2010 Kobalt Tools 500 (Phoenix)
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The 2010 Kobalt Tools 500 was a
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Sprint Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
stock car Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
race that was held on November 14, 2010, at
Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
in Avondale,
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. Contested over 312 laps, it was the thirty-fifth, and the ninth race in the
Chase for the Sprint Cup The NASCAR playoffs is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as 'The Chase for the Championship' on January 21, 2004, and was used exclusively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2015. Si ...
during the
2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 62nd season of Sprint Cup Series, professional stock car racing in the United States, the 39th modern-era cup series, and the first Cup season of the 2010s, the 21st century's second decade. Beginning ...
season. The race was won by
Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. 9 ...
, for the
Roush Fenway Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Politics *Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana *J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of: ** J. Edward Roush Lake, a rese ...
team. Ryan Newman finished second, and
Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...
clinched third.
Pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
driver Edwards maintained his lead on the first lap to begin the race, as Newman, who started in the second position on the
grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Common usage * Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road * Grid reference, used to define a location on a map Arts, entertainment, and media * News g ...
, remained behind him. On the seventh lap,
Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...
became the leader of the race. Hamlin, the points leader before the race, led the most laps with a total of 190. On lap 298, Hamlin made a pit stop and became a lap behind. He didn't return to the first ten positions afterward. Edwards maintained the lead to win the race. There were five cautions and 14 lead changes among six different drivers throughout the course of the race. It was Edwards' first win in the 2010 season, and the 18th of his career. The result kept Edwards in fourth in the Drivers' Championship, 264 points behind
Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and oper ...
and 47 ahead of
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
.
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, 42 points ahead of
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
and 88 ahead of
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
, with one race remaining in the season. A total of 75,000 people attended the race, while 4.201 million watched it on television.


Report


Background

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...
is one of five short tracks to hold
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
races; the others are
Richmond International Raceway Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...
,
Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per yea ...
,
Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...
, and
Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in s ...
. The standard track at Phoenix International Raceway is a four-turn short track
oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...
that is long. The track's turns were banked at 11 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at three degrees. The back stretch, which has a dogleg shape instead of a straight, has 9 degrees of banking. The racetrack has seats for 76,800 spectators. Before the race,
Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and oper ...
led the Drivers' Championship with 6,325 points, and
Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...
stood in second with 6,292 points.
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champio ...
followed in third with 6,266 points, 258 ahead of
Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. 9 ...
and 266 ahead of
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
in fourth and fifth.
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
with 5,994 was eight points ahead of
Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
, as
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...
with 5,962 points, was nine ahead of
Greg Biffle Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing Team and full-time in the ...
, and thirty-four in front of
Clint Bowyer Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...
.
Kurt Busch Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...
and
Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...
were eleventh and twelfth with 5,890 and 5,852 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship,
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
was leading with 249 points, forty points ahead of their rival
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
.
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
, with 158 points, was twenty-six points ahead of
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
in the battle for third. Johnson was the race's defending champion.


