The 2009 U.S. Cellular 250 was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on August 1, 2009. The race was the first ever Nationwide Series race to be held in Iowa. It was also the 21st race of the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., making his 6th career Nationwide Series start, won the pole for the race but it was Brad Keselowski who would dominate the race, leading the most laps and winning the first ever race in Iowa.[2]
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Speedway | |||
| Date | August 1, 2009 | ||
| Official name | 2009 U.S. Cellular 250 | ||
| Location | Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa | ||
| Course |
D-Shaped oval 0.875 mi (1.408 km) | ||
| Distance | 250 laps, 218.750 mi (352.044 km) | ||
| Weather | Clear | ||
| Average speed | 91.858 mph (147.831 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 56,087 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Fenway Racing | ||
| Time | 23.310 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Brad Keselowski | JR Motorsports | |
| Laps | 121 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Brad Keselowski | JR Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Marty Reid, Randy LaJoie, Rusty Wallace | ||
Background edit
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, approximately 30-mile (48 km) east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch. The premiere event of the track is the Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend held yearly in July since its inaugural running in 2007.
The track opened in September 2006 with the Soy Biodiesel 250, won by Woody Howard, for the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Four Champions playoff. The Indy Racing League announced a race there on June 24, 2007, the Iowa Corn Indy 250, which was won by Dario Franchitti, who barely nipped Marco Andretti at the finish line. The track also secured a combined NASCAR Camping World East-West race where results counted towards both series' championships.[3] That race delivered a dramatic battle between 17-year-old Joey Logano from the Busch East Series, who defeated Daytona 500 champion Kevin Harvick, 1998 West Series champion, who represented the West Series at the end of the race. The track was awarded a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and a NASCAR Xfinity Series race in 2009.
Entry list edit
- (R) denotes rookie driver
Qualifying edit
Both Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Justin Allgaier tied for the pole position with a time of 23.310 and a speed of 135.135 but Stenhouse got the tiebreaker and Stenhouse won his first career Nationwide Series pole in just his 6th start.
| Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 23.310 | 135.135 |
| 2 | 12 | Justin Allgaier (R) | Penske Racing | Dodge | 23.310 | 135.135 |
| 3 | 6 | Erik Darnell (R) | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 23.322 | 135.066 |
| 4 | 99 | Trevor Bayne | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 23.329 | 135.025 |
| 5 | 20 | Brad Coleman | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 23.384 | 134.707 |
| 6 | 29 | Stephen Leicht | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 23.400 | 134.615 |
| 7 | 5 | Scott Wimmer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.410 | 134.558 |
| 8 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Rusty Wallace Racing | Chevrolet | 23.426 | 134.466 |
| 9 | 26 | Michael McDowell (R) | Whitney Motorsports | Dodge | 23.426 | 134.466 |
| 10 | 1 | Mike Bliss | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 23.488 | 134.111 |
| 11 | 88 | Brad Keselowski | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.512 | 133.974 |
| 12 | 10 | Kelly Bires | Braun Racing | Toyota | 23.517 | 133.946 |
| 13 | 27 | Jason Keller | Baker Curb Racing | Ford | 23.518 | 133.940 |
| 14 | 90 | Johnny Chapman | MSRP Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.520 | 133.929 |
| 15 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Braun Racing | Toyota | 23.539 | 133.820 |
| 16 | 2 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 23.554 | 133.735 |
| 17 | 11 | Scott Lagasse Jr. (R) | CJM Racing | Toyota | 23.558 | 133.713 |
