2010 Autism Speaks 400

2010 Autism Speaks 400 presented by Hershey's Milk & Milkshakes

Race details[1][2]
Race 12 of 36 in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Layout of Dover International Speedway
Date	May 16, 2010 (2010-May-16)
Official name	Autism Speaks 400
Location	Dover International Speedway Dover, Delaware
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.0 mi (1.61 km)
Distance	400 laps, 400 mi (643.74 km)
Weather	Partly cloudy with a high of 75; wind out of the NE at 8 mph.
Average speed	126 miles per hour (203 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Martin Truex, Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing
Time	22.884
Most laps led
Driver	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	225
Winner
No. 18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2010 Autism Speaks 400 presented by Hershey's Milk & Milkshakes was the twelfth race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware. It started at 1 p.m. EST on May 16, 2010. The 2010 Autism Speaks 400 was televised on Fox and was broadcast on MRN radio at 12 p.m.^[3] Martin Truex, Jr. started in the pole position.^[4] The race had eight different leaders, twenty lead changes, and five cautions.^[5] The winner of the race was Kyle Busch,^[2] while Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth finished second and third respectively.

Race report

Practices and qualifying

Polesitter Martin Truex, Jr. in 2007.

On May 14, 2010, the quickest drivers in first practice were Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex, Jr., and Kyle Busch.^[6] During qualifying, Martin Truex, Jr. won the pole position, while Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, and Jimmie Johnson started in the two rows behind him.^[7] Also in qualifying, two drivers did not qualify; they were Todd Bodine and Max Papis.^[7] On May 15, 2010, the quickest in the second practice were Jimmie Johnson, David Ragan, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, and Kasey Kahne.^[8] In the final practice the quickest were Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, A. J. Allmendinger, and Clint Bowyer.^[9]

Race summary

To begin the pre-race ceremonies, Reverend Jonathan Falwell of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., delivered the invocation. Then, country music artist, Joe Nichols performed the national anthem. To start the engines, Richard Petty, part of the inaugural class at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, gave the command, "Gentlemen, start your engines!"^[10]

At 1:17 p.m. EDT, the green flag waved with Martin Truex, Jr. the leader. On the same lap, though, Kasey Kahne, who started second, passed Truex, Jr. to lead the first lap. On lap 26, Jimmie Johnson, from starting in the fifth position, passed Kahne for the lead. As Johnson led, Johnny Sauter, on lap 40, went to the garage because of electrical problems. Fourteen laps later, the caution flag waved as Sam Hornish, Jr. collided with the wall because of a flat tire. All the lead-lap driver came on pit road for their first pit stops. After finishing the pit stops, Johnson led them to the green flag on lap 59. One lap later, Kyle Busch passed Johnson for the lead.^[10]

Race winner Kyle Busch in 2007

Kyle Busch kept the lead until lap 85 when Jimmie Johnson passed him. On laps 125 through 137, green flag pit stops were occurring. The leaders during the pit stops were Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton. Johnson, then regained the lead from Burton on lap 137; the rest of the top five were Kyle Busch, A. J. Allmendinger, Joey Logano, and Tony Stewart. As Johnson led on lap 157, J. J. Yeley went to the garage due to engine problems. On lap 165, the second caution flag waved because Marcos Ambrose collided with the wall. All lead lap cars made pit stops; Johnson remained the leader. On lap 170, Johnson led the field to the green flag, but one lap later, Kyle Busch passed Johnson for the lead.^[10]

Kyle Busch led until Johnson passed him on lap 176. The green flag stayed out until lap 255, when Marcos Ambrose collided with the wall to bring out the third caution. On the restart, on lap 231, Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green flag. On lap 234, Kyle Busch passed Johnson, but two laps later, Johnson reclaimed the lead. On lap 245, Sam Hornish, Jr. collided with the wall, which brought out the fourth caution. All lead lap cars pit, most getting fuel and two tires, but Matt Kenseth stayed out. From staying off pit road, Matt Kenseth led the field to green on lap 250. On lap 261, Johnson reclaimed the lead from Matt Kenseth. Marcos Ambrose, who collided with the wall twice, announced that he was out of the race on lap 279.^[10]

On lap 287, the fifth caution came out because Kurt Busch collided with the wall in turn four. All the leaders made pit stops, most getting four tires and fuel. On lap 291, Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green flag. One lap later, Kyle Busch passed Johnson for the lead. Kyle Busch led until lap 353, when Johnson passed him, but for the next two laps Johnson and Busch switched the lead until Johnson claimed it. On lap 364, David Reutimann became the leader, as Johnson and Kyle Busch made their green flag pit stops. On lap 365, Martin Truex, Jr. passed Reutimann for the lead. One lap later, it was announced that Jimmie Johnson, who led the most laps, received a penalty for speeding on pit road. On lap 367, Kyle Busch reclaimed the lead. Kyle Busch kept the lead to win his second race of 2010 and his eighteenth win in his Sprint Cup Series career.^[10]

Results

References