2011 Sprint Cup Series

2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Tony Stewart won his third Sprint Cup Series Championship.
Duration	February 20, 2011 through November 20, 2011
TV	Fox; TNT; ESPN/ABC
Season statistics
No. of races	36
First race	2011 Daytona 500
Last race	2011 Ford 400
Drivers' champion	Tony Stewart
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Andy Lally
Most popular driver	Dale Earnhardt, Jr
Previous	2010
Next	2012

The 2011 Sprint Cup Series was the 63rd season of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20 and ended with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 20.

The 2011 season is considered to be one of the most exciting seasons in Cup Series history. There were 18 different winners over the course of the season, including several drivers winning their first races in the biggest and most prestigious races in the schedule. A number of drivers swapped the points lead through the regular season, and only 12 points separated first through twelfth when the Chase began, due to the low number of wins Chase drivers had during the regular season.

In a press conference at Michigan in August following a ninth place finish, when asked about qualifying for the Chase, Tony Stewart claimed that he would only be taking up a slot that should go to a more deserving driver and team. He entered Richmond just 23 points ahead of eleventh place, and needed an 18^th place points finish to clinch a spot in the Chase. He did so with a seventh place finish. He was thus seeded last on account of his lack of wins in the season.

He then won at Chicagoland and New Hampshire, vaulting him to first in the standings. Finishes of 25^th and 15^th dropped him back down to 7^th following Kansas, while decent finishes at Charlotte and Talladega, followed by wins at Martinsville and Texas led him to be second in the standings, 3 points behind Carl Edwards. Edwards and Stewart would finish second and third at Phoenix, but earned the same amount of points for that race. In the final race of the season, Edwards would lead the most laps but finish second to Stewart, who won the race. Stewart thus earned the 3 points he needed to be tied with Edwards for the Championship, and thus the Championship came down to a tiebreaker for the first time in Cup Series history- Stewart’s five wins versus Edwards’ one. Thus, Stewart won his third championship and first as an owner. It was the first time since 1992 that an owner-driver had won the championship.

There were several rules changes announced at the start of the season. Due to the development and implementation of the self-venting fuel can, the catch-can man was eliminated on pit crews. Drivers across NASCAR’s top three series could only compete for a championship in a chosen series, meaning that drivers who participated in series outside of their chosen series could compete in races but not earn points. The points system was modified, with the winner of the race earning 43 points, second place earning 42, and so on through the rest of the field. If a driver led a lap, they would earn 1 bonus point, 1 more for leading the most laps, and 3 bonus points for winning the race. Finally, The Chase was modified so that the eleventh and twelfth positions would be awarded to whoever had the most victories among drivers ranked 11^th through 20^th in driver’s points, effectively creating two ‘Wild Card’ slots. These drivers would not get bonus points for wins, ensuring they would begin the Chase in 11^th and 12^th.

The Car of Tomorrow was modified so that the splitter braces were removed, and the front end became a single molded piece, while an ethanol fuel mixture began to be used during the season.

Major Part Time Teams

Manufacturer	Team	Number	Driver	Sponsor
	Inception Motorsports	30	David Stremme
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Trevor Bayne (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (1)	Motorcraft
	Front Row Motorsports	55	J.J. Yeley (11) Travis Kvapil (6) Jeff Green (1)
[[Toyota| ]] [[Chevrolet| ]]	Germain Racing	60	Mike Skinner (23) Landon Cassill (3) Todd Bodine (2) Dave Blaney (1)	Big Red

