Matt Kenseth Wins Rain-Shortened Daytona 500
Matt Kenseth has won the rain-shortened Daytona 500, taking over the lead two laps before NASCAR stopped the season-opening event. As drivers climbed from their cars to await NASCAR’s decision on whether to restart the race, Kenseth sat patiently inside his parked Ford on pit road.
Published: February 16, 2009
Updated: February 16, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Matt Kenseth has won the rain-shortened Daytona 500, taking over the lead two laps before NASCAR stopped the season-opening event.
As drivers climbed from their cars to await NASCAR’s decision on whether to restart the race, Kenseth sat patiently inside his parked Ford on pit road.
When NASCAR declared it over, the 2003 Cup champion tearfully climbed from his car to celebrate his first victory in NASCAR’s version of the Super Bowl. It was also the first Daytona 500 win for team owner Jack Roush.
Kenseth snaps a 36-race winless streak with the victory.
Daytona 500 Results:
Sunday, Feb. 15, at Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Fla.
Lap length: 2.5 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
Note: Race shortened due to rain
1. (39) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 152 laps, 114 rating, 190 points, $1,536,388.
2. (32) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 152, 81.7, 170, $1,114,724.
3. (20) AJ Allmendinger, Dodge, 152, 102.2, 165, $786,063.
4. (22) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 152, 87.4, 160, $631,913.
5. (30) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 152, 80.5, 160, $515,013.
6. (33) David Ragan, Ford, 152, 92.2, 150, $412,063.
7. (27) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 152, 81.2, 146, $371,138.
8. (5) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 152, 97.2, 147, $371,371.
9. (34) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 152, 73.7, 138, $362,224.
10. (13) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 152, 93.4, 134, $325,513.
11. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 152, 70.4, 135, $345,563.
12. (28) David Reutimann, Toyota, 152, 67.4, 127, $316,546.
13. (3) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 152, 110.9, 129, $356,824.
14. (8) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 152, 75.6, 121, $299,288.
15. (25) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 152, 62.4, 118, $298,838.
16. (2) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 152, 93.2, 120, $313,488.
17. (23) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 152, 49.8, 112, $295,146.
18. (16) Carl Edwards, Ford, 152, 103.4, 109, $326,454.
19. (37) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 152, 53.2, 106, $287,568.
20. (35) Greg Biffle, Ford, 152, 51.5, 103, $297,863.
21. (42) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 152, 54.6, 100, $287,696.
22. (12) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 152, 62.5, 102, $308,252.
23. (40) Bill Elliott, Ford, 152, 44.6, 94, $288,160.
24. (43) Terry Labonte, Toyota, 152, 35.3, 91, $273,963.
25. (17) Scott Riggs, Toyota, 152, 55.1, 88, $273,513.
26. (10) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 152, 99.7, 85, $300,963.
27. (14) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 152, 88.5, 87, $291,063.
28. (26) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 152, 77.7, 79, $317,654.
29. (15) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 152, 63.7, 76, $313,846.
30. (11) Aric Almirola, Chevrolet, 152, 48.9, 73, $311,946.
31. (7) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 152, 68.4, 70, $336,149.
32. (29) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 151, 43.4, 67, $287,433.
33. (24) David Stremme, Dodge, 151, 58.2, 64, $300,763.
34. (31) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 151, 38.6, 61, $287,158.
35. (38) Scott Speed, Toyota, 151, 39, 58, $268,763.
36. (36) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 150, 42.3, 55, $295,252.
37. (21) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 139, 86.6, 52, $274,713.
38. (19) Paul Menard, Ford, accident, 138, 46.3, 49, $296,229.
39. (6) Brian Vickers, Toyota, accident, 134, 69.2, 46, $305,171.
40. (18) Jeremy Mayfield, Toyota, 126, 47.9, 43, $265,238.
41. (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, accident, 123, 114.2, 50, $349,171.
42. (41) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 90, 39.3, 37, $263,963.
43. (9) Joey Logano, Toyota, accident, 79, 45.6, 34, $317,720.
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Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 132.816 mph.
Time of Race: 2 hours, 51 minutes, 40 seconds.
Margin of Victory: Under caution.
Caution Flags: Eight for 35 laps.
Lead Changes: Nine among nine drivers.
Lap Leaders: M.Truex Jr. 1; M.Martin 2; Ky.Busch 3-52; D.Earnhardt Jr. 53; T.Stewart 54-68; J.Gordon 69-82; Ky.Busch 83-120; B.Labonte 121; E.Sadler 122-145; M.Kenseth 146-152.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): Ky.Busch, 2 times for 88 laps; E.Sadler, 1 time for 24 laps; T.Stewart, 1 time for 15 laps; J.Gordon, 1 time for 14 laps; M.Kenseth, 1 time for 7 laps; M.Truex Jr., 1 time for 1 lap; M.Martin, 1 time for 1 lap; B.Labonte, 1 time for 1 lap; D.Earnhardt Jr., 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 12 in Points: 1. M.Kenseth, 190. 2. K.Harvick, 170. 3. A.Allmendinger, 165. 4. C.Bowyer, 160. 5. E.Sadler, 160. 6. D.Ragan, 150. 7. T.Stewart, 147. 8. M.Waltrip, 146. 9. R.Sorenson, 138. 10. M.Truex Jr., 135. 11. Ku.Busch, 134. 12. J.Gordon, 129.
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NASCAR Driver Rating Formula
A maximum of 150 points can be attained in a race.
The formula combines the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish.
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