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2013 Aaron's 499

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2013 Aaron's 499
Race details[1][2]
Race 10 of 36 in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway
Date May 5, 2013 (2013-05-05)
Location Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance 192 laps, 510.72 mi (821.92 km)
Scheduled Distance 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Weather Variable clouds/scattered showers and thunderstorms with 60 °F (16 °C); wind out of the NNW at 7 miles per hour (11 km/h).
Average speed 148.729 mph (239.356 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Roush Fenway Racing
Time 47.958 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 142
Winner
No. 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds
Nielsen Ratings 4.6/10
7.3 (45 million viewers)

The 2013 Aaron's 499 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on May 5, 2013, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, United States. Contested over 192 laps on the 2.66–mile (4.28 km) tri-oval, it was the tenth race of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. David Ragan of Front Row Motorsports won the race, his second career Sprint Cup win. Teammate David Gilliland finished second, while Carl Edwards, Michael Waltrip, and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the Top 5.

The race weekend was marred by rain, with qualifying being rained out. During the race, the event was stopped for three hours due to the weather at the track. Edwards, Johnson and Matt Kenseth battled for the win, but on the green–white–checker finish, Ragan and Gilliland claimed the lead during the final lap.

Report

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, the track where the race was held.

Talladega Superspeedway is a four turn tri-oval track that is 2.66 miles (4.28 km) long.[3] The track's turns are banked at 33 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is 18 degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, is at only two degrees.[3] The racetrack has a seating capacity for 109,000 spectators.[3] Brad Keselowski was the defending race winner after winning the event during the 2012 race.[4]

Before the race, Jimmie Johnson was leading the Drivers' Championship with 343 points, while Carl Edwards stood in second with 300 points. Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. followed in the third and fourth position with 297 points each, seven ahead of Clint Bowyer in fifth. Keselowski, with 284, was in sixth; six points ahead of Kyle Busch. Eighth-placed Greg Biffle was one point ahead of Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard in ninth and tenth, and fourteen ahead of Aric Almirola in eleventh. Jamie McMurray completed the first twelve positions with 245 points.[5] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 64 points, five points ahead of Toyota. Ford was third after recording only 43 points during the first nine races.[6]

There were 45 cars on the initial entry list, though it was reduced to 44 after Mike Bliss withdrew. All but four teams had entered the first nine races of the season; Elliott Sadler was attempting his second race of the season, Trevor Bayne was attempting his third, while Scott Speed (six) and Michael McDowell (eight) were also part-timers attempting the race. Sadler had to qualify for the race on speed due to being too low in owners points.[7]

Practice and qualifying

Carl Edwards (pictured in 2012) was rewarded the pole position after rain showers cancelled qualifying.

Two practice sessions were held in preparation for the race; both on Friday, May 3. The first session lasted for 45 minutes, while second session was 60 minutes long.[8] During the first practice session, Edwards, for the Roush Fenway Racing team, was quickest ahead of Truex, Jr. in second and Marcos Ambrose in third.[9] Joey Logano was scored fourth, and Ryan Newman managed fifth.[9] Matt Kenseth was sixth, while Denny Hamlin and his relief driver Brian Vickers were scored seventh. Johnson.[9] Jeff Gordon, and Kahne rounded out the top ten quickest drivers in the session.[9]

Keselowski was quickest in the second and final practice session, ahead of David Stremme in second and Kahne in third.[10] Almirola was fourth quickest, and Travis Kvapil took fifth.[10] Tony Stewart, Gordon, McMurray, Bobby Labonte, and Edwards followed in the top ten.[10]

Qualifying was affected by wet weather soaking the track, therefore canceling the session and making first practice times determine the qualifying grid.[11] Edwards, after finishing the first practice in first, was rewarded the pole position.[11] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Truex, Jr.[11] Ambrose was third, Logano took fourth, and Newman started fifth.[11] Kenseth, Hamlin, Johnson, Gordon and Kahne rounded out the first ten positions.[11] The only driver who failed to qualify for the race was Elliott Sadler.[11]

