2011 Showtime Southern 500

The 2011 Showtime Southern 500, the 55th running of the event , was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 7, 2011 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 370 laps, 3 laps over the advertised distance, it was the tenth race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season out of thirty-six. The pole position was won by Kasey Kahne of Red Bull Racing Team. The race was won by Regan Smith of Furniture Row Racing, the first win for both Smith and the team, with Carl Edwards in second and Brad Keselowski in third.

2011 Showtime Southern 500
Race details[1]
Race 10 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2011 Showtime Southern 500 program cover.
The 2011 Showtime Southern 500 program cover.
Date May 7, 2011 (2011-05-07)
Location Darlington Raceway near Darlington, South Carolina
Course Permanent racing facility
1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance 370 laps, 505.42 mi (813.394 km)
Weather Partly cloudy and chilly in the evening; with temperatures hovering around 64.3 °F (17.9 °C) and wind speeds climbing up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Red Bull Racing Team
Time 27.131
Most laps led
Driver Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team
Laps 124
Winner
No. 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The race was the first ever start for T. J. Bell.

Report edit

 
The layout of Darlington Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

Background edit

Darlington Raceway is the second oldest speedway on the NASCAR schedule next to Martinsville Speedway. From above, the track has been long described as being shaped similar to an egg. Consequently, the track's banking is also affected by its shape. The frontstretch and backstretch are banked at 3° and 2°, respectively. Turns 1 and 2, which have a wider radius, are banked at 25° and turns 3 and 4, which are much tighter than the first two, carry 23° of banking.

Prior to the race, Carl Edwards held the Drivers' Championship lead with 326 points. Defending champion Jimmie Johnson was in second place, 9 points back, followed by Richmond Kyle Busch in third, 21 points behind Johnson. Four points behind Busch was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in fourth with Kevin Harvick one point behind in fifth. Kurt Busch, with 289 points, was in sixth followed by Clint Bowyer who was 5 points behind Busch. Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, and Tony Stewart rounded out the top 10 in points, all 3 separated by 3 points. Defending race winner Denny Hamlin was 17th in points. A. J. Allmendinger and Jeff Gordon remained in the wild card positions.

In the owner points battle, Tommy Baldwin Racing moved into the top-35 in owners' points for the first time on the heels of a 13th-place finish at Richmond, leading to a 3-way tie for 35th between the #32 team of FAS Lane Racing, the #13 team of Germain Racing, and the #71 team of TRG Motorsports.

Entry list
#[2] Driver Team Make Sponsor
00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Aaron's Outdoors
1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats
2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge Miller Lite
4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team Toyota Red Bull
5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet GoDaddy
6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford UPS "We Love Logistics"
7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge Fast Five, Speed Energy
9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford DeWalt, Stanley Tools
09 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet Thank A Teacher Today, Security Benefit
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Sport Clips Haircuts
13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota GEICO
14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Office Depot, Mobil 1
16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 3M
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford Wiley X Eyewear
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Doublemint
20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota The Home Depot
22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge Shell, Pennzoil
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet AARP Drive to End Hunger
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Menards, Turtle Wax
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Budweiser
30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Chevrolet EchoStor Technologies
31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Caterpillar
32 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford U. S. Chrome, H&B Railroad
33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet BB&T
34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford Taco Bell
36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet Golden Corral
37 Tony Raines Max Q Motorsports Ford Front Row Motorsports
38 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports Ford Long John Silver's "We Speak Fish"
39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Tornados
42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Target
43 A.J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Best Buy
46 J.J. Yeley Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet Red Line Oil
47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota Lance Snacks, Tom's Snacks
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's, Kobalt Tools
50 T.J. Bell LTD Powersports, LLC Toyota Bandit Chippers, Little Joe's Autos
56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota NAPA Auto Parts
60 Mike Skinner Germain Racing Toyota Big Red
66 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota K-Love
71 Andy Lally TRG Motorsports Ford Interstate Moving Services
75 Derrike Cope* Stratus Racing Group Dodge
78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet Furniture Row, Denver Mattress
81 Scott Riggs Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet Whitney Motorsports
83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota Red Bull
87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota NEMCO Motorsports
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Amp Energy Sugar Free, National Guard
92 Brian Keselowski K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge VoiceToday.org
99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford Aflac

*Withdrew.

Practice edit

Qualifying edit

Kasey Kahne would win the pole with a 27.131. Meanwhile, Scott Riggs would blow an engine coming into his second lap of his qualifying run. While he had set a time, it was not enough to get Riggs into the race, as Joe Nemechek would beat his time.

