2009 Daytona 500

2009 Daytona 500

Race details
Race 1 of 36 in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Date	February 15, 2009 (2009-02-15)
Location	Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance	152 laps, 380 mi (610 km)
Scheduled Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 73.9 °F (23.3 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h)[1]
Average speed	132.816 miles per hour (213.747 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Martin Truex Jr.	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Duel 2 Winner	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	88
Winner
No. 17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, and Larry McReynolds
Nielsen Ratings	9.2/19 (15.954 million viewers)[2]

The 2009 Daytona 500, the 51st running of the event, was held on February 15, 2009, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first points-paying race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the last 500 of the 2000s decade. The race was won by Matt Kenseth, making a car numbered 17 winning the race for the first time in 20 years since Darrell Waltrip's win back in 1989 and the first Daytona 500 win for Roush Fenway Racing. The race was called off with 48 laps to go after a severe rainstorm that had been lingering throughout the area hit the track.

This marks the first Daytona 500 without The Petty family and the first without Dale Jarrett since 1990.