Race summary

The green flag flew at 12:10 PM CDT (1:10 PM EST) Martin Truex, Jr. led the first five laps, but Matt Kenseth took the lead on lap six to begin his domination of the race. The first caution flew for fluid on the track on lap 23[12] after Trevor Bayne had blown an engine. During pit stops, Denny Hamlin climbed out of his car to surrender the rest of his day to Brian Vickers. Under NASCAR rules, Hamlin started the race and was credited with any results earned.[13]

The second caution flew on lap 43 for The Big One:[12] which occurred when Kyle Busch touched Kasey Kahne entering turn 1, and collected an additional twelve cars, including Truex, Vickers, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Marcos Ambrose, Jeff Burton, David Stremme, Kurt Busch, David Reutimann, Casey Mears, Scott Speed, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon. After the crash, Kyle Busch stated, "I was trying to go to the outside of him, but he just moved up in front of me and I wasn't expecting it. I tried to go to the outside of him and before I could get to the outside of him, I got in the back of him."[14]

Matt Kenseth continued to lead most of this stretch, with Jimmie Johnson close behind in second. On lap 124, the third caution flew for rain. Just before the caution, Kenseth and Johnson had been shuffled back by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and his teammate Carl Edwards. Edwards made a move for the lead and beat Stenhouse by one-half-an-inch for the lead when the third yellow came out. As the rain quickly intensified over the speedway, the red flag flew for 3 hours and 36 minutes as the track was dried.[15] The initial shower was brief, but just as the track was almost dried, a heavier thunderstorm soaked the speedway.

David Ragan won the race for Front Row Motorsports.

Hours later after the track was dried, the restart began and Kenseth regained the lead. The race ran green through a round of green-flag pit stops. Johnson took the lead after pit stops, hoping to become the first driver since himself in 2006 to win the Daytona 500 and the spring Talladega race in the same year. Kenseth, who had the best car, was in the mix as well, along with Edwards, Kurt Busch, Michael Waltrip, and Bowyer in a six-car breakaway. The fourth caution then came out on lap 175 when Michael McDowell hit the wall in turn 2.[12]

With ten laps left in the race, darkness was creeping in. On lap 182, the fifth caution of the race came out for a large crash on the backstretch. It started when Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. tried to squeeze between the outside wall and J.J. Yeley. Yeley got loose, shot across the track, turned across the front of Marcos Ambrose and into the right-rear of Kurt Busch, collecting another ten cars, including Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick, Terry Labonte, Clint Bowyer, McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Waltrip, David Stremme, Truex and Gordon. Busch took the worst hit as his car turned sideways, flipped over once and landed on top of Newman, then was struck by Bobby Labonte and Bowyer after landing back on the ground. It marked the first time the Gen-6 car had rolled over. When interviewed Newman angrily said to reporters that NASCAR should not have ordered them to race in the dark conditions by saying that if they could not finish the race in daylight, they should call it official.[16]

With two laps to go and with darkness imminent, NASCAR cancelled the three green-white-checker rule for the race and announced a decision to only have one attempt to finish under green, which it had also done the night before in the Nationwide race. On the restart, Kenseth, Johnson, and Edwards battled for the lead and their struggle allowed Front Row Motorsports drivers David Ragan and David Gilliland to slip by on the final lap. Ragan cleared the leaders in turn 3 and held off both Johnson, Gilliland, Edwards, and Michael Waltrip to take his second career win, his first since winning the 2011 Coke Zero 400. It was the first win in NASCAR for FRM.[15] With Ragan's teammate Gilliland finishing 2nd, Front Row Motorsports received a stunning 1–2 finish.

