Qualifying
Qualifying was rained out for the second week in a row. According to the NASCAR rulebook the starting lineup was determined by car owner points.
The top five were Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards.
Drop Of The Green
Kurt Busch shoved Jeff Gordon into the lead for most of lap one but the first twenty cars completed lap one side-by-side just like the start. Kurt Busch got a shove from behind and lead lap two.
It was a steady scramble at the front for the first few laps. Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin each took turns at the front.
Storylines
Fans come to Daytona to see two things. They expect a great finish and at least one Big One. Tonight's 2009 Coke Zero 400 didn't disappoint.
The Big One came on lap 77 when Kasey Kahne got into the back of David Stremme on the back stretch. This wreck damaged thirteen cars including fan favorites Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
As for that great finish....
Chasing The Checkers
Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart had lead most of the race as we entered crunch time. The final restart came with just four laps to go. Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin were on the front row with Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson behind them.
Stewart maintained the lead as they slid into single file order. Stewart, Busch, Hamlin and Johnson maintained the top four.
Kyle Busch took over the top spot as the white flag flew. As they came off turn four Kyle Busch was blocking like a maniac. Stewart got along side and Busch tried to block. Unfortunately Stewart was already there and Kyle wrecked hard into the outside wall just short of the checkered flag.
Stewart went past on the inside and got to the checkered flag first with Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin right behind.
Wow, this was quite a finish. Tony didn't do anything wrong. Kyle moved up to throw the block when Tony was already beside him. This finish, much like Talladega earlier this year, is just the nature of restrictor plate racing.
Top Ten
- Tony Stewart
- Jimmie Johnson
- Denny Hamlin
- Carl Edwards
- Kurt Busch
- Marcos Ambrose
- Brian Vickers
- Matt Kenseth
- Juan Montoya
- Elliott Sadler
The Points
With the win today Tony Stewart extended his lead to 180 over Jeff Gordon. The top ten drivers in points all maintained their positions. Mark Martin was the big loser today as he fell out of the top twelve from eleventh to thirteenth.
The top twelve are now:
- Tony Stewart
- Jeff Gordon -180
- Jimmie Johnson -194
- Kurt Busch -305
- Carl Edwards - 402
- Denny Hamlin -417
- Ryan Newman -484
- Kyle Busch -485
- Greg Biffle -504
- Matt Kenseth -518
- Juan Montoya -532
- Kasey Kahne -553
