2011 Kobalt Tools 500

2011 Kobalt Tools 500
Race details
Race 35 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date November 13, 2011 (2011-11-13)
Location Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 312 laps, 312 mi (502.115 km)
Weather Rain showers with a high temperature around 62.
Average speed 112.909 miles per hour (181.709 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Roush Fenway Racing
Time 26.258
Most laps led
Driver Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Racing
Laps 160
Winner
No. 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree

The 2011 Kobalt Tools 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on November 13, 2011 at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps, it was the thirty-fifth as well as the ninth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup during the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Kasey Kahne for the Red Bull Racing Team. Carl Edwards finished second, and Tony Stewart clinched third.

Report

Background

Phoenix International Raceway, where the race was held.

Phoenix International Raceway is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Martinsville Speedway. The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long. After the February race, PIR was significantly reconfigured. The first two turns are now banked from 10 to 11 degrees, while the final two turns are banked from 8 to 9 degrees. The front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at three degrees. The back stretch, nicknamed the 'dogleg', varies from 10 to 11 degree banking. The racetrack has seats for 76,800 spectators.

Before the race, Carl Edwards led the Drivers' Championship with 2,316 points, and Tony Stewart stood in second with 2,313 points. Kevin Harvick followed in third with 2,283 points, five ahead of Matt Kenseth and 16 ahead of Brad Keselowski in fourth and fifth. Jimmie Johnson, with 2,261 was 24 points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., as Jeff Gordon with 2,235 points, was six ahead of Kurt Busch, and 18 in front of Denny Hamlin. Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman was eleventh and twelfth with 2,216 and 2,213 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 235 points, 52 ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 174 points, was 18 points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third. Edwards is the race's defending champion, after winning the race in 2010.

Matt Kenseth earned his third pole position of the season with a time of 26.258 seconds

Practice and qualifying

Two 120 minute practice sessions were held before the race on Friday. Jeff Burton was quickest with a time of 25.702 seconds in the first session, more than two-hundredths of a second faster than Kenseth. David Ragan was just off Kenseth's pace, followed by Paul Menard, Newman, and David Reutimann. A. J. Allmendinger was seventh, still within a second of Burton's time. Also in the session, Kyle Busch's team changed his car's engine after engine problems. In the second practice session, Menard was fastest with a time of 25.510 seconds, seven-hundredths of a second quicker than second-placed Edwards. Regan Smith took third place, ahead of Brian Vickers, Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray. Stewart could only manage 36th place.

Afterward, during qualifying, forty-six cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Kenseth clinched his third pole position during the season, with a time of 26.258 seconds. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Allmendinger. Marcos Ambrose qualified third, Mark Martin took fourth, and Martin Truex Jr. started fifth. Stewart, one of the drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, qualified eighth, while Edwards was scored ninth. The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Scott Riggs, David Stremme, and Andy Lally. Once the qualifying session completed, Kenseth commented, "Jimmy Fennig, had a strategy to go fast in the first practice to go out late. Even though we knew the temperature would be hotter he thought the track could be faster with more cars having run on it. A lot of people chose the opposite strategy and worked on race set-up in the first practice and did their qualifying stuff in the second practice to go out early."

Results

Qualifying

Qualifying results
Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.258 137.101
2 43 A. J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 26.384 136.446
3 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 26.411 136.307
4 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.455 136.080
5 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.455 136.080
6 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.469 136.008
7 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 26.473 135.988
8 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.488 135.911
9 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.529 135.701
10 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 26.534 135.675
11 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.547 135.609
12 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 26.585 135.415
13 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.588 135.399
14 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.608 135.298
15 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 26.613 135.272
16 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.618 135.247
17 22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 26.622 135.227
18 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 26.624 135.216
19 84 Cole Whitt Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 26.625 135.211
20 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 26.630 135.186
21 51 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 26.631 135.181
22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.634 135.166
23 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.689 134.887
24 46 Scott Speed Whitney Motorsports Ford 26.694 134.862
25 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.696 134.852
26 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.704 134.811
27 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.715 134.756
28 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.751 134.574
29 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.756 134.549
30 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 26.764 134.509
31 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 26.793 134.363
32 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 26.837 134.143
33 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.850 134.078
34 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.936 133.650
35 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota 26.979 133.437
36 37 Mike Skinner Max Q Motorsports Ford 27.023 133.220
37 55 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.040 133.136
38 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota 27.062 133.028
39 32 Mike Bliss FAS Lane Racing Ford 27.184 132.431
40 36 Geoffrey Bodine Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 27.417 131.305
41 38 J. J. Yeley Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.911 128.981
42 34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.252 123.068
43 35 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 27.157 132.562
Failed to qualify
44 23 Scott Riggs R3 Motorsports Toyota 27.336 131.695
45 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Chevrolet 27.355 131.603
46 71 Andy Lally TRG Motorsports Ford 28.215 127.592
Sources:

Race results

Kasey Kahne won the race.
Race results
Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 10 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 312 47
2 9 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 312 43
3 8 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 312 43
4 14 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 40
5 30 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 312 39
6 2 43 A. J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 312 38
7 7 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 312 37
8 3 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 312 36
9 11 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 35
10 28 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 34
11 25 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 33
12 33 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 32
13 29 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 311 31
14 16 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 311 30
15 26 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 311 29
16 4 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 311 28
17 6 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 311 27
18 12 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 311 27
19 27 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 311 25
20 5 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 311 24
21 31 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 311 23
22 17 22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 311 23
23 18 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 311 21
24 22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 310 20
25 19 84 Cole Whitt Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 310 0
26 38 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota 309 18
27 43 35 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 309 17
28 41 38 J. J. Yeley Front Row Motorsports Ford 309 17
29 21 51 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 309 0
30 39 32 Mike Bliss FAS Lane Racing Ford 308 0
31 42 34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 307 13
32 23 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 306 12
33 13 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 298 11
34 1 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 238 11
35 20 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 218 9
36 34 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 8
37 40 36 Geoffrey Bodine Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 153 7
38 15 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 62 6
39 24 46 Scott Speed Whitney Motorsports Ford 60 0
40 35 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota 46 4
41 32 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 30 0
42 36 37 Mike Skinner Max Q Motorsports Ford 25 0
43 37 55 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports Ford 20 0
Source:

Standings after the race


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