Motor car race
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 .[ 4] The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track oval that is 1 mile (1.6 km) long.[ 5] 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.[ 6] 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.[ 6] The racetrack has seats for 76,800 spectators.[ 5]
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 .[ 7] 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.[ 8] Edwards is the race's defending champion, after winning the race in 2010 .[ 9]
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.[ 10] 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.[ 11] 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.[ 11] Also in the session, Kyle Busch 's team changed his car's engine after engine problems.[ 12] 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.[ 13] Regan Smith took third place, ahead of Brian Vickers , Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray . Stewart could only manage 36th place.[ 13]
Afterward, during qualifying, forty-six cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure .[ 14] Kenseth clinched his third pole position during the season, with a time of 26.258 seconds.[ 3] [ 15] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Allmendinger.[ 15] Marcos Ambrose qualified third, Mark Martin took fourth, and Martin Truex Jr. started fifth.[ 15] Stewart, one of the drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup , qualified eighth, while Edwards was scored ninth.[ 15] The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race were Scott Riggs , David Stremme , and Andy Lally .[ 15] 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."[ 3]
Results
Qualifying
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
Standings after the race
References
^ "Sprint Cup Series Schedule" . ESPN. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ Brown, Brian (November 9, 2011). "The Kobalt Tools 500 (k)" . RotoWorld.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011 .
^ a b c "Kenseth takes pole at Phoenix" . inRacingNews.com. November 12, 2011. Archived from the original on December 22, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011 .
^ "Tracks" . NASCAR. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ a b "Phoenix International Raceway" . NASCAR. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ a b "PIR To Be Repaved after February Race" . Phoenix International Raceway. February 9, 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ "Pre-race Drivers' Championship Standings" . NASCAR. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ a b "Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site – 2011 Manufacturers Championship Standings" . Jayski.com. Archived from the original on September 1, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ "2009 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500" . Racing-Reference.info. November 14, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ "Jayski'sŽ NASCAR Silly Season Site – Sprint Cup Race Info / Rundown Page" . Jayski.com. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ a b "Practice One Timing and Scoring" . NASCAR. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ "NASCAR — CUP: Burton Tops First Practice At Phoenix" . Speedtv.com. November 11, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ a b "Practice Two Timing and Scoring" . NASCAR. Retrieved November 11, 2011 .
^ "Qualifying Entry List" . NASCAR. Retrieved November 12, 2011 .
^ a b c d e f "Race Official Lineup" . NASCAR. November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011 .
^ "Lineup Statistics" . MotorRacingNetwork.com. Archived from the original on November 14, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011 .
^ "Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site — Phoenix Sprint Cup Qualifying Order/Results, Lineup" . Jayski.com. Retrieved November 13, 2011 .
^ "2011 Official Race Results : Kobalt Tools 500" . NASCAR.com . Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network. Archived from the original on December 16, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2016 .
^ "2011 Official Driver Standings: Kobalt Tools 500" . NASCAR.com . Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network. Archived from the original on December 17, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2016 .