2009 Sprint Cup Series

2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Jimmie Johnson won his fourth straight Sprint Cup Series Championship
Duration	February 15, 2009 through November 22, 2009
TV	Fox; TNT; ESPN/ABC
Season statistics
No. of races	36
First race	2009 Daytona 500
Last race	2009 Ford 400
Drivers' champion	Jimmie Johnson
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Joey Logano
Most popular driver	Dale Earnhardt, Jr
Previous	2008
Next	2010

The 2009 Sprint Cup Series was the 61st season of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15 and ended with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 22.

Tony Stewart led the regular season points standings heading into the Chase cutoff race at Richmond, but following the race was seeded 2nd behind Mark Martin. Martin would win the first race of the Chase and would hold the points lead through the third race of the Chase, but wins by Jimmie Johnson at Dover and Fontana would propel him to the points lead. Johnson extended his lead with a win at Charlotte, while good finishes at Martinsville and Talladega would provide a cushion that protected the points lead after Johnson experienced trouble at Texas. Johnson would rally back to win at Phoenix, and would win his fourth consecutive championship with a 5th place finish at Homestead. Johnson won the championship with a 141-point lead over teammate Martin and a 179-point lead over Jeff Gordon, ensuring a Hendrick Motorsports 1-2-3 finish in the standings.

2009 was notable for a number of team mergers and changes, as the season was ran in the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis. Dale Earnhardt, Inc and Chip Ganassi Racing merged to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, and Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports merged to form Richard Petty Motorsports. Hall of Fame Racing and Yates Racing announced an alliance in January 2009, while Bill Davis Racing was sold to new ownership and renamed Triad Racing. Additionally, Tony Stewart became the co-owner of the former Haas CNC Racing team, renaming the team Stewart-Haas Racing.

Before the start of the season, NASCAR modified restart rules to expand the single file restart window to the final 20 laps of the race, up from the previous 10 laps. However, by June, NASCAR changed the rules entirely and implemented double file restarts following successes at the Sprint All Star Race and Budweiser Shootout. Aside from limited exceptions for safety or practicality purposes, the restart rules have remained the same since 2009 as of the 2023 season.

2009 was the first season without a Petty family driver competing in NASCAR history. The famed Wood Brothers Racing team also moved to a partial schedule due to sponsorship difficulties. It was the final season that Roush Fenway Racing (or any other organization) fielded five full time teams, as a rule change enacted in 2006 limited the number of teams an organization could field to four, and the #26 team was closed at the season’s conclusion.

Full Time Team Chart

Manufacturer	Team	Number	Driver	Sponsor
	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	1	Martin Truex, Jr.	Bass Pro Shops
		42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target
	Front Row Motorsports	34	John Andretti (34) Tony Raines (2)	Window World Taco Bell / A&W Restaurants
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Mark Martin	Kellogg's Carquest
		24	Jeff Gordon	DuPont
		48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's
		88	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Amp Energy / Mountain Dew National Guard
	Richard Childress Racing	07	Casey Mears	Jack Daniels
		29	Kevin Harvick	Shell Pennzoil
		31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar
		33	Clint Bowyer	Cheerios BB&T
	Stewart-Haas Racing	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot Old Spice
		39	Ryan Newman	U.S. Army Haas Automation
	TRG Motorsports	71	David Gilliland (25) Bobby Labonte (7) Mike Bliss (2) Andy Lally (1) Mike Wallace (1)	Taxslayer Mahindra Tractors Capital Windows
	Penske Racing	2	Kurt Busch	Miller Lite
		12	David Stremme (33) Brad Keselowski (3)	Verizon Wireless (paint scheme displayed Penske logos)
		77	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Mobil 1 Penske Truck Rental AAA
	Richard Petty Motorsports	9	Kasey Kahne	Budweiser
		19	Elliott Sadler	Stanley Tools Best Buy
		43	Reed Sorenson	McDonald's Valvoline U.S. Air Force
		44	A.J. Allmendinger	Hunt Brothers Pizza Charter
	Roush Fenway Racing	6	David Ragan	UPS
		16	Greg Biffle	3M
		17	Matt Kenseth	DeWalt Carhartt R&L Carriers USG
		26	Jamie McMurray	Crown Royal Irwin Industrial Tools
		99	Carl Edwards	Aflac
	Yates Racing Hall of Fame Racing	96	Bobby Labonte (29) Erik Darnell (7)	Ask.com Northern Tool & Equipment Academy Sports & Outdoors
		98	Paul Menard	Menards
	Joe Gibbs Racing	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx
		18	Kyle Busch	M&M's/Mars Incorporated Interstate Batteries
		20	Joey Logano *	Home Depot
	JTG Daugherty Racing	47	Marcos Ambrose *	Little Debbies Clorox Kingsford Bush's Baked Beans
	Michael Waltrip Racing	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's
		55	Michael Waltrip (34) Patrick Carpentier (2)	NAPA
	NEMCO Motorsports	87	Joe Nemechek
	Prism Motorsports	66	Dave Blaney (34) Terry Labonte (1) Michael McDowell (1)	Window World
	Team Red Bull	82	Scott Speed *	Red Bull
		83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull
	Robby Gordon Motorsports	7	Robby Gordon (35) David Gilliland (1)	Jim Beam Menards
	Tommy Baldwin Racing	36	Scott Riggs (12) Michael McDowell (10) Mike Skinner (6) Patrick Carpentier (5) Brian Simo (2) Robert Richardson, Jr. (1)	Wave Energy Drink