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, while the second session lasted 45 minutes. The third and final practice session lasted 60 minutes. During the first practice session, Edwards, for the
Roush Fenway Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Politics *Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana *J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of: ** J. Edward Roush Lake, a rese ...
team, was quickest ahead of Regan Smith in second and Stewart in the third position. Kyle Busch was scored fourth, and
Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
managed fifth.
Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech S ...
, Kurt Busch,
A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James "A. J." Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger's professi ...
, Ryan Newman, and Harvick rounded out the top ten quickest drivers in the session. Afterward, during qualifying, forty-six cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Edwards clinched his seventh
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
during his career, with a time of 26.395, which made a new track record. He was joined on the front row of the
grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Common usage * Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road * Grid reference, used to define a location on a map Arts, entertainment, and media * News g ...
by Allmendinger. Kurt Busch qualified third, Biffle took fourth, and
Jamie McMurray James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 b ...
started fifth. Hamlin, one of the drivers in the
Chase for the Sprint Cup The NASCAR playoffs is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as 'The Chase for the Championship' on January 21, 2004, and was used exclusively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2015. Si ...
, qualified seventeenth, while Johnson was scored twenty-first. The three drivers that failed to qualify for the race were
Joe Nemechek Joseph Frank Nemechek III (born September 26, 1963) is an American professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. Nemechek has made the second mos ...
, Michael McDowell, and
Jason Leffler Jason Charles Leffler (September 16, 1975 – June 12, 2013) was an American professional open-wheel and stock car racing driver. Leffler began racing in the open-wheel ranks, competing in the 2000 Indianapolis 500 before moving to primaril ...
. Once the qualifying session completed, Edwards commented, "The first thing that we’re going to have an advantage Sunday is with our pit stall, that’s going to help us a lot. I think we have an advantage because he title rivalshave to be a little bit conservative. Guys like myself we’re really battling for fourth in points and battling for wins. We can go out and be a little more aggressive and maybe take advantage of that." On the next evening, Edwards remained quickest, ahead of Kurt Busch and Gordon in second and third. Kenseth was fourth quickest, and Burton took fifth. Montoya,
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...
,
Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Seri ...
, Biffle, and Harvick followed in the top-ten. Other drivers in the chase, such as Hamlin, was fifteenth, and Johnson, who was seventeenth. During the third, and final practice session, Edwards, with a fastest time of 27.202, was quickest. Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon followed in second and third with times of 27.328 and 27.337 seconds. Hamlin managed to be fourth fastest, ahead of Harvick and Logano. Johnson was scored seventh,
Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series st ...
took eighth,
David Reutimann Emil David Reutimann (born March 2, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Camping World T ...
was ninth, and Biffle took tenth.


