2011 Ford 400

2011 Ford 400
Race details
Race 36 of 36 in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
	The 2011 Ford 400 program cover, featuring Carl Edwards.
Date	November 20, 2011
Location	Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida
Course	Permanent racing facility; 1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance	267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching an average of 77.3 °F (25.2 °C); wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Average speed	114.976 miles per hour (185.036 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Carl Edwards;
Time	30.775
Most laps led
Driver	Carl Edwards
Laps	119
Winner
No. 14	Tony Stewart
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree

The 2011 Ford 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series motor race that was held on November 20, 2011, at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. It was the thirty-sixth and final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.^[2] The event aired on ESPN and Motor Racing Network. Carl Edwards entered the event with a three-point lead over Tony Stewart in the championship standings. Edwards won the pole and finished second, while Stewart won the race. This left the two drivers tied atop the standings, and Stewart was awarded the title on the tiebreaker of most wins (five to one).

This race also marked Geoffrey Bodine's final career start. This was also the final race for Red Bull Racing Team.

Map of Homestead-Miami Speedway. Gray dashed lines are other courses. Grey solid line is another pit road option.

Background

Entry list
#	Driver	Team	Make	Sponsor
00	David Reutimann	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine
1	Jamie McMurray	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Boats
2	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Dodge	Miller Lite
4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	Red Bull
5	Mark Martin	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Quaker State
6	David Ragan	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	UPS My Choice
7	Reed Sorenson	Robby Gordon Motorsports	Dodge	Speed Energy, MAPEI
9	Marcos Ambrose	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	Stanley Tools, DeWalt Tools
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	FedEx Express
13	Casey Mears	Germain Racing	Toyota	Hard Rock Vodka
14	Tony Stewart	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	Office Depot, Mobil 1
16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	3M Novec
17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	Crown Royal
18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	Interstate Batteries
20	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	The Home Depot
21	Trevor Bayne	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	Motorcraft, Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
22	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing	Dodge	Shell, Pennzoil
24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger, AARP
27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Menards, Duracell
29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Budweiser
30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports	Chevrolet	Inception Motorsports
31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Caterpillar
32	T. J. Bell	FAS Lane Racing	Ford	Green Smoke
33	Clint Bowyer	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	Cheerios, Hamburger Helper
34	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	Front Row Motorsports
35	Dave Blaney	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	Golden Corral
36	Geoff Bodine	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	Luke & Associates, Inc.
37	Mike Skinner	Max Q Motorsports	Ford	Koma Unwind
38	Travis Kvapil	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	Long John Silver's "We Speak Fish"
39	Ryan Newman	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	U.S. Army
42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	Target
43	A.J. Allmendinger	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	Best Buy
46	Scott Speed	Whitney Motorsports	Ford	Green Stuff Absorbent, Anchor Texts
47	Bobby Labonte	JTG Daugherty Racing	Toyota	Reese Towpower
48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	Lowe's
51	Landon Cassill	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet	Security Benefit, Thank a Teacher Today
55	J.J. Yeley	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	Ingersoll Rand
56	Martin Truex Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts
66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing	Toyota	HP Racing
71	Mike Bliss	TRG Motorsports	Chevrolet	School Media
78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	Furniture Row, Denver Mattress
83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	Red Bull
84	Cole Whitt	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	Kangaroo Express
87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Chevrolet	AM FM Energy, Pellet & Wood Stoves
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	National Guard, AMP Energy
92	Scott Riggs	K-Automotive Motorsports	Chevrolet	BBI Waste Industries, Melling Engine Parts
93	Grant Enfinger	Sinica Motorsports	Chevrolet	Hewes Concrete Polishing
99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	Aflac

Race report

Practice and qualifying

Two practice sessions were held. They were originally scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, November 18, but were moved to Saturday morning after Friday's schedule was washed out by rain.^[3] The first practice session was paced by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a quick lap of 31.179 seconds for an average speed of 173.193 miles per hour (278.727 km/h). Championship contenders Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart were second and fifteenth on the chart, respectively.^[4] The second session was led by Edwards, whose quickest lap of the session was 31.556 seconds or 171.124 miles per hour (275.397 km/h). Stewart managed only 28th, over a half second slower than Edwards.^[5]

Qualifying was held Saturday afternoon.^[3] Edwards claimed the pole position with a lap of 30.775 seconds or 175.467 miles per hour (282.387 km/h). Martin Truex Jr. qualified second, while Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five. Stewart was ranked 15th.^[6]

Race summary

After pre-race ceremonies and pace laps, the green flag waved to start the race at 3:20 p.m. ET. Edwards immediately took the lead, claiming a bonus point toward the championship, while Stewart began working his way through the field, moving into the top ten by lap 11. The caution flag waved for the first time on lap 13 as a light rain began falling. During the ensuing round of pit stops, both Edwards and Stewart took two tires; Edwards retained the lead, while Stewart came out of the pits in eighth place. Three laps later, Stewart returned to pit road for repairs to his car's grille, leaving him in 40th place for the restart on lap 22. Stewart worked his way up to 27th within seven laps, and when a debris caution waved on lap 34, bragged over the radio that he was going to come back and win the race. The field hit pit road, and Edwards slipped to third position while Stewart's crew took extra time to work his car, sacrificing many of the positions gained since the first restart.^[7]

