Pepsi 500
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| Venue | Auto Club Speedway |
| Corporate sponsor | Pepsi |
| First race | 2004 |
| Distance | 500 miles (805 km) |
| Number of laps | 250 |
| Previous names | Pop Secret 500 (2004)
Sony HD 500 (2005–2006) Sharp AQUOS 500 (2007) |
The Pepsi 500 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held annually at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It is the second of two Sprint Cup Series races held at the Auto Club Speedway (the other being the Auto Club 500) and as of 2009 is run in October as part of the Chase for the Sprint Cup[1].
The event was first held in 2004, added as part of the NASCAR Realignment, and many race fans have not embraced its introduction. From its inception until 2008 the race was run on Labor Day weekend, which was previously the traditional date of the Southern 500 at Darlington, and in the Inland Empire in the 1970's, the former California 500 United States Auto Club Marlboro Championship Trail race. The 2005 race was famous for Kyle Busch becoming the youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner ever(then known as the NEXTEL Cup Series).
As part of the most recent round of realignment in NASCAR Auto Club Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and Atlanta Motor Speedway agreed to switch dates, with the Atlanta race moving from its traditional fall date to Labor Day weekend and becoming known as the Labor Day Classic 500. The realignment returns the Labor Day weekend race to the southern United States and gives California its first late season race since the final running of the Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway in 1987. The AMP Energy 500 at Talladega will move into the race date vacated by Atlanta, with the Pepsi 500 moving into Talladega's former October date.
The Pepsi 500 name was used in August 2008, with Pepsi taking title sponsorship from Sharp. This announcement was made via the California Speedway website, Pepsi has been the official soft drink sponsor of the speedway since 1997, despite Coca Cola's deal with most other ISC tracks, which began in 2008 and is being phased in over a multi-year period.
Parts of the film Herbie: Fully Loaded were filmed during the 2004 race.
[edit] Past winners
| Year | Date | Driver | Car Make | Winner's Prize (USD) |
Distance (miles) |
Average Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop Secret 500 | ||||||
| 2004 | September 5, 2004 |  Elliott Sadler |
Ford | $279,398 | 500 | 128.324 |
| Sony HD 500 | ||||||
| 2005 | September 4, 2005 |  Kyle Busch |
Chevrolet | $241,065 | 508 [2] | 136.356 |
| 2006 | September 3, 2006 |  Kasey Kahne |
Dodge | $279,214 | 500 | 144.462 |
| Sharp AQUOS 500 | ||||||
| 2007 | September 2, 2007 |  Jimmie Johnson |
Chevrolet | $289,411 | 500 | 131.502 |
| Pepsi 500 | ||||||
| 2008 | August 31, 2008 | Jimmie Johnson |
Chevrolet | $314,611 | 500 | 138.857 |
| 2009 || October 11, 2009 ||
[edit] Manufacturer wins
| Rank | Manufacturer | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 2 | Ford | 1 |
| 2 | Dodge | 1 |
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=3543062
- ^ Race extended to 254 laps / 508 miles due to green/white/checker where Kyle Busch became the youngest Nextel Cup Series Race winner.
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