Full qualifying results
Pos.[3] # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 27.131 181.254
2 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.255 180.429
3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.300 180.132
4 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.323 179.980
5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.346 179.829
6 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 27.370 179.671
7 43 A.J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 27.404 179.448
8 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 27.433 179.259
9 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 27.456 179.108
10 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 27.460 179.082
11 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.461 179.076
12 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.491 178.880
13 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.536 178.588
14 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.558 178.445
15 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 27.568 178.381
16 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 27.586 178.264
17 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 27.602 178.161
18 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.611 178.103
19 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.621 178.038
20 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.628 177.993
21 38 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports Ford 27.629 177.987
22 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 27.634 177.955
23 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 27.647 177.871
24 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.654 177.826
25 22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 27.665 177.755
26 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 27.670 177.723
27 09 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 27.678 177.672
28 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.687 177.614
29 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.770 177.083
30 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27.827 176.720
31 46 J.J. Yeley Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 27.833 176.682
32 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota 27.879 176.391
33 50 T.J. Bell LTD Powersports, LLC Toyota 27.903 176.239
34 60 Mike Skinner Germain Racing Toyota 27.909 176.201
35 37 Tony Raines Max Q Motorsports Ford 27.911 176.189
36 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 27.921 176.125
37 34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 28.025 175.472
38 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Chevrolet 28.035 175.409
39 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota 28.044 175.353
40 32 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford 28.054 175.291
41 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 28.225 174.229
42 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 28.235 174.167
Last to make it on time (car that is not locked in by owner's points)
43 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 28.165 174.600
Failed to qualify or withdrew
44 81 Scott Riggs Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 28.247 174.093
45 71 Andy Lally TRG Motorsports Ford 28.613 171.866
46 92 Brian Keselowski K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge 28.776 170.892
WD 75 Derrike Cope Stratus Racing Group Dodge 0.000 0.000

Did not qualify: #81-Scott Riggs, #71-Andy Lally, #92-Brian Keselowski Withdrew: #75 Derrike Cope

Race edit

Regan Smith pulled off an upset and won the Showtime Southern 500 after holding off Carl Edwards on a late restart. There were 11 caution flags, the wildest one happening with 4 laps to go. During a 3 wide situation, Harvick got into Kyle Busch, who in turn got into Bowyer, who slammed the inside wall. He was not injured. Kyle Busch then turned around Harvick in Turn 1. After the race finished Harvick wanted to get Kyle Busch out of the car. After that didn't happen, Harvick went to Busch's car and threw a punch inside Busch's driver window, but Busch then drove off and Busch's car pushed Harvick's #29 car into the pit road wall instead. Tempers flared, and the incident further inflamed the tensions between the two men. After the race Busch and Harvick were both fined $25,000 and placed on probation for 4 races including the All Star Race.

Race results edit

Fin[4][2][5] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 23 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 370 11 running 47 $272,745
2 4 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 370 57 running 43 $248,966
3 10 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Dodge 370 0 running 41 $178,358
4 1 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 370 124 running 42 $164,648
5 2 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 370 28 running 40 $165,025
6 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 370 0 running 38 $152,000
7 9 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 370 6 running 38 $141,758
8 22 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 370 0 running 36 $117,350
9 12 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 370 13 running 36 $128,614
10 29 56 Martin Truex Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 370 1 running 35 $100,550
11 14 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 370 78 running 34 $134,991
12 5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 370 0 running 32 $126,836
13 6 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 370 0 running 31 $120,066
14 30 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 370 0 running 30 $96,100
15 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 370 0 running 29 $137,761
16 36 00 David Reutimann Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 370 0 running 28 $114,408
17 13 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 370 47 running 28 $141,111
18 15 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 370 2 running 27 $112,270
19 28 5 Mark Martin Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 369 0 running 25 $92,150
20 7 43 A.J. Allmendinger Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 369 0 running 24 $121,486
21 11 6 David Ragan Roush Fenway Racing Ford 369 0 running 23 $91,125
22 18 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 369 0 running 22 $89,850
23 16 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 368 0 running 21 $119,758
24 41 36 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 367 0 running 20 $99,258
25 20 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 366 0 running 19 $117,486
26 21 38 Travis Kvapil Front Row Motorsports Ford 365 0 running 0 $90,633
27 25 22 Kurt Busch Penske Racing Dodge 364 0 running 17 $119,775
28 40 32 Ken Schrader FAS Lane Racing Ford 364 2 running 17 $87,822
29 27 09 Landon Cassill Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 364 0 running 0 $77,075
30 32 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Toyota 364 1 running 15 $77,900
31 26 33 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 363 0 crash 13 $118,083
32 37 34 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 362 0 running 12 $73,075
33 24 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 358 0 engine 11 $82,525
34 8 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Racing Team Toyota 332 0 running 10 $100,664
35 17 20 Joey Logano Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 318 0 running 9 $81,200
36 35 37 Tony Raines Max Q Motorsports Ford 172 0 brakes 8 $72,775
37 42 7 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Motorsports Dodge 87 0 brakes 7 $72,585
38 33 50 T.J. Bell LTD Powersports, LLC Toyota 67 0 transmission 0 $72,350
39 31 46 J.J. Yeley Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet 34 0 engine 5 $72,250
40 34 60 Mike Skinner Germain Racing Toyota 29 0 brakes 0 $72,050
41 38 30 David Stremme Inception Motorsports Chevrolet 27 0 electrical 3 $71,875
42 43 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 22 0 electrical 0 $71,780
43 39 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing Toyota 7 0 vibration 1 $72,139
Failed to qualify or withdrew
44 81 Scott Riggs Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet
45 71 Andy Lally TRG Motorsports Ford
46 92 Brian Keselowski K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge
WD 75 Derrike Cope Stratus Racing Group Dodge

References edit

  1. ^ Complete weather information for the 2011 Showtime Southern 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b "2011 Showtime Southern 500 race results". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28.
  3. ^ "2011 Showtime Southern 500 qualifying results". Racing-Reference. Archived from the original on 2021-04-28.
  4. ^ "2011 Showtime Southern 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
  5. ^ "Showtime Southern 500". www.ultimateracinghistory.com. Retrieved 2021-08-25.


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2011 Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400
Sprint Cup Series
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2011 FedEx 400