| 18 | 34 | Tony Raines** *** | Front Row Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.559 | 133.707 |
| 19 | 49 | Mark Green | Jay Robinson Racing | Chevrolet | 23.563 | 133.684 |
| 20 | 83 | Johnny Borneman III | Borneman Motorsports | Ford | 23.563 | 133.684 |
| 21 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan (R) | Rusty Wallace Racing | Chevrolet | 23.577 | 133.605 |
| 22 | 05 | Casey Atwood | Day Enterprise Racing | Ford | 23.583 | 133.571 |
| 23 | 23 | Ken Butler III (R) | R3 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.613 | 133.401 |
| 24 | 28 | Kenny Wallace | Jay Robinson Racing | Chevrolet | 23.633 | 133.288 |
| 25 | 72 | Benny Gordon | VSI Racing | Ford | 23.641 | 133.243 |
| 26 | 47 | Coleman Pressley*** | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 23.659 | 133.142 |
| 27 | 18 | Kyle Busch** *** | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 23.674 | 133.057 |
| 28 | 40 | Aric Almirola | Key Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.677 | 133.041 |
| 29 | 32 | Brian Ickler | Braun Racing | Toyota | 23.683 | 133.007 |
| 30 | 09 | John Wes Townley (R) | RAB Racing | Ford | 23.731 | 132.738 |
| 31 | 0 | Kertus Davis | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.755 | 132.604 |
| 32 | 91 | Chase Miller | MSRP Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.759 | 132.581 |
| 33 | 01 | Danny O'Quinn Jr. | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.768 | 132.531 |
| 34 | 33 | Kevin Harvick** *** | Kevin Harvick Inc. | Chevrolet | 23.770 | 132.520 |
| 35 | 73 | Kevin Lepage | Derrike Cope Inc. | Dodge | 23.774 | 132.498 |
| 36 | 15 | Michael Annett (R) | Germain Racing | Toyota | 23.821 | 132.236 |
| 37 | 61 | Matt Carter | Specialty Racing | Ford | 23.917 | 131.705 |
| 38 | 81 | Sean Murphy | MacDonald Motorsports | Dodge | 23.948 | 131.535 |
| 39 | 24 | Eric McClure* | Rensi-Hamilton Racing | Ford | 24.155 | 130.408 |
| 40 | 60 | Carl Edwards* ** *** | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 24.286 | 129.704 |
| 41 | 87 | Jeff Fuller* | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.812 | 126.955 |
| 42 | 07 | Mike Harmon* *** | SK Motorsports | Chevrolet | 25.984 | 121.228 |
| 43 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Faith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.860 | 132.020 |
| Failed to Qualify, withdrew, or driver changes | ||||||
| 44 | 70 | Shelby Howard | ML Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.885 | 131.882 |
| 45 | 77 | Peyton Sellers | Cardinal Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.907 | 131.761 |
| 46 | 75 | Kenny Hendrick | Bob Schacht Racing | Chevrolet | 23.930 | 131.634 |
| 47 | 78 | Derrike Cope | Derrike Cope Inc. | Dodge | 24.066 | 130.890 |
| 48 | 96 | Andy Ponstein | Whitney Motorsports | Dodge | 24.140 | 130.489 |
| 49 | 52 | Jack Smith | Means Racing | Chevrolet | 24.190 | 130.219 |
| 50 | 58 | Chris Horn | Horn Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 24.363 | 129.294 |
| DC | 18 | Jeremy Clements | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | — | — |
| DC | 33 | Cale Gale | Kevin Harvick Inc. | Chevrolet | — | — |
| DC | 34 | Kevin Hamlin | Front Row Motorsports | Chevrolet | — | — |
| DC | 60 | Auggie Vidovich | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | — | — |
| Official Starting grid | ||||||
* – Made the field via owners points
** – There were 4 different driver changes by Raceday as there were drivers qualifying the cars for the Cup Series drivers. Jeremy Clements qualified for Kyle Busch, Cale Gale qualified for Kevin Harvick, Kevin Hamlin qualified for Tony Raines, and Auggie Vidovich qualified for Carl Edwards. This was during the peak of the Buschwhacker era where Cup Series drivers would drive in the Busch Series and would ask for other drivers to qualify their Busch Series car while they tried to qualify the Cup Series race which would be the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.
*** – Tony Raines, Coleman Pressley, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, and Mike Harmon all had to start at the rear of the field. Harmon and Pressley had an unapproved impound adjustment while Busch, Harvick, Raines, and Edwards had driver changes.
