The First Segment
This year the first segment was 50 laps with a mandatory pit stop for four tires at lap 25. Jimmie Johnson dominated the first segment. He lead to the mandatory pit stop. He won the battle on pit road and then dominated the final 25 laps and cruised to the easy win.
The Second Segment
Kyle Busch's team only gave him two tires which got him back on track first. He jumped out to the early lead in the second segment which was 20 laps long.
Matt Kenseth was able to catch Kyle Busch but couldn't quite make the pass stick on the bottom lane. Kyle Busch held on to lead all 20 laps and win the second segment.
The Third Segment
Eight cars stayed out including Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth so they held down the lead heading into this 20 lap segment.
Something happened to Kyle Busch just past the midpoint of this third segment which allowed Jeff Gordon to get past for the lead. That was the first green flag lead change of the night.
Jeff Gordon had a huge lead at that point and coasted home to win the third segment easily.
The Final Segment
This year the final segment was changed to a 10 lap sprint with the winner taking home more than $1 million.
Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Kurt and Kyle Busch made up the top four when the green flag flew. Kyle Busch jammed it in the middle on the restart and moved all the way to the front. This was an impressive restart.
Jeff Gordon battled back on the inside but couldn't complete the pass. Then Ryan Newman jumped up on the outside making it three wide for the lead with seven laps to go.
Three wide didn't work. All three cars bounced off each other and Jeff Gordon crashed on the front straight.
Eight laps remained when they restarted with Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman on the front row. Kyle Busch got a great restart as Ryan Newman fell back with a tire rub from the contact.
Matt Kenseth then challenged for the lead. Kenseth was on the bottom and Kyle Busch was on the top. It took a couple of laps but Matt Kenseth got past with five laps remaining. A yellow flag flew right after that which set up another double file restart.
The green flag flew again with five laps to go. Matt Kenseth was on the point and Kyle Busch was along side in second. Matt got a good restart but Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart were right there.
Stewart got past Busch for second and set his sights on Matt Kenseth. Stewart was working the bottom but Kenseth held him off with three to go. Tony jumped to the bottom with two to go and got clear for the lead.
Tony Stewart scored the first win for his new team in the 2009 Sprint All-Star Race.
Top Five
- Tony Stewart
- Matt Kenseth
- Kurt Busch
- Denny Hamlin
- Carl Edwards