Major Part Time Teams

Manufacturer	Team	Number	Driver	Sponsor
	Furniture Row Racing	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Bill Elliott (12) David Gilliland (1)	Motorcraft
	Germain Racing	13	Max Papis *	GEICO
	Gunselman Motorsports	64	Geoffrey Bodine (2) Todd Bodine (9) Mike Wallace (8) Derrike Cope (1)
	Mayfield Motorsports	41	Jeremy Mayfield (11) J.J. Yeley (1)	All Sport
[[Chevrolet| ]] [[Dodge| ]]	Front Row Motorsports	37	Tony Raines (21) Chris Cook (1) Tony Ave (1) Kevin Hamlin (1) Travis Kvapil (3)	Long John Silver's Gander Mountain
	Phoenix Racing	09	Brad Keselowski (5) Ron Fellows (2) Sterling Marlin (7) Mike Bliss (11) Aric Almirola (1)	Miccosukee Indian Gaming

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track	TV
	February 7, 2009	Budweiser Shootout	Daytona International Speedway	FOX
	February 12, 2009	Gatorade Duel 150s	Daytona International Speedway	SPEED Channel
1	February 15, 2009	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	FOX
2	February 22, 2009	Auto Club 500	Auto Club Speedway	FOX
3	March 1, 2009	Shelby 427	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	FOX
4	March 8, 2009	Kobalt Tools 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	FOX
5	March 22, 2009	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	FOX
6	March 29, 2009	Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500	Martinsville Speedway	FOX
7	April 5, 2009	Samsung 500	Texas Motor Speedway	FOX
8	April 18, 2009	Subway Fresh Fit 500	Phoenix International Raceway	FOX
9	April 26, 2009	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway	FOX
10	May 2, 2009	Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400	Richmond International Raceway	FOX
11	May 9, 2009	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	FOX
	May 16, 2009	Sprint All-Star Challenge	Lowe's Motor Speedway	SPEED Channel
12	May 24, 2009	Coca-Cola 600	Lowe's Motor Speedway	FOX
13	May 31, 2009	Autism Speaks 400 Presented by Heluva Good!	Dover International Speedway	FOX
14	June 7, 2009	Pocono 500	Pocono Raceway	TNT
15	June 14, 2009	LifeLock 400	Michigan International Speedway	TNT
16	June 21, 2009	Toyota / Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway	TNT
17	June 28, 2009	Lenox Industrial Tools 301	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	TNT
18	July 4, 2009	Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola	Daytona International Speedway	TNT
19	July 11, 2009	LifeLock.com 400	Chicagoland Speedway	TNT
20	July 26, 2009	Allstate 400 At The Brickyard	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	ESPN
21	August 2, 2009	Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway	ESPN
22	August 9, 2009	Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen	Watkins Glen International	ESPN
23	August 16, 2009	Carfax 400	Michigan International Speedway	ESPN
24	August 22, 2009	Sharpie 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	ESPN
25	September 6, 2009	Pep Boys Auto 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	ESPN
26	September 12, 2009	Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Richmond International Raceway	ABC
Chase for the Sprint Cup
27	September 20, 2009	Sylvania 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	ABC
28	September 27, 2009	AAA 400	Dover International Speedway	ABC
29	October 4, 2009	Price Chopper 400 Presented by Kraft Foods	Kansas Speedway	ABC
30	October 11, 2009	Pepsi 500	Auto Club Speedway	ABC
31	October 17, 2009	NASCAR Banking 500 Only from Bank of America	Lowe's Motor Speedway	ABC
32	October 25, 2009	Tums Fast Relief 500	Martinsville Speedway	ABC
33	November 1, 2009	AMP Energy 500	Talladega Superspeedway	ABC
34	November 8, 2009	Dickies 500	Texas Motor Speedway	ABC
35	November 15, 2009	Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500	Phoenix International Raceway	ABC
36	November 22, 2009	Ford 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	ABC