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track	TV
	February 12, 2011	Budweiser Shootout	Daytona International Speedway	FOX
	February 17, 2011	Gatorade Duel 150s	Daytona International Speedway	SPEED Channel
1	February 20, 2011	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	FOX
2	February 27, 2011	Subway Fresh Fit 500	Phoenix International Raceway	FOX
3	March 6, 2011	Kobalt Tools 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	FOX
4	March 20, 2011	Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City	Bristol Motor Speedway	FOX
5	March 27, 2011	Auto Club 400	Auto Club Speedway	FOX
6	April 3, 2011	Goody's Fast Relief 500	Martinsville Speedway	FOX
7	April 9, 2011	Samsung Mobile 500	Texas Motor Speedway	FOX
8	April 17, 2011	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway	FOX
9	April 30, 2011	Crown Royal Presents the Matthew & Daniel Hansen 400	Richmond International Raceway	FOX
10	May 7, 2011	Showtime Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	FOX
11	May 15, 2011	FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks	Dover International Speedway	FOX
	May 21, 2011	Sprint All-Star Challenge	Charlotte Motor Speedway	SPEED Channel
12	May 29, 2011	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	FOX
13	June 5, 2011	STP 400	Kansas Speedway	FOX
14	June 12, 2011	5-Hour Energy 500	Pocono Raceway	TNT
15	June 19, 2011	Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400	Michigan International Speedway	TNT
16	June 26, 2011	Toyota / Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway	TNT
17	July 2, 2011	Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola	Daytona International Speedway	TNT
18	July 9, 2011	Quaker State 400	Kentucky Speedway	TNT
19	July 17, 2011	Lenox Industrial Tools 301	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	TNT
20	July 31, 2011	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	ESPN
21	August 7, 2011	Good Sam RV Insurance 500	Pocono Raceway	ESPN
22	August 14, 2011	Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen	Watkins Glen International	ESPN
23	August 21, 2011	Pure Michigan 400	Michigan International Speedway	ESPN
24	August 27, 2011	Irwin Tools Night Race	Bristol Motor Speedway	ABC
25	September 4, 2011	AdvoCare 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	ESPN
26	September 10, 2011	Wonderful Pistachios 400	Richmond International Raceway	ABC
Chase for the Sprint Cup
27	September 18, 2011	GEICO 400	Chicagoland Speedway	ESPN
28	September 25, 2011	Sylvania 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	ESPN
29	October 2, 2011	AAA 400	Dover International Speedway	ESPN
30	October 9, 2011	Hollywood Casino 400	Kansas Speedway	ESPN
31	October 15, 2011	Bank of America 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	ABC
32	October 23, 2011	Good Sam Club 500	Talladega Superspeedway	ESPN
33	October 30, 2011	Tums Fast Relief 500	Martinsville Speedway	ESPN
34	November 6, 2011	AAA Texas 500	Texas Motor Speedway	ESPN
35	November 13, 2011	Kobalt Tools 500	Phoenix International Raceway	ESPN
36	November 20, 2011	Ford 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	ESPN

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
	2011 Budweiser Shootout	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Kurt Busch		4	12	153.584	28
	2011 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #1)	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Kurt Busch		2	7	159.794	20
	2011 Gatorade Duel 150 (Race #2)	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Burton		5	14	136.571	22
1	2011 Daytona 500	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Trevor Bayne		16	60	130.326	74
2	2011 Subway Fresh Fit 500	Carl Edwards	Jeff Gordon		8	43	102.961	28
3	2011 Kobalt Tools 400	Matt Kenseth	Carl Edwards		7	35	135.508	21
4	2011 Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City	Carl Edwards	Kyle Busch		10	57	91.941	17
5	2011 Auto Club 400	Juan Pablo Montoya	Kevin Harvick		4	16	150.849	18
6	2011 Goody's Fast Relief 500	Jamie McMurray	Kevin Harvick		11	72	74.195	31
7	2011 Samsung Mobile 500	David Ragan	Matt Kenseth		5	24	149.231	31
8	2011 Aaron's 499	Jeff Gordon	Jimmie Johnson		6	24	156.261	88
9	2011 Crown Royal Presents the Matthew & Daniel Hansen 400	Juan Pablo Montoya	Kyle Busch		8	60	95.280	14
10	2011 Showtime Southern 500	Kasey Kahne	Regan Smith		11	46	129.678	21
11	2011 FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks	N/A	Matt Kenseth		6	28	125.578	23
	2011 Sprint All-Star Challenge	Kyle Busch	Carl Edwards		5	6	127.841	8
12	2011 Coca-Cola 600	Brad Keselowski	Kevin Harvick		14	64	132.414	38
13	2011 STP 400	Kurt Busch	Brad Keselowski		5	22	137.184	17
14	2011 5-Hour Energy 500	Kurt Busch	Jeff Gordon		4	14	145.384	18
15	2011 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400	Kurt Busch	Denny Hamlin		5	18	153.029	21
16	2011 Toyota / Save Mart 350	Joey Logano	Kurt Busch		5	17	75.411	12
17	2011 Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola	Mark Martin	David Ragan		6	21	159.491	57
18	2011 Quaker State 400	N/A	Kyle Busch		6	32	137.314	20
19	2011 Lenox Industrial Tools 301	Ryan Newman	Ryan Newman		10	44	104.100	21
20	2011 Brickyard 400	David Ragan	Paul Menard		5	22	140.762	22
21	2011 Good Sam RV Insurance 500	Joey Logano	Brad Keselowski		5	21	137.878	23
22	2011 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen	Kyle Busch	Marcos Ambrose		5	14	99.417	14
23	2011 Pure Michigan 400	Greg Biffle	Kyle Busch		5	21	150.898	20
24	2011 Irwin Tools Night Race	Ryan Newman	Brad Keselowski		6	42	96.753	22
25	2011 AdvoCare 500	Kasey Kahne	Jeff Gordon		9	64	124.623	35
26	2011 Wonderful Pistachios 400	David Reutimann	Kevin Harvick		15	85	89.910	11
27	2011 GEICO 400	Matt Kenseth	Tony Stewart		6	25	143.306	22
28	2011 Sylvania 300	Ryan Newman	Tony Stewart		3	14	116.679	19
29	2011 AAA 400	Martin Truex, Jr.	Kurt Busch		10	44	119.413	24
30	2011 Hollywood Casino 400	Greg Biffle	Jimmie Johnson		6	25	137.181	19
31	2011 Bank of America 500	Tony Stewart	Matt Kenseth		8	34	146.194	16
32	2011 Good Sam Club 500	Mark Martin	Clint Bowyer		9	37	143.404	72
33	2011 Tums Fast Relief 500	N/A	Tony Stewart		18	108	68.648	23
34	2011 AAA Texas 500	Greg Biffle	Tony Stewart		5	21	152.705	23
35	2011 Kobalt Tools 500	Matt Kenseth	Kasey Kahne		8	30	112.918	14
36	2011 Ford 400	Carl Edwards	Tony Stewart		8	54	114.976	26

