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Chicagoland Speedway Race Report
Richard Petty Motorsports results:
- 3rd - Kasey Kahne - Budweiser Dodge
- 13th - AJ Allmendinger - Hunt Brothers Pizza Dodge
- 24th - Reed Sorenson - McDonald's McCafe Dodge
- 27th - Elliott Sadler - Best Buy/Insignia Dodge
- Mark Martin won for the fourth time in 2009. Martin now sits 11th in points.
- Martin defeated teammate Jeff Gordon by .412 seconds. Kahne, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five.
- There were 10 lead changes among six drivers, including Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler.
- The race featured seven cautions for 30 laps.
- The Lifelock.com 400 lasted 2 hours, 59 minutes and 39 seconds. Race attendance was announced at 70,000 fans.
- The Sprint Cup Series is off next weekend before heading to Indianapolis for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on July 26.
Kasey Kahne - No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger
- Kahne started 15th and finished third.
- Kahne gained four spots to eighth in the championship point standings.
- Kahne raced in the top-10 the majority of the night only making slight chassis adjustments throughout.
- Kahne led two laps to gain five bonus points.
- Kahne has finished in the top-10 in five of the last eight races
KAHNE: "We had a good Budweiser Dodge tonight. We had to battle all night there at the end with Jeff (Gordon) having fresh tires at the end of the race. I wanted to hang on for all we had, we ended up third and it ended up being a good run for us tonight. I wasn't really very close to the 5, but I cleared the 24 and then he charged back. I got through (Turns) 1 and 2 better than he did, but he had tires and we didn't. I thought we did a really good job. We held our own and got a great finish. Those restarts were tough, a lot of tough competition. We had to battle really hard.
"We've been working really well together, our whole Budweiser Dodge team. Races like these, nights like this where you can get those (drivers) points and try to stay in that top-12, that's what it's all about and making the Chase. The guys had good stops all night. They've been on a roll with that. The car was good from the drop of the green (flag). We made some adjustments trying to keep up and make it better. Those restarts at the end were tough; there were a lot of good cars. I think we got as far back as sixth on the restarts and worked back to second and then third with Jeff (Gordon).
"I fought hard against Jeff there at the end. I wanted to hold him off. I felt like were better than him all night. He had some (fresh) tires there (at the end) and was better than us and ended up beating us. We battled hard. It was a good night."
HOW MUCH DID THE NEW R6 ENGINE HELP TONIGHT? "Well, the engine, I mean, we got to compare it to the best tonight. We raced with Hendricks and the Gibbs, the 11, throughout the race. Every restart, every pass for position was against one of those guys. We still have some work to do. I think it was decent, but we still have some work to do with those guys. My car handled great, you know, so I was happy about that."
"The restarts, I like it. I still think it's a great change that NASCAR did. I lost some and I made some again. Same every week. I lose three of the restarts and win three of the restarts. I don't know, 50% is not too bad."
IT SEEMED LIKE MOST OF THE RACE EVERYONE WAS ON CRUISE CONTROL; THEN EVERYONE WENT NUTS ON RESTART? "Well, I think late in the race one guy makes one guy mad and it causes a reaction from that guy. Then they get into another car. Then another guy is smoking another guy sideways. Next thing you know, you have 10 guys that are fuming. You never know what's gonna happen. Some guys had tires, other guys didn't, so the speed was way different. I think it just created a lot of kind of chaos back on those restarts. T hat's excitement for the fans and kind of craziness for the drivers."
HOW MUCH OF THE RACING TONIGHT WAS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE TRACK HAS WEATHERED IN? "To me, it was similar to what it was last year, the last few years here. It's been wide. The pavement has been pretty white, pretty gray like it was. It gets rubbered up quick. You can race kind of all over the racetrack. To me, it was similar. We had our best car. I think I did the best job that I've done at Chicagoland Speedway. I've never raced that well here. It was a good night for us."
KENNY FRANCIS (Crew Chief, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger) "The Budweiser Dodge ran well all night. We've struggled here at Chicago in the past. To have a car that good and run up front all night with our Dodge, I couldn't be prouder of our guys and Kasey for coming home third. We had a really good car all night. The fuel mileage was good. It all worked out good. I wish we could have beaten the 24 and 5 there, but it was a good race for us, a good points race for us."
AJ Allmendinger - No. 44 Hunt Brothers Pizza Dodge Charger
- Allmendinger started 20th and finished 13th
- Allmendinger raced in the top-20 the majority of the night
- Fought a difficult handling condition, but was able to steadily gain spots
- The No. 44 team's 13th place finish was the highest it had raced all night
- The No. 44 team gained two spots and now sits 27th in the championship point standings
ALLMENDINGER: "It was a good day for our Hunt Brothers Pizza Dodge. We didn't start off very well. We were a little bit off in practice yesterday and didn't really know which way the track was going to go tonight. We started off way too tight and basically from there on, it was a fight of being too loose and too tight. It seems like with our cars, we don't start the first 10 laps really good. We were just trying to fight back and forth to stay up with the guys who were better on the restarts. We fought hard all night. From where we were in practice yesterday, to get a 13th-place finish is awesome."
HOW CRAZY WERE THE RESTARTS? "I hope fans like it because it's nuts inside the car. We restarted in about 16th and all I saw was the leaders starting to wreck and bouncing off the wall. That's part of it. It makes it exciting for the fans. It's definitely fun in the car, but it's hectic."
Reed Sorenson - No. 43 McDonald's McCafe Dodge Charger
- Sorenson started 11th and finished 24th.
- Sorenson raced in the top-15 for the first 95 laps
- The No. 43 team was served a pass through penalty on lap 99 for going double file on pit road and restarted 36th.
- Sorenson had a top-15 car the majority of the night, but fought hard to regain track position following the penalty.
- Sorenson remains 28th in championship point standings.
SORENSON: "Sometimes things just don't go your way. We had one of those nights tonight. We had a good car - our best 1.5-mile car that we've had all year, but unfortunately we didn't get the result that this team deserved. I'm proud of my guys on the McDonald's McCafe team for not giving up and getting some spots back, but I wish we could have finished where we deserved to finish."
Elliott Sadler - No. 19 Best Buy/Insignia Dodge Charger
- Sadler started 34th and finished 27th.
- The No. 19 Dodge battled a loose in, loose off, tight center handing condition throughout the race.
- Sadler collected an additional five bonus points for leading a lap under caution.
- Sadler remains 23rd in championship point standings
SADLER: "I'm pretty happy to be heading into the off week. We never really got our car where we wanted it tonight - it was loose in and off the corner and tight in the center. We just never really found the right adjustment to hook up the car. It was a frustrating night, but our guys worked hard and now they all get to enjoy a week at home before heading to Indy."