The race was restarted on lap 37, and Edwards returned to the lead on lap 48, while Stewart charged through the field, working his way up to 12th by lap 68. During this run, the car of Edwards's Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Marcos Ambrose, developed engine problems, losing a cylinder. Green-flag pit stops began on lap 76. Steward pitted on lap 79, and Edwards hit pit road one lap later. Both took four tires and adjustments. The caution flew again on lap 83 as David Ragan, Edwards's teammate at Roush Fenway Racing, blew his engine. Edwards retook the lead when the final pitstops of the cycle were made under yellow, while Stewart took the lap 87 restart in 10th place.^[7] Stewart climbed to fifth by the time the race was stopped for rain after 109 laps.^[8]

The rain delay lasted slightly over an hour, and the race resumed under the yellow flag at approximately 6:00 pm ET. After pit stops, Edwards restarted third, with Stewart right beside him in fourth. Stewart immediately took second and moved into the lead six laps later, claiming the lap leader bonus point for himself as well. The caution waved for debris on lap 133, and both championship contenders lost positions on pit stops. After a restart and another quick caution, Edwards restarted third, Stewart from ninth. Edwards dropped back and was passed by Stewart one lap later. On lap 142, the caution flew again when Jimmie Johnson spun at turn 4. Stewart took the lead by the time the caution waved again on lap 154. A slow pit stop dropped Stewart to ninth on the restart, and he quickly began moving back up. Stewart bumped Edwards as the two were racing for third position, prompting NASCAR officials to tell Stewart to cut it out. Edwards moved back into the lead on lap 176 as Stewart moved into third. By the time green-flag pit stops began on lap 190, Edwards had clinched a second bonus point for leading the most laps.^[7]

Edwards pitted on lap 202, while Stewart gambled on fuel mileage by not pitting until lap 212, hoping to make that his last stop. One lap later, the yellow flew again for rain with Edwards in the lead. Edwards pitted again under the yellow, taking two tires and topping off his fuel tank so that he too could go the rest of the way. Officials finally declared the track dry and restarted the race on lap 231 with Stewart in third place. With fresher tires than the cars in front of him, Stewart needed only one lap to retake the lead. Edwards moved into second three laps later, but could not catch Stewart as a result of Stewart having fresher left-side tires.^[7] Stewart won the race, with Edwards second, Truex Jr. third, Matt Kenseth fourth, and Jeff Gordon fifth.^[8]

Results

Qualifying

Carl Edwards scored the pole position.

No.	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Time	Speed	Grid
99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	30.775	175.467	1
56	Martin Truex Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	30.891	174.808	2
4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	30.931	174.582	3
22	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing	Dodge	30.942	174.520	4
2	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Dodge	30.947	174.492	5
17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	30.950	174.475	6
24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	30.957	174.436	7
16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	31.015	174.109	8
48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.017	174.098	9
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	31.040	173.969	10
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.051	173.907	11
43	A. J. Allmendinger	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	31.082	173.734	12
6	David Ragan	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	31.092	173.678	13
39	Ryan Newman	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	31.147	173.371	14
14	Tony Stewart	Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	31.154	173.333	15
78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	31.156	173.321	16
33	Clint Bowyer	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	31.164	173.277	17
9	Marcos Ambrose	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	31.165	173.271	18
18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	31.169	173.249	19
21	Trevor Bayne	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	31.185	173.160	20
29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	31.186	173.155	21
51	Landon Cassill	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet	31.197	173.094	22
27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	31.199	173.083	23
83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	31.220	172.966	24
5	Mark Martin	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.234	172.889	25
1	Jamie McMurray	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	31.268	172.701	26
42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	31.276	172.656	27
00	David Reutimann	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	31.318	172.425	28
84	Cole Whitt	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	31.324	172.392	29
55	J. J. Yeley	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	31.397	171.991	30
31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	31.428	171.821	31
20	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	31.453	171.685	32
66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing	Toyota	31.568	171.059	33
35	Dave Blaney	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	31.574	171.027	34
47	Bobby Labonte	JTG Daugherty Racing	Toyota	31.601	170.881	35
30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports	Chevrolet	31.601	170.881	36
87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Toyota	31.657	170.578	37
34	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	31.738	170.143	38
13	Casey Mears	Germain Racing	Toyota	31.778	169.929	39
38	Travis Kvapil	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	31.919	169.178	40
32	T. J. Bell	FAS Lane Racing	Ford	32.199	167.707	41
36	Geoffrey Bodine	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	33.161	162.842	42
71	Mike Bliss	TRG Motorsports	Ford	31.776	169.940	43
Failed to qualify
46	Scott Speed	Whitney Motorsports	Ford	31.853	169.529
7	Reed Sorenson	Robby Gordon Motorsports	Dodge	31.885	169.359
37	Mike Skinner	Max Q Motorsports	Ford	32.031	168.587
92	Scott Riggs	K-Automotive Motorsports	Chevrolet	32.186	167.775
93	Grant Enfinger	Sinica Motorsports	Chevrolet	32.568	165.807
Source:^[6]

Race results

Tony Stewart won the race and his third Cup Series championship title.