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
	2009 Budweiser Shootout	Paul Menard	Kevin Harvick		8	23	127.243	23
	2009 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #1)	Martin Truex, Jr.	Jeff Gordon		4	12	139.463	9
	2009 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #2)	Mark Martin	Kyle Busch		2	7	157.251	7
1	2009 Daytona 500	Martin Truex, Jr.	Matt Kenseth		8	35	132.816	9
2	2009 Auto Club 500	Brian Vickers	Matt Kenseth		5	43	135.839	19
3	2009 Shelby 427	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch		14	66	119.515	16
4	2009 Kobalt Tools 500	Mark Martin	Kurt Busch		11	54	127.573	13
5	2009 Food City 500	Mark Martin	Kyle Busch		9	58	92.139	13
6	2009 Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500	N/A	Jimmie Johnson		12	66	75.938	13
7	2009 Samsung 500	David Reutimann	Jeff Gordon		6	30	146.372	28
8	2009 Subway Fresh Fit 500	Mark Martin	Mark Martin		6	29	108.042	14
9	2009 Aaron's 499	Juan Pablo Montoya	Brad Keselowski		9	33	147.565	57
10	2009 Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400	Brian Vickers	Kyle Busch		15	79	90.627	21
11	2009 Southern 500	Matt Kenseth	Mark Martin		17	73	119.687	23
	2009 Sprint All-Star Challenge	Jimmie Johnson	Tony Stewart		7	3	99.137	7
12	2009 Coca-Cola 600	Ryan Newman	David Reutimann		6	40	120.899	14
13	2009 Autism Speaks 400 Presented by Heluva Good!	David Reutimann	Jimmie Johnson		10	43	115.237	25
14	2009 Pocono 500	N/A	Tony Stewart		5	20	138.515	22
15	2009 LifeLock 400	Brian Vickers	Mark Martin		3	14	155.491	11
16	2009 Toyota / Save Mart 350	Brian Vickers	Kasey Kahne		7	20	71.012	10
17	2009 Lenox Industrial Tools 301	N/A	Joey Logano		11	47	97.497	21
18	2009 Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola	N/A	Tony Stewart		8	30	142.461	23
19	2009 LifeLock.com 400	Brian Vickers	Mark Martin		7	30	133.804	10
20	2009 Allstate 400 At The Brickyard	Mark Martin	Jimmie Johnson		3	14	145.882	9
21	2009 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500	N/A	Denny Hamlin		10	39	126.396	17
22	2009 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen	Jimmie Johnson	Tony Stewart		5	13	90.297	12
23	2009 Carfax 400	Brian Vickers	Brian Vickers		7	36	131.531	25
24	2009 Sharpie 500	Mark Martin	Kyle Busch		11	76	84.820	12
25	2009 Pep Boys Auto 500	Martin Truex, Jr.	Kasey Kahne		9	42	134.033	31
26	2009 Chevy Rock & Roll 400	Mark Martin	Denny Hamlin		10	56	96.601	12
27	2009 Sylvania 300	Juan Pablo Montoya	Mark Martin		11	48	100.753	20
28	2009 AAA 400	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson		9	38	118.704	6
29	2009 Price Chopper 400 Presented by Kraft Foods	Mark Martin	Tony Stewart		6	23	137.144	26
30	2009 Pepsi 500	Denny Hamlin	Jimmie Johnson		8	30	143.908	29
31	2009 NASCAR Banking 500 Only from Bank of America	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson		10	42	137.658	22
32	2009 Tums Fast Relief 500	Ryan Newman	Denny Hamlin		15	77	73.633	21
33	2009 AMP Energy 500	N/A	Jamie McMurray		6	23	157.213	60
34	2009 Dickies 500	Jeff Gordon	Kurt Busch		5	26	147.137	13
35	2009 Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500	Martin Truex, Jr.	Jimmie Johnson		4	23	110.486	9
36	2009 Ford 400	Jimmie Johnson	Denny Hamlin		7	31	126.986	18

