2009 AMP Energy 500

The 2009 AMP Energy 500 was the 33rd race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the seventh event of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on November 1, 2009 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, and is the only race in the Championship Chase to utilize restrictor plates. This marks the first time the race was run in an early November spot, the slot formerly occupied by the Atlanta Motor Speedway event. Jamie McMurray won the race, his first since Daytona in 2007. Nationwide Series regular Robert Richardson Jr. made his first cup start and finished 18th.

Qualifying

Because qualifying was rained out, the rules awarded points leader Jimmie Johnson the pole position.

Single File Racing

NASCAR told the drivers,in the drivers meeting, that they could not bump draft in the corners.That followed by a controversial race where all of the drivers drove in a single file line all the way around the track for a small portion of the race. Many fans believed and still believe that that was a protest by the drivers to the new rule. Drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray all defended their actions.

Jimmy responded with saying that there was no truth to the rumor that the drivers were trying to pull a fast one. "No, there's not truth to that. When we hit single-file like that, we just know there's no need to race at that point," he said. "All that matters is from that last pit stop on." Instead of deciding to wreck and dwindle down the field on Sunday, Johnson said the drivers finally got smart about how to approach the race. Everyone seemed to realize that you can't win if you aren't around at the end.^[1]

Jammie McMurray stated "It wasn't like everybody was in their cars and we were like, 'Let's get single-file and prove a point' or 'Let's just follow each other,'" race-winner Jamie McMurray said. "You had to be in the outside groove because that's where all the momentum was."^[2] This continued with Casey Mears leading the line for many laps until the first round of green flag pit stops started.

Race ends under caution

With five laps to go, Ryan Newman's car flipped, collecting Kevin Harvick, Marcos Ambrose and Elliott Sadler in the crash. The race was stopped; Newman was uninjured. After a restart, a big wreck happened with two laps to go, causing Kurt Busch, Scott Speed, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon and Robby Gordon to crash; Martin's car landed upside down. The race ended under the caution flag.

Announcers reprimanded

Throughout the race the ESPN announcers gave their opinion on how unnecessary the no bump drafting rule was. Former NASCAR drivers Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace were among those who thought the rule was not needed and dumb. After the race the ESPN announcers were confronted by NASCAR about their actions during their broadcast and how much they used their own opinion. They were told to never have another race like this to happen again.

Issues with ABC affiliates

KXLY-TV in Spokane and WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh preempted NASCAR Countdown and instead aired the Emperor's New School and The Replacements in order to fulfill an E/I commitment. It was also not seen on Philadelphia affiliate WPVI-TV because of a Philadelphia Phillies World Series special not to mention affiliates KGTV-TV in San Diego, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KSAT-TV in San Antonio, and WDAY-TV in Fargo.

NASCAR Countdown started at 12 Noon ET / 9 AM PT for the only time in 2009 instead of the 1 PM or 2:30 PM that has been used for the other day races in the Chase. West Coast affiliates' E/I commitments are different than other time zones, as often an ESPN College Football game will start at 9 AM PT on Saturday. When a sporting event airs at 9 AM PT, the E/I commitment will take place on Sunday.

References

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