Race Recap for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway

• Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Team dealt with misfortune for the third time in the 2009 Chase for the Championship during the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. Handling issues and flat tires resulted in two separate incidents for Kahne during the course of the 500-lap race. The Budweiser Team would eventually finish the day seven laps down in 32nd position.
• Kahne started the race from the 26th position. He battled brake and handling issues that prevented him from making any progress during the first 50 laps.
• Numerous changes during the second caution helped to improve the handling on the Budweiser Dodge and Kahne was able to make incremental progress, climbing to 23rd place by lap 71.
• The biggest problem for Kahne during the next 130 laps was that the Budweiser Dodge had no forward drive and he wasn’t able to get to the throttle as he exited the turns.
• Trouble found Team Budweiser for the first time in the race on lap 209 when his left-rear tire went flat. Kahne spun out one lap later hitting the outside wall in turn three and sustaining significant damage to left rear quarter panel of the Budweiser Dodge.
• The Budweiser Team lost two laps making repairs to the car during caution. The damage to the left rear quarter panel of the Budweiser Dodge was so bad that the team could not access the gas tank to fuel the car. Crew Chief Kenny Francis sent Kahne back onto the track to avoid losing anymore laps on pit road.
• During the ninth caution on lap 251, the team was able to finally work on the left-rear quarter panel damage. The team had to cut through sheet metal on the left rear of the car and had to secure brake lines to free up the entry to the fuel cell. The team made all of the changes without losing another lap.
• The day went from bad to worse a mere 49 laps later when Kahne hit the wall between turns three and four, sustaining severe damage to the right side of the Budweiser Dodge. The team lost four laps making repairs during the caution. Kahne was in 34th position, six laps down to the leaders when green-flag racing finally resumed.
• The finish in Martinsville dropped Kahne two positions in the championship point standings to 11th, 439 points behind point leader Jimmie Johnson.
• Denny Hamlin scored the win in his home state of Virginia. Chase drivers made up seven of the top-10 finishers at Martinsville on Sunday.
• Johnson extended his lead in the championship point standings to 118 over Mark Martin who still sits second in the point standings.

Quotes from Kahne on his third-place finish:
“It definitely wasn’t our day. I can’t tell you what happened when our tire went down but the car just went around on me in turn three and I was in the wall. We had some pretty significant damage to the fuel cell area but the team was able to fix that. Then I just got loose a few laps later and up into the wall again. This hasn’t been a great track for us, so we need to work on that. It was a pretty frustrating day.”

The following is the finishing position of the other beverage-sponsored cars that participated in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 in Martinsville:

• Jamie McMurray and the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Team finished sixth
• Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, finished 11th
• Kurt Busch and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team finished 17th
• Casey Mears and the No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet team finished 18th
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, finished 29th
• Scott Speed, driver of the No. 82 Red Bull Toyota, finished 31st

The following is the finishing order of the other Richard Petty Motorsports cars at Martinsville:

• Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 19 Best Buy Dodge finished 21st
• Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. 43 McDonald’s Dodge finished 24th
• AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 44 Coleman Natural Foods Dodge finished 34th

Talladega Superspeedway hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series during Halloween weekend next week. The AMP Energy 500 is scheduled for a 12 noon CST start. Race coverage is scheduled to begin at 11a.m. with ABC providing the live television broadcast. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) is providing the live radio broadcast.