Final Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Jimmie Johnson	36	7	16	24	4	6652
2	Mark Martin	36	5	14	21	7	6511	-141
3	Jeff Gordon	36	1	16	25	1	6473	-179
4	Kurt Busch	36	2	10	21	0	6446	-206
5	Denny Hamlin	36	4	15	20	1	6335	-317
6	Tony Stewart	36	4	15	23	0	6309	-343
7	Greg Biffle	36	0	10	16	0	6292	-360
8	Juan Pablo Montoya	36	0	7	18	2	6252	-400
9	Ryan Newman	36	0	5	15	2	6175	-477
10	Kasey Kahne	36	2	7	14	0	6128	-524
11	Carl Edwards	36	0	7	14	0	6118	-534
12	Brian Vickers	36	1	4	13	6	5929	-723
13	Kyle Busch	36	4	9	13	1	4457	-2,195
14	Matt Kenseth	36	2	7	12	1	4389	-2,263
15	Clint Bowyer	36	0	4	16	0	4359	-2,293
16	David Reutimann	36	1	5	10	2	4221	-2,431
17	Jeff Burton	36	0	5	10	0	4022	-2,630
18	Marcos Ambrose	36	0	4	7	0	3830	-2,822
19	Kevin Harvick	36	0	5	9	0	3796	-2,856
20	Joey Logano	36	1	3	7	0	3791	-2,861
21	Casey Mears	36	0	0	4	0	3759	-2,893
22	Jamie McMurray	36	1	1	5	0	3604	-3,048
23	Martin Truex Jr	36	0	1	6	3	3503	-3,149
24	A.J. Allmendinger	36	0	1	6	0	3476	-3,176
25	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	36	0	2	5	0	3422	-3,230
26	Elliott Sadler	36	0	1	5	0	3350	-3,302
27	David Ragan	36	0	0	2	0	3252	-3,400
28	Sam Hornish, Jr.	36	0	2	7	0	3203	-3,449
29	Reed Sorenson	36	0	0	1	0	3147	-3,505
30	Bobby Labonte	36	0	1	2	0	3128	-3,524
31	Paul Menard	36	0	0	0	0	2979	-3,673
32	David Stremme	33	0	0	0	0	2919	-3,733
33	Michael Waltrip	34	0	0	2	0	2839	-3,813
34	Robby Gordon	35	0	1	1	0	2699	-3,953
35	Scott Speed	35	0	1	1	0	2690	-3,962
36	John Andretti	34	0	0	0	0	2597	-4,055
37	David Gilliland	31	0	0	0	0	1928	-4,724
38	Brad Keselowski	15	1	1	4	0	1528	-5,124
39	Regan Smith	18	0	0	0	0	1440	-5,212
40	Joe Nemechek	30	0	0	0	0	1342	-5,310
41	Dave Blaney	30	0	0	0	0	1204	-5,448
42	Bill Elliott	12	0	0	0	0	1095	-5,557
43	Max Papis	15	0	0	1	0	1047	-5,605
44	Mike Bliss	13	0	0	0	0	577	-6,075
45	Tony Raines	13	0	0	0	0	528	-6,124
46	Aric Almirola	8	0	0	0	0	527	-6,125
47	Erik Darnell	7	0	0	0	0	472	-6,180
48	Scott Riggs	8	0	0	0	0	448	-6,204
49	Travis Kvapil	6	0	0	0	0	378	-6,274
50	Patrick Carpentier	6	0	0	0	0	351	-6,301

Drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup are highlighted in yellow. Complete statistics can be found at Racing-Reference.info.

Rookie of the Year Award

Joey Logano won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award in 2009.

Position	Driver	Points	Wins
1	Joey Logano	270	1
2	Scott Speed	237	0
3	Max Papis	184	0

Manufacturer's Championship

With 18 wins, Chevrolet won the 2009 Manufacturer's Championship.

Position	Make	Points	Race Wins
1		262	18
2		207	11
3		164	3
4		159	4

Other Season Awards

• National Motorsports Press Association Chex Most Popular Driver: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
• Coors Light Pole Award: Mark Martin
• DirecTV Crew Chief of the Year: Darian Grubb (Crew Chief for Tony Stewart)
• DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race Award: Jimmie Johnson
• Goodyear Tires Award: Jimmie Johnson
• Goodyear Gatorback Belts Fastest Lap Award: Jimmie Johnson
• MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award: Hendrick Motorsports
• Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award (voted by fellow crew chiefs): #42 Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing Pit Crew, led by Brian Pattie
• Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Season Award: Juan Pablo Montoya
• Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race Award: Drew Blickensderfer (Crew Chief for Matt Kenseth)
• O'Reilly Auto Parts People, Service & Performance Award: Denny Hamlin
• Sunoco Diamond Performance Award: Jimmie Johnson
• Wix Filters Lap Leader Award: Tony Stewart
• Tissot Pit Road Precision Award: #16 Roush-Fenway Racing Pit Crew, led by Greg Erwin