Race edit
This section may require copy editing for jargon, overly detailed, tense, lack of wikilinks. (March 2024) |
Pole sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led the first lap of the race. The first caution did not take long as it flew on lap 3 when John Wes Townley crashed off of turn 2 after the rear track bar broke. The race would restart on lap 8. On the restart, Justin Allgaier took the lead from Stenhouse. On lap 11, the second caution would fly when Sean Murphy, making his Nationwide Series debut, crashed in turn 2. The race would restart on lap 16. On lap 39, the third caution would fly when Casey Atwood crashed in turns 1 and 2. Brad Keselowski won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart on lap 45. On lap 74, the 4th caution would fly when Aric Almirola blew a right front tire and hit the outside wall in turn 3. Erik Darnell won the race off of pit road but Mike Bliss and Austin Dillon did not pit and Bliss led the field to the restart on lap 79. On lap 80, Kyle Busch took the lead. On lap 93, the 5th caution would fly when Michael McDowell spun down the frontstretch after he got bumped by Tony Raines. The race would restart on lap 98. On lap 105, Brad Keselowski took the lead from Kyle Busch. On lap 108, Brendan Gaughan cut a tire off of turn 4 after he had contact with Brian Ickler. Gaughan went into turn 1 and spun where he barely collected Ken Butler III that caused Butler to spin while the wreck also collected Austin Dillon, Stephen Leicht, and Matt Carter bringing out the 6th caution of the race. The race would restart on lap 114
Final laps edit
On lap 145, the 7th caution flew for debris in turn 1. Kyle Busch won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart on lap 150. On lap 153, the 8th caution flew when Mike Bliss and Trevor Bayne crashed off of turn 4 after Bayne got loose in 4 and came up into Bliss. The race would restart on lap 158. On lap 166, the 9th caution flew when Brad Coleman and Brian Ickler crashed in turn 2 after Coleman got loose and slid up into Ickler. The race would restart on lap 173. On lap 179, Brad Keselowski attempted to take the lead from Kyle Busch but failed to get in front of him. Keselowski tried again on lap 186 and battled with Busch until lap 189 when Keselowski was able to get past Busch. With 39 laps to go on lap 212, the 10th caution would fly when Austin Dillon cut a left front tire and hit the outside wall in turn 2 after he had contact a lap before with Justin Allgaier. The race would restart with 31 laps to go. With 26 to go, Kyle Busch took the lead from Keselowski. Busch was looking for his 7th win of the 2009 Nationwide Series season. With 21 to go, the 11th caution would fly when Morgan Shepherd spun down the frontstretch. The race would restart with 16 laps to go. But on the restart, the 12th and final caution would fly when Justin Allgaier slid up into Erik Darnell and pinned Darnell and Steve Wallace into the outside wall down the backstretch. The race would restart with 10 laps to go. With 9 to go, Brad Keselowski passed Kyle Busch for the lead. Busch tried to pass him with 5 to go but could not make it stick and ended up falling back and wasn't able to catch Keselowski and Keselowski would take the first checkered flag at Iowa in Nationwide Series history and Busch would finish in second. This would be Keselowski's 2nd of the season and his 4th in his career since 2008. Jason Leffler, Carl Edwards, and Kelly Bires rounded out the top 5 while Jason Keller, Kenny Wallace, Michael McDowell, Scott Lagasse Jr., and Stephen Leicht rounded out the top 10.[4]
Race results edit
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps Run | Laps Led | Status | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Brad Keselowski | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 121 | running | 195 |
| 2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | 84 | running | 175 |
| 3 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Braun Racing | Toyota | 250 | 0 | running | 165 |
| 4 | 60 | Carl Edwards | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 250 | 0 | running | 160 |