Pos	Grid	Car	Driver	Team	Manufacturer	Laps	Points
1	15	14	Tony Stewart	Stewart Haas Racing	Chevrolet	267	47
2	1	99	Carl Edwards	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	267	44
3	2	56	Martin Truex, Jr.	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	267	42
4	6	17	Matt Kenseth	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	267	41
5	7	24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	40
6	17	33	Clint Bowyer	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	267	38
7	3	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	267	37
8	21	29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	267	37
9	10	11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	35
10	31	31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	267	35
11	11	88	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	267	33
12	14	39	Ryan Newman	Stewart Haas Racing	Chevrolet	267	32
13	16	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing	Chevrolet	267	31
14	26	1	Jamie McMurray	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	267	30
15	12	43	A. J. Allmendinger	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	267	29
16	23	27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	267	28
17	24	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	267	27
18	28	00	David Reutimann	Michael Waltrip Racing	Toyota	267	26
19	32	20	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	267	25
20	5	2	Brad Keselowski	Penske Racing	Dodge	266	25
21	43	71	Mike Bliss	TRG Motorsports	Ford	266	0
22	40	38	Travis Kvapil	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	266	0
23	19	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	266	22
24	25	5	Mark Martin	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	266	20
25	20	21	Trevor Bayne	Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	266	0
26	39	13	Casey Mears	Germain Racing	Toyota	266	18
27	35	47	Bobby Labonte	JTG Daugherty Racing	Toyota	266	17
28	34	35	Dave Blaney	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	265	16
29	41	32	T. J. Bell	FAS Lane Racing	Ford	265	15
30	42	36	Geoffrey Bodine	Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	263	14
31	27	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Earnhardt Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	261	14
32	9	48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	261	13
33	38	34	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	245	12
34	4	22	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing	Dodge	220	10
35	8	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	190	10
36	22	51	Landon Cassill	Phoenix Racing	Chevrolet	153	0
37	29	84	Cole Whitt	Red Bull Racing Team	Toyota	153	0
38	13	6	David Ragan	Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	81	6
39	18	9	Marcos Ambrose	Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	72	5
40	37	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports	Toyota	29	0
41	30	55	J. J. Yeley	Front Row Motorsports	Ford	25	3
42	36	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports	Chevrolet	14	2
43	33	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing	Toyota	13	1
Source:^[9]

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings^[10]

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Tony Stewart^[note]	2,403
2	Carl Edwards	2,403
3	Kevin Harvick	2,345
4	Matt Kenseth	2,330
5	Brad Keselowski	2,319

^ Stewart won the championship on the first tiebreaker by virtue of having five wins, all in the Chase, to Edwards's one at Las Vegas three races in.
Note: Only the Top 5 positions are included for the driver standings.

Manufacturers' Championship standings^[11]

Pos	Manufacturer	Points
1	Chevrolet	248
2	Ford	195
3	Toyota	187
4	Dodge	162

References and notes

^ Weather information for the 2011 Ford 400at The Old Farmers' Almanac. Accessed 2013-06-21. 2013-07-05.
^ NASCAR.COM - Big changes coming for Sprint Cup schedule August 6, 2010
^ ^a ^b Rodman, Dave. "Rain keeps Cup off track; practices rescheduled". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
^ "Practice 1 Speeds". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
^ "Practice 2 Speeds". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Race Lineup". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Lap-by-Lap: Homestead". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Homestead comeback completes Chase comeback". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
^ "2011 Official Race Results : Ford 400". NASCAR. November 20, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
^ "2011 Official Driver Standings: Ford 400". NASCAR. November 20, 2011. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
^ "2011 Manufacturer Standings". NASCAR. Retrieved November 25, 2011.

Previous race: 2011 Kobalt Tools 500	Sprint Cup Series 2011 season	Next race: 2012 Daytona 500

[race_weather-1] Weather information for the 2011 Ford 400at The Old Farmers' Almanac. Accessed 2013-06-21. 2013-07-05.

[2] NASCAR.COM - Big changes coming for Sprint Cup schedule August 6, 2010

[schedule-3] Rodman, Dave. "Rain keeps Cup off track; practices rescheduled". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.

[4] "Practice 1 Speeds". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.

[5] "Practice 2 Speeds". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.

[lineup-6] "Race Lineup". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.

[lapbylap-7] "Lap-by-Lap: Homestead". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.

[nascarstory-8] "Homestead comeback completes Chase comeback". NASCAR. Retrieved November 21, 2011.

[results-9] "2011 Official Race Results : Ford 400". NASCAR. November 20, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.

[driverstandingspostrace-10] "2011 Official Driver Standings: Ford 400". NASCAR. November 20, 2011. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2011.

[mfstandingspostrace-11] "2011 Manufacturer Standings". NASCAR. Retrieved November 25, 2011.

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