More than 27% of this race was contested under a caution flag and green flags only lasted about seven laps on average. While
accidents and
debris were rare; cars were known to spin into hazardous conditions and the need for full-course cautions were given out alongside the "local" cautions usually found at events that are not considered to be
oval tracks. While
Alex Tagliani and
Sam Hornish Jr. were the main competitors for the lead in the first seven laps of the race, the final 54 laps of the race would be a five-way struggle to win the race. Notable drivers like
Jacques Villeneuve,
Elliott Sadler, Alex Tagliani and
Justin Allgaier would be the drivers to beat.
Daryl Harr ended up scoring his best career finish and only lead lap finish at this race. After three hours and seven minutes of racing, Justin Allgaier defeated Sam Hornish Jr. by nearly four-thousandths of a second in front of a live audience of sixty thousand people. Actual racing began at approximately 2:49 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time and ended at approximately 5:56 PM EDT. Villeneuve was running out of
gas in the final lap of this racing event and would have needed luck to win the race. Villeneuve said when interviewed that he was not out of gas, but that Justin Allgaier won by shoving him around and said that he should have won the race; Allgaier showed no regrets afterwards, pointing out that Villeneuve had done a similar move on his Turner teammate
Alex Tagliani to retake the lead.
Danica Patrick was leading a good deal of laps and had a decent chance to win the race. A good finish wasn't in the cards, however, as someone threw a shoe on the track for some reason. Patrick hit the shoe, which came apart on impact, and the rogue footwear broke something under her car causing her to fall back and eventually have to pit for repairs, losing laps and any chance at even scoring a top-20 finish.
Jeff Green would be the last-place finisher due to a bad vibration in his vehicle on the second lap of this 81-lap race.
Brian Scott,
Michael Annett, and
Patrick Carpentier were promising drivers that ended up finishing in the middle of the pack. Besides Allgaier and Hornish Jr., the other finishers in the "top ten" were Jacques Villeneuve, Elliott Sadler,
Ron Fellows,
Michael McDowell,
Mike Wallace,
Billy Johnson,
Austin Dillon, and
Kyle Busch. There were 43 drivers on the grid;
Ryan Ellis was the only driver who didn't qualify for this race. His inadequate maximum speed of would be relatively slow even when qualifying for a road course event. Competitors for this race came from three different countries including:
Canada, the
United States of America, and
Australian-born
Kenny Habul.
Qualifying Prize summary While last-place finisher Jeff Green walked away with an insignificant $19,392 in
American dollars ($ when adjusted for inflation), Justin Allgaier was justly rewarded for his victory by a payout bonus of $94,318 American dollars ($ when adjusted for inflation). ==Timeline==