There were five cautions for 31 laps and 30 lead changes between 17 different drivers throughout the course of the race.[12] The race took seven hours to complete.[15]

Results

Qualifying

Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 47.958 199.675
2 56 Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 47.964 199.650
3 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47.974 199.608
4 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 47.977 199.596
5 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 47.990 199.542
6 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.008 199.467
7 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.044 199.317
8 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.067 199.222
9 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.188 198.722
10 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.202 198.664
11 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 48.216 198.606
12 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48.227 198.561
13 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.242 198.499
14 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 48.267 198.396
15 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 48.273 198.372
16 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.289 198.306
17 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48.324 198.612
18 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 48.373 197.962
19 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 48.455 197.627
20 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 48.459 197.610
21 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48.474 197.549
22 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 48.500 197.443
23 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 48.501 197.439
24 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.533 197.309
25 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 48.616 196.972
26 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 48.731 196.507
27 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 48.772 196.342
28 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.778 196.318
29 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.861 195.985
30 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48.892 195.860
31 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 48.900 195.828
32 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 49.012 195.381
33 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 49.083 195.098
34 51 Regan Smith Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 49.280 194.318
35 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 49.328 194.129
36 95 Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford 50.447 189.823
37 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 50.639 189.103
38 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 50.655 189.044
39 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 50.776 188.593
40 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 51.174 187.126
41 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 51.295 186.685
42 33 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 52.585 182.105
43 36 J.J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 53.864 177.781
Failed to Qualify
81 Elliott Sadler Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.302 190.370
Sources:[9][17]
  • Qualifying was canceled because of rain showers, prompting the grid to be set by first practice lap times.

Race results

Pos Grid Car Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 19 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 192 47
2 31 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 192 42
3 1 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 192 42
4 14 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 192 40
5 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 192 40
6 34 51 Regan Smith Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 192 –
7 2 56 Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 192 38
8 6 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 192 38
9 36 95 Scott Speed Leavine Family Racing Ford 192 36
10 18 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 192 35
11 9 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 192 34
12 27 30 David Stremme Swan Racing Toyota 192 32
13 21 17 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 192 32
14 3 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 192 30
15 11 2 Brad Keselowski Penske Racing Ford 192 30
16 40 7 Dave Blaney Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 192 28
17 12 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 192 27
18 20 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 192 26
19 26 35 Josh Wise Front Row Motorsports Ford 192 –
20 39 47 Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota 192 25
21 38 98 Michael McDowell Phil Parsons Racing Ford 191 23
22 42 33 Landon Cassill Circle Sport Chevrolet 191 22
23 28 1 Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 191 22
24 22 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Ford 189 20
25 30 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 189 19
26 16 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 19
27 25 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 187 17
28 29 31 Jeff Burton Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 187 17
29 37 32 Terry Labonte FAS Lane Racing Ford 185 15
30 33 78 Kurt Busch Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 182 15
31 43 36 J. J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 182 13
32 5 39 Ryan Newman Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 182 13
33 23 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 182 11
34 7 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 148 10
35 4 22 Joey Logano Penske Racing Ford 143 9
36 17 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 141 8
37 13 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 138 7
38 32 93 Travis Kvapil BK Racing Toyota 128 6
39 41 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO-Jay Robinson Racing Toyota 53 –
40 24 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 47 5
41 35 83 David Reutimann BK Racing Toyota 43 3
42 10 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 42 2
43 15 21 Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 –

Standings after the race

References

  1. ^ "2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  2. ^ Brown, Brian (May 1, 2013). "The Aaron's 499". Rotoworld.com. NBC Sports. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Talladega Superspeedway". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  4. ^ "2012 Aaron's 499". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  5. ^ "Pre-race Driver's Championship Classification" (PDF). Jayski's Silly Season Site. 2013-04-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  6. ^ "Manufacturer's Championship Classification". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  7. ^ "Talladega Entry List". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  8. ^ "2013 Aaron's 499 Race Information". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Aaron's 499 1st Practice Speeds". Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on May 6, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  10. ^ a b c "Aaron's 499 Final Practice Speeds". Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Rain washes out Talladega qualifying". NASCAR. May 4, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d "2013 Aaron's 499". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  13. ^ Associated Press (May 5, 2013). "Denny Hamlin starts at Talladega". ESPN. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  14. ^ Gluck, Jeff (May 5, 2013). "'Big one' hits early at Talladega with 16-car pileup". USA Today. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  15. ^ a b c Associated Press (May 5, 2013). "Ragan steals last-lap Talladega win". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  16. ^ Associated Press (May 6, 2013). "David Ragan steals win at Talladega". ESPN. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  17. ^ "2013 Aaron's 499 Starting Lineup". Motor Racing Network. May 4, 2013. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2013.


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