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Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Dickies 500 Preview

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Date: Sunday, November 8th

Start Time: 3:31 p.m. (et)

Site: Texas Motor Speedway (1997) -- Fort Worth, Texas

Track: 1.5-mile oval

Laps: 334

Miles: 501

Capacity: 138,122 (Grandstand seating)

Total purse: $7,359,286 (Payout represent 2008 figures)

Payouts: 1st Place - $496,300; 2nd Place - $389,961; 3rd Place - $228,025

Year: 5th

On TV: ABC

Announcers: Dr. Jerry Punch, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree

On Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN)/SIRIUS XM Satellite

Race record: Carl Edwards, 2005 (151.055 m.p.h.)

Qualifying record: Brian Vickers, 2006 (196.235 m.p.h.)

2008 Finish

Defending champion: Carl Edwards

Runner up: Jeff Gordon

Pole winner: Jeff Gordon (188.469 m.p.h.)

Top 10:

1. Carl Edwards (Start: 16)

2. Jeff Gordon (1)

3. Jamie McMurray (4)

4. Clint Bowyer (3)

5. Greg Biffle (19)

6. Kyle Busch (29)

7. Kevin Harvick (23)

8. Martin Truex Jr (2)

9. Matt Kenseth (6)

10. David Reutimann (12)

Average speed: 144.219 m.p.h.

Time of race: 3 hours, 28 minutes, 26 seconds

Margin of victory: 8.310 seconds

Caution flags: 5 for 26 laps

Lead changes: 16 among 9 drivers

Past winners

2008 Carl Edwards, Ford, 144.219 m.p.h.

2007 Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 131.219 m.p.h.

2006 Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 134.891 m.p.h.

2005 Carl Edwards, Ford, 151.055 m.p.h. (race record)

Last race

Race: AMP Energy 500 (November 1st)

Site: Talladega Superspeedway -- Talladega, Alabama

Miles: 508.06

Laps: 191

Finish line order: Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton

Time of Race: 3 hours, 13 minutes, 54 seconds

Average speed: 157.213 m.p.h.

Margin of victory: Under Caution

Caution flags: 6 for 23 laps

Lead changes: 58 among 25 drivers

Lap leaders: J. Johnson 0; M. Martin 1; Kurt Busch 2-8; C. Edwards 9; D.J. Johnson 0; M. Martin 1; Kurt Busch 2-8; C. Edwards 9; D.Reutimann 10; C. Edwards 11; D. Reutimann 12-16; J. Gordon 17-21;C. Mears 22-41; D. Earnhardt Jr. 42; E. Sadler 43-46; J. Burton47; R. Newman 48; T. Stewart 49; M. Waltrip 50-51; E. Sadler52-57; D. Hamlin 58; E. Sadler 59; D. Earnhardt Jr. 60-61; D.Hamlin 62; K. Harvick 63-88; D. Earnhardt Jr. 89; J. Montoya 90;K. Harvick 91; M. Martin 92-97; M. Ambrose 98-99; D. Hamlin100-105; J. Andretti 106; D. Hamlin 107-108; R. Gordon 109-110;J. Burton 111; J. Gordon 112-113; R. Gordon 114; J. Logano # 115;D. Earnhardt Jr. 116-118; D. Hamlin 119; Kyle Busch 120-122; R.Newman 123-124; Kyle Busch 125; J. Burton 126; J. Gordon 127-130;D. Stremme 131-135; B. Keselowski 136-139; J. Andretti 140; B.Keselowski 141-143; J. Gordon 144; K. Harvick 145; M. Truex Jr.146; K. Kahne 147; E. Sadler 148; J. Montoya 149-150; J. Burton151; J. McMurray 152; M. Ambrose 153; J. McMurray 154-167; D.Earnhardt Jr. 168-169; J. McMurray 170-175; D. Stremme 176-180;J. McMurray 181-191.

Entry list

#00 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine

#1 Martin Truex Jr (Mayetta, NJ) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops

#02 David Gilliland (Torrance, CA) Toyota/Farm Bureau

#2 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Dodge/Miller Lite

#5 Mark Martin (Batesville, AR) Chevrolet/Kellogg's/CARQUEST

#6 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/UPS Boys & Girls Club

#07 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Jack Daniel's

#7 Robby Gordon (Orange, CA) Toyota/Mapei

#08 Derrike Cope (Spanaway, WA) Toyota/TBA

#09 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Dodge/Miccosukee Gaming&Resorts

#9 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Dodge/Budweiser

#11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Office

#12 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Dodge/Penske Racing

#13 Max Papis (Como, Italy) Toyota/GEICO

#14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Office Depot

#16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M/Super 33 Tape

#17 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Ford/DeWalt

#18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's

#19 Elliott Sadler (Emporia, VA) Dodge/Stanley

#20 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Toyota/Home Depot

#21 Bill Elliott (Dawsonville, GA) Ford/Motorcraft

#24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/DuPont

#26 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Ford/Crown Royal

#29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Shell/Pennzoil

#31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Caterpillar

#33 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Chevrolet/Cheerios/Hamb. Helper

