cars involved were Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte, Elliott Sadler, Brian Vickers, Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, Sam Hornish Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano.^[17] The accident caused a second green-white-checker which began with Jamie McMurray leading them to the green flag. On lap 196, the eight caution came out because Jimmie Johnson moved up, got clipped from Greg Biffle, and then collided with the inside wall. The cars involved were Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle, with Jimmie having the most damage.^[18] The race was then set up for the third green-white-checkered with McMurray still the leader on lap 198. On the white flag Harvick was pushing McMurray to the tri-oval. Once they were in the middle of the tri-oval, McMurray got loose enough for Harvick to turn left to get below under his car. At the finish line, Kevin Harvick won the race by 11 one-thousandths of a second over Jamie McMurray.^[2] The race ended Harvick's 115 race winless streak.^[19]

Post-race

After the race, Jimmie Johnson remained the point leader; Matt Kenseth, who was in second place before, dropped to fourth while Kevin Harvick moved up to 26 points back in the second position. Greg Biffle maintained third in the point standings after finishing seventeenth in the race. Kyle Busch moved up from sixth to fifth while Mark Martin moved four positions from tenth to sixth.^[20]

Race results

Pos	Starting Pos	Car	Driver	Team	Make	Sponsor
1	4	29	Kevin Harvick[2]	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Shell / Pennzoil
2	21	1	Jamie McMurray	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops / Tracker
3	24	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	Tums
4	11	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	FedEx Express
5	10	5	Mark Martin	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	GoDaddy.com
6	26	6	David Ragan	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	UPS
7	14	33	Clint Bowyer	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	BB&T
8	9	2	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing	Dodge	Miller Lite
9	6	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	Pedigree
10	37	09	Mike Bliss	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet	Phoenix Construction / Graceway Pharmaceuticals
11	15	99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	Aflac
12	17	56	Martin Truex, Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts
13	7	88	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	National Guard / Amp Energy
14	30	00	David Reutimann	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	Aaron's
15	20	82	Scott Speed	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	Red Bull
16	13	14	Tony Stewart	Stewart Haas Racing	Chevrolet	Office Depot / Old Spice
17	3	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	3M
18	34	34	Travis Kvapil	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	Long John Silver's
19	23	43	A. J. Allmendinger	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	Insignia / Best Buy
20	38	7	Robby Gordon	Robby Gordon Motorsports	Toyota	Monster Energy
21	22	9	Kasey Kahne	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	Budweiser
22	5	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Dupont
23	32	71	Bobby Labonte	The Racer's Group	Chevrolet	Taxslayer.com
24	29	77	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Penske Racing	Dodge	Penske Truck Rental
25	18	98	Paul Menard	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	Menard's
26	35	37	Robert Richardson, Jr.	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	Mahindra Tractors
27	36	26	David Stremme	Latitude 43 Motorsports	Ford	Air National Guard
28	2	17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	Valvoline
29	19	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	Red Bull
30	33	38	Kevin Conway	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	Extenze
31	1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Lowe's
32	8	31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Caterpillar
33	27	19	Elliott Sadler	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	Stanley / Bostitch
34	25	12	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Dodge	Penske Racing
35	16	39	Ryan Newman	Stewart Haas Racing	Chevrolet	Haas Automation / Office Depot
36	12	20	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	The Home Depot
37	28	47	Marcos Ambrose	JTG Daugherty Racing	Toyota	Bush's Beans
38	31	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	Furniture Row
39	43	55	Michael Waltrip	Prism Motorsports	Toyota	Aaron's
40	40	13	Max Papis	Germain Racing	Toyota	GEICO
41	39	36	Johnny Sauter	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Toyota	Baldwin Automotive
42	41	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Toyota	FrontRowJoe.com
43	42	66	Dave Blaney	Prism Motorsports	Toyota	No sponsor

References

1. ^ "Kevin Harvick Wins Dega". The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles Times.com). 25 April 2010. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/25/sports/la-sp-newswire-20100426. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "2010 Aaron's 499 Official Results". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/9/data/results_official.html. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
3. ^ "Sprint Cup Series Schedule". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
4. ^ "Spoiler Replaces Wing". NASCAR. http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/headlines/cup/03/20/drivers.ready.for.spoiler.return/index.html. Retrieved 27 March 2010. 
5. ^ "Swap meet: 'Dega Sets Record For Lead Changes". NASCAR.com: Mark Aumann. 26 April 2010. http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/headlines/cup/04/26/talladega.lead.record/index.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
6. ^ "Race Information". Fox Sports.com. http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/cup/raceTrax?gameId=20100425022&state=RACE. Retrieved 25 April 2010. 
7. ^ "Practice 1 Speeds". NASCAR.com. 23 April 2010. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/9/data/practice1_speeds.html. Retrieved 23 April 2010. 
8. ^ "Practice 2 Speeds". NASCAR.com. 23 April 2010. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/9/data/practice2_speeds.html. Retrieved 23 April 2010. 
9. ^ "Ryan Newman Wrecks". NASCAR.com: Mark Aumann. 23 April 2010. http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/headlines/cup/04/23/happy.hour.weather.rnewman.talladega/index.html. Retrieved 24 April 2010. 
10. ^ "Servere Weather". NASCAR.com. 24 April 2010. http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/headlines/cup/04/24/talladega.saturday.washout/index.html. Retrieved 24 April 2010. 
11. ^ "Race Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/9/data/lineup.html. Retrieved 24 April 2010. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Race Summary". NASCAR.com. 25 April 2010. http://www.nascar.com/2010/races/lapbylap/04/25/lap.by.lap.talladega/index.html. Retrieved 26 April 2010. 
13. ^ "The Second Caution". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2010/post_race/highlights/04/25/cup_tal_high_two.nascar/index.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
14. ^ "The Third Caution". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2010/post_race/highlights/04/25/cup_tal_high_three.nascar/index.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
15. ^ "The Fifth Caution". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2010/post_race/highlights/04/25/cup_tal_high_four.nascar/index.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
16. ^ "The Sixth Caution". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2010/post_race/highlights/04/25/cup_tal_high_five.nascar/index.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
17. ^ "The Seventh Caution". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2010/post_race/highlights/04/25/cup_tal_high_six.nascar/index.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
18. ^ "The Eighth Caution". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2010/post_race/highlights/04/25/cup_tal_high_seven.nascar/index.html?MostPopular. Retrieved 27 April 2010. 
19. ^ "Harvick edges McMurray at line to win at Talladega". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/2010/news/headlines/cup/04/25/kharvick.wins.talladega.1/index.html. Retrieved 28 April 2010. 
20. ^ "Post Race Standings". NASCAR.com. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2010/9/data/standings_official.html. Retrieved 15 June 2010. 

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