2009 Lenox Industrial Tools 301

, where the race was held. The 2009 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 was the 17th of 36 scheduled stock car races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on June 28, 2009, in Loudon, New Hampshire, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, The New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a four-turn oval track. Its turns are banked at two to seven degrees; both the front stretch (the finish line) and the back stretch are banked at one degree. Chevrolet led the Manufacturers' Championship with 120 points, 35 points ahead of Toyota in second place. Third-placed Ford had 77 points, and was seven points in front of Dodge in the fourth position. Kurt Busch was the race's defending champion. Ahead of the event, the organizers expanded the track's infield section to make more than 400 percent usable land available. Safety changes increased the track's catch fences near the grandstands to more than high with the installation of wheel fence arch posts. Six strands of , high-strength cable supported its lower section, and sixteen strands of cable composed the upper section. Ted Christopher, a driver who had last started a Cup Series race in the 2006 season, would attempt to qualify for Kirk Shelmerdine Racing. It would be his first time driving the Car of Tomorrow; he had previously competed for the team in three previous races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Christopher said he was looking forward to compete in the event and was asked by team owner Kirk Shelmerdine to undergo a seat fitting, "I went over to see him last weekend when I was [in North Carolina]. He said come over and try the seat in the car. It fit good and he called me on Monday and said they he [sic] had got a sponsor and wanted me to run his car. I'm looking forward to it. I think I've made the race for him every time we've tried to qualify at New Hampshire." == Practice and qualifying ==

Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, the second 50 minutes, and the third 60 minutes. During the session, Stewart lost control of his car, and crashed into the wall at turn two, causing heavy damage to the rear of his car. due to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, 43 could race. Each driver ran two laps, with pole position to 42nd determined by the competitor's fastest speeds. 43rd position was awarded to the most recent series champion or the next fastest qualifier. Stewart had his second pole position at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The three drivers who did not qualify were Dexter Bean, Christopher and Mike Wallace; Regan Smith qualified 43rd after Wallace's team withdrew from the event. On Saturday morning, Later that day, Qualifying results == Race ==

Live television coverage of the race began at 12:30 p.m. EDT in the United States on TNT. Billy Mauldin, the President and CEO of Motor Racing Outreach began pre-race ceremonies by giving the invocation. The winner of a sponsored sweepstakes competition Pete Dingeman commanded the drivers to start their engines. Jeff Gordon passed Stewart on the outside at the exit of the second turn. The race restarted on lap 20, with Jeff Gordon passing Kurt Busch on the outside lane at the fourth turn to retake the lead. its carcass tore through his car's sheet metal, and he spun near the pit road entrance. Labonte led laps 238 to 247 before he made his pit stop, promoting Newman to first place. As Logano was due to make his final pit stop on lap 278, rain showers necessitated the eleventh caution on lap 266. The race was stopped for a second time on lap 273 out of a scheduled 301. Logano bested Kyle Busch's record of 20 years, four months, and two days in the 2005 Sony HD 500 at Auto Club Speedway. Jeff Gordon finished second, Kurt Busch third, Reutimann fourth, and Stewart fifth. Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., Johnson and Kahne completed the top ten. There were 21 lead changes among 14 drivers during the race. Johnson's 93 laps lead was more than any other driver. Logano led once for a total of ten laps. Since NASCAR began implementing a television network contract in 2001, the start times of most daytime races were moved to begin later in the day. Kurt Busch said having a consistent start time for races would have potentially allowed competitors to complete all the event's scheduled laps, "If we had a consistent time for our races, that would be better for our fans. That would create more viewership knowing that they knew when to find the race." Vickers stated Kyle Busch should have been disqualified after he reviewed video footage of the accident in the care center, "That's the second week in a row that stupidity has cost us a race, and it's frustrating." Stewart continued to lead the Drivers' Championship with 2,524 points, Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship with 126 points. Toyota followed in second with 94 points. With 80 points, Ford was ahead of Dodge in fourth with 74 points. The race had a television audience of 5.555 million. It took two hours, 57 minutes, and 45 seconds to complete; because it concluded under caution, no margin of victory was recorded. Race results == Standings after the race ==

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings • Note: Only the top twelve positions are included for the driver standings. == References ==