#34 John Andretti (Indianapolis, IN) Chevrolet/Taco Bell

#36 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Toyota/Wave Energy Drink

#37 Tony Raines (LaPorte, IN) Chevrolet/Long John Silver's

#39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/Stewart Haas Racing

#42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target

#43 Reed Sorenson (Peachtree City, GA) Dodge/Valvoline

#44 AJ Allmendinger (Los Gatos, CA) Dodge/TBA

#47 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Toyota/Little Debbie/Kingsford

#48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's/Kobalt Tools

#55 Michael Waltrip (Owensboro, KY) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts

#66 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Toyota/Denny Hamlin Foundation

#70 Mike Skinner (Susanville, CA) Chevrolet/TRG Motorsports

#71 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Chevrolet/TRG Motorsports

#77 Sam Hornish Jr (Defiance, OH) Dodge/AAA

#78 Regan Smith (Cato, NY) Chevrolet/Furniture Row Racing

#82 Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) Toyota/Red Bull

#83 Brian Vickers (Thomasville, NC) Toyota/Red Bull

#87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/NEMCO Motorsports

#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/Amp Energy/Nat'l Guard

#96 Erik Darnell (Beach Park, FL) Ford/Academy Sports & Outdoors

#98 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Ford/Menards/Vertis

#99 * Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/AFLAC

Leading contenders

Name	2005	2006	2007	2008
Carl Edwards	Won	15th	26th	Won
Jeff Gordon	14th	9th	7th	2nd
Greg Biffle	20th	35th	33rd	5th
Kyle Busch	21st	4th	4th	6th
Matt Kenseth	3rd	12th	2nd	9th
Mark Martin	2nd	22nd	34th	12th
Jimmie Johnson	5th	2nd	Won	15th
Tony Stewart	6th	Won	11th	16th
Denny Hamlin	7th	10th	29th	17th
Brian Vickers	19th	27th	23rd	18th
Dale Earnhardt Jr	8th	6th	14th	20th
Kasey Kahne	42nd	33rd	18th	24th
Ryan Newman	25th	34th	5th	28th
Kurt Busch	10th	8th	8th	41st
Juan Pablo Montoya			25th	43rd

Notes

With only three races remaining, Jimmie Johnson owns a 184-pointadvantage over Mark Martin and stands 192 clear of Jeff Gordon. Johnson hasbeen red hot during the Chase for the Sprint Cup, recording seven straighttop-10 finishes, including three wins. After starting on the pole last week,Johnson placed sixth and increased his lead over Martin by 66 points andpadded his advantage over Gordon by 42.Last year, Carl Edwards raced to victory at Texas Motor Speedway, as he easilydefeated pole sitter Gordon by over eight seconds. Edwards, who started 16thon the grid, led five times for 212 laps, as he posted his 15th career SprintCup title. Edwards has won just once since last season and stands 10th on thepoints list.In 2007, current points leader Jimmie Johnson avenged his runner-up finish theprevious season with a victory over Matt Kenseth for his ninth win of thatcampaign. Johnson won by 0.944 of a second, as he recorded win number 32 of 46career titles. Johnson reclaimed the lead with just three laps remaining toovertake Kenseth. Pole sitter Martin Truex Jr finished third, while Kyle Buschplaced fourth after leading for a race-high 153 laps.In 2006, Tony Stewart clipped Johnson by less than a second for his29th career Sprint Cup title. Stewart, who now has 37 victories to his credit,started eighth on the grid and led for a race-high 278 laps. Pole sitter BrianVickers led for only five laps and finished 27th. Stewart reclaimed the leadon lap 324 for the eighth time and edged out Johnson by 0.272 of a second.This and That from Texas Motor Speedway: The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race atTexas was on April 6, 1997. There have been 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racesat Texas Motor Speedway, one per season 1997 through 2004 and two races peryear since 2005. Four drivers have competed in all 17 Texas races: JeffBurton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin. Matt Kenseth started 31sten route to his victory at Texas in 2002, the deepest in the field that a racewinner has started.The Grand Marshal for this week's race will be the rock band, ZZ Top. The trioof Busty Hill, Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard will give the command for thedrivers to start their engines.The pole sitter has never won this race and in the 17 previous races at TexasMotor Speedway, only once has the top position crossed the finish line first(Kasey Kahne, April 2006). 13 of the 17 races have been won from a top-10starting position.Back in 2005, Carl Edwards won for the fourth time that year, as he sneakedpast Mark Martin by less than a second. Edwards, who led five times for atotal of 82 laps, reclaimed the lead on the second-to-last lap for the win.Pole sitter Ryan Newman finished 25th, while lap leader Matt Kenseth, who ledthree times for 149 laps, finished third.The second-to-last race in the "Chase for Sprint Cup" championship takes placeNovember 15 at Phoenix International Raceway. Jimmie Johnson won last year'sChecker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500.11/03 19:22:49 ET