Final Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Tony Stewart	36	5	9	19	1	2403
2	Carl Edwards	36	1	19	26	3	2403	0
3	Kevin Harvick	36	4	9	19	0	2345	-58
4	Matt Kenseth	36	3	12	20	3	2330	-73
5	Brad Keselowski	36	3	10	14	1	2319	-84
6	Jimmie Johnson	36	2	14	21	0	2304	-99
7	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	36	0	4	12	1	2290	-113
8	Jeff Gordon	36	3	13	18	1	2287	-116
9	Denny Hamlin	36	1	5	14	0	2284	-119
10	Ryan Newman	36	1	9	17	3	2284	-119
11	Kurt Busch	36	2	8	16	3	2262	-141
12	Kyle Busch	35	4	14	18	1	2246	-157
13	Clint Bowyer	36	1	4	16	0	1047	-1,356
14	Kasey Kahne	36	1	8	15	2	1041	-1,362
15	A.J. Allmendinger	36	0	1	10	0	1013	-1,390
16	Greg Biffle	36	0	3	10	3	997	-1,406
17	Paul Menard	36	1	4	8	0	947	-1,456
18	Martin Truex Jr	36	0	3	12	1	937	-1,466
19	Marcos Ambrose	36	1	5	12	0	936	-1,467
20	Jeff Burton	36	0	2	5	0	935	-1,468
21	Juan Pablo Montoya	36	0	2	8	2	932	-1,471
22	Mark Martin	36	0	2	10	2	930	-1,473
23	David Ragan	36	1	4	8	2	906	-1,497
24	Joey Logano	36	0	4	6	2	902	-1,501
25	Brian Vickers	36	0	3	7	0	846	-1,557
26	Regan Smith	36	1	2	5	0	820	-1,583
27	Jamie McMurray	36	0	2	4	1	795	-1,608
28	David Reutimann	36	0	1	3	1	757	-1,646
29	Bobby Labonte	36	0	1	2	0	670	-1,733
30	David Gilliland	36	0	1	2	0	572	-1,831
31	Casey Mears	35	0	0	0	0	541	-1,862
32	Dave Blaney	35	0	1	1	0	508	-1,895
33	Andy Lally	30	0	0	0	0	398	-2,005
34	Robby Gordon	25	0	0	0	0	268	-2,135
35	J.J. Yeley	31	0	0	0	0	192	-2,211
36	Michael McDowell	32	0	0	0	0	139	-2,264
37	Tony Raines	12	0	0	0	0	129	-2,274
38	Ken Schrader	7	0	0	0	0	110	-2,293
39	Terry Labonte	8	0	0	0	0	102	-2,301
40	Bill Elliott	5	0	0	0	0	100	-2,303
41	David Stremme	18	0	0	0	0	80	-2,323
42	Michael Waltrip	3	0	0	1	0	56	-2,347
43	Boris Said	2	0	0	0	0	38	-2,365
44	Geoffrey Bodine	4	0	0	0	0	33	-2,370
45	T.J. Bell	5	0	0	0	0	29	-2,374
46	Stephen Leicht	1	0	0	0	0	20	-2,383
47	Andy Pilgrim	1	0	0	0	0	18	-2,385
48	Chris Cook	1	0	0	0	0	17	-2,386
49	Brian Simo	1	0	0	0	0	11	-2,392
50	Brian Keselowski	1	0	0	0	0	3	-2,400
51	Erik Darnell	2	0	0	0	0	2	-2,401
52	Steve Park	1	0	0	0	0	2	-2,401

^{Only Cup Series points-eligible drivers shown. 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

Andy Lally was the only driver eligible and thus won the Rookie of the Year Award for 2011.

Position	Driver	Points	Wins
1	Andy Lally	229	0

Manufacturer Standings

With 18 wins, Chevrolet won the Manufacturer's Championship for 2011.

Position	Make	Points	Race Wins
1		248	18
2		195	7
3		187	6
4		162	5