| 5 | 10 | Kelly Bires | Braun Racing | Toyota | 250 | 0 | running | 155 |
| 6 | 27 | Jason Keller | Baker Curb Racing | Ford | 250 | 0 | running | 150 |
| 7 | 28 | Kenny Wallace | Jay Robinson Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | running | 146 |
| 8 | 26 | Michael McDowell (R) | Whitney Motorsports | Dodge | 250 | 0 | running | 142 |
| 9 | 11 | Scott Lagasse Jr. (R) | CJM Racing | Toyota | 250 | 0 | running | 138 |
| 10 | 29 | Stephen Leicht | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | running | 134 |
| 11 | 15 | Michael Annett (R) | Germain Racing | Toyota | 250 | 0 | running | 130 |
| 12 | 72 | Benny Gordon | VSI Racing | Ford | 250 | 0 | running | 127 |
| 13 | 20 | Brad Coleman | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 250 | 0 | running | 124 |
| 14 | 1 | Mike Bliss | Phoenix Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 3 | running | 126 |
| 15 | 12 | Justin Allgaier (R) | Penske Racing | Dodge | 250 | 35 | running | 123 |
| 16 | 83 | Johnny Borneman III | Borneman Motorsports | Ford | 250 | 0 | running | 115 |
| 17 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Rusty Wallace Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | running | 112 |
| 18 | 34 | Tony Raines | Front Row Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | running | 109 |
| 19 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Faith Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | running | 106 |
| 20 | 24 | Eric McClure | Rensi-Hamilton Racing | Ford | 249 | 0 | running | 103 |
| 21 | 61 | Matt Carter | Specialty Racing | Ford | 248 | 0 | running | 100 |
| 22 | 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 248 | 7 | running | 102 |
| 23 | 6 | Erik Darnell (R) | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 247 | 0 | running | 94 |
| 24 | 01 | Danny O'Quinn Jr. | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 245 | 0 | running | 91 |
| 25 | 62 | Brandan Gaughan (R) | Rusty Wallace Racing | Chevrolet | 244 | 0 | running | 88 |
| 26 | 99 | Trevor Bayne | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota | 244 | 0 | running | 85 |
| 27 | 81 | Sean Murphy | MacDonald Motorsports | Dodge | 222 | 0 | running | 82 |
| 28 | 2 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 211 | 0 | crash | 79 |
| 29 | 09 | John Wes Townley (R) | RAB Racing | Ford | 205 | 0 | running | 76 |
| 30 | 33 | Kevin Harvick | Kevin Harvick Inc. | Chevrolet | 195 | 0 | running | 73 |
| 31 | 5 | Scott Wimmer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 168 | 0 | engine | 70 |
| 32 | 32 | Brian Ickler | Braun Racing | Toyota | 165 | 0 | crash | 67 |
| 33 | 23 | Ken Butler III (R) | R3 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 108 | 0 | crash | 64 |
| 34 | 40 | Aric Almirola | Key Motorsports | Chevrolet | 74 | 0 | crash | 61 |
| 35 | 05 | Casey Atwood | Day Enterprise Racing | Ford | 37 | 0 | crash | 58 |
| 36 | 87 | Jeff Fuller | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 31 | 0 | overheating | 55 |
| 37 | 0 | Kertus Davis | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 26 | 0 | brakes | 52 |
| 38 | 49 | Mark Green | Jay Robinson Racing | Chevrolet | 21 | 0 | brakes | 49 |
| 39 | 73 | Kevin Lepage | Derrike Cope Inc. | Dodge | 19 | 0 | rear end | 46 |
| 40 | 91 | Chase Miller | MSRP Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 | 0 | brakes | 43 |
| 41 | 47 | Coleman Pressley | JTG Daugherty Racing | Toyota | 8 | 0 | engine | 40 |
| 42 | 90 | Johnny Chapman | MSRP Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 | 0 | overheating | 37 |
| 43 | 07 | Mike Harmon | SK Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 | 0 | brakes | 34 |
| Official Race results | ||||||||
References edit
- ^ "2009 U.S. Cellular 250". Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ^ "Keselowski wins inaugural race at Iowa Speedway". Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ^ "NASCAR : NASCAR Drivers, Race Standings & News". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
- ^ "Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 US Cellular 250 at Iowa". 2 August 2009. Retrieved August 2, 2009.