Race

The race, the thirty-fifth out of a total of thirty-six in the
season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, began at 3:00 p.m. EST and was televised live in the United States on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
. Prior to the race, weather conditions were dry with the
air temperature Atmospheric temperature is a measure of temperature at different levels of the Earth's atmosphere. It is governed by many factors, including insolation, incoming solar radiation, humidity and altitude. When discussing surface air temperature, the ...
around . Ken Bowers, chaplain of the race track, began pre-race ceremonies with the
invocation An invocation (from the Latin verb ''invocare'' "to call on, invoke, to give") may take the form of: *Supplication, prayer or spell. *A form of possession. *Command or conjuration. *Self-identification with certain spirits. These forms are ...
. Dr. Jesse McGuire performed the
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
on his trumpet, and Steve Schultz, regional vice-president of
Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...
, gave the command for drivers to start their engines. Edwards retained the lead from the pole position throughout the beginning lap. On the second lap,
Brendan Gaughan William Brendan Gaughan (born July 10, 1975) is an American professional racing driver who has competed in off-road and stock cars. He is the grandson of Vegas gaming pioneer Jackie Gaughan and son of Michael Gaughan, a hotel and casino magnate. ...
collided into the
wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...
, prompting the first caution to be given. On the lap six restart, Edwards remained the leader. On the following lap, Kurt Busch passed Edwards to become the leader. On lap 7, Biffle had fallen two positions as David Reutimann overtook him. Three laps later, Johnson moved up to the 13th position. By the fourteenth lap, Harvick had moved up eight positions since the beginning of the race. Harvick continued to move forward while Busch maintained the lead. On lap 28, Edwards claimed the first position from Busch. By the 30th lap, Hamlin moved up to fifth on the grid after passing Reutimann. The next lap, Kyle Busch, Kurt's younger brother, hit the wall, but sustained minor damages. On lap 41, Hamlin moved up to third as Edwards maintained a 1.5-second lead. Three laps later, Hamlin passed Kurt Busch to claim second. Kyle Busch moved up to fourth after passing Allmendinger on lap 54. After 55 laps, Stewart had moved up to eighth while Johnson had moved up to 12th. Three laps later, the second caution was given, after Keselowski developed a flat tire and crashed into the wall. All the front-runners made
pit stop In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...
s during the caution, with most asking for tires and adjustments. At the lap 65 restart, Edwards remained the leader before Hamlin moved past him on the following lap. On the 67th lap, Kurt Busch passed Edwards, moving him down to third. During lap 69, Kenseth passed Busch to move to fifth. Two laps later, Johnson was scored ninth, while Harvick was 12th. Afterward, Kyle Busch fell to the eighth position by the 73rd lap. Stewart moved up to the eighth position three laps later while Hamlin had a lead of 1.3 seconds. On lap 80, McMurray scraped the wall, sustaining damage to the rear
spoiler Spoiler is a security vulnerability on modern computer central processing units that use speculative execution. It exploits side-effects of speculative execution to improve the efficiency of Rowhammer and other related memory and cache attacks. Ac ...
, which came loose from the rest of the car. Two laps later, McMurray's teammate Montoya moved up to the 14th position after starting 35th. On the 86th lap, Johnson passed Kenseth to move up to the eighth position. Kenseth fell two positions after being passed by Allmendinger and Harvick. By lap 90, Hamlin extended his lead to 2.3 seconds ahead of Kurt Busch. One lap later, Gordon passed Kenseth to move to the 12th position. During the 96th lap, Stewart moved up to fourth after passing
Martin Truex Jr. Martin Lee Truex Jr. (born June 29, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Serie ...
Montoya moved up to 13th on the following lap after passing Biffle. On lap 101, the third caution was given for debris. One lap later, the front runners made pit stops, giving the lead to
Bobby Labonte Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes full-time in the Superstar Racing Experience, driving the No. 18 car. ...
, who didn't come in until the next lap. At the lap 105 restart, Edwards was the leader before Hamlin reclaimed the first position a lap later. During the 117th lap, Biffle moved up to the eighth position, two laps before Johnson moved up to fifth after overtaking Newman. By lap 123, Hamlin's lead was around eight-tenths of a second ahead of Edwards. Six laps later, Stewart passed his teammate Newman for the sixth position. On the following lap, Hamlin had over a one-second lead over second-placed Edwards. On the 131st lap, Kyle Busch passed his brother Kurt for the second position. Harvick passed Biffle to take over the eighth position six laps later. On lap 140, Kurt Busch fell down to fifth after Johnson passed him. Three laps later, Kurt fell one more position to sixth once Newman overtook him. During lap 147, Truex. passed Biffle for the ninth position. Kenseth passed Biffle four laps later to claim the tenth position. On lap 156, Truex moved into eighth, after overtaking Kurt Busch. By lap 159, Hamlin had a 2.5-second lead over Edwards in the second position. Three laps later, Kenseth moved up to ninth while Kyle Busch moved to second after passing Edwards. On lap 166, green flag pit stops began as
Paul Menard John Paul Christian Menard (born August 21, 1980) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 66 Toyota Tundra for ThorSport Racing. Men ...
made a pit stop. On the following lap,
Elliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...
made a pit stop, four laps earlier than Hamlin. During the pit stops, three drivers were able to lead the race, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Kenseth. Once the pit stops concluded, Hamlin was scored the leader. On lap 180, Kyle Busch moved up to the second position after passing Edwards. Six laps later, Mark Martin passed Kurt Busch to move into 13th. By lap 192, Hamlin had a 1.5 second lead over his teammate Kyle Busch. Six laps later, Harvick overtook Johnson to claim the fourth position. At lap 210, Stewart passed Johnson for the fifth position as Jeff Burton moved up to the seventh. Afterward, Stewart passed Harvick for the fourth position on the 219th lap. Three laps later,
Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, IMSA, IROC and the Dakar Rally. He is active in top-tier off road motorsports such as BITD, NO ...
spun sideways, prompting the fourth caution to be given. All the front runners made pit stops during the caution, and Kyle Busch became the leader. At the lap 228 restart, Kyle Busch was first ahead of Hamlin, Edwards, Johnson, and Burton. On the following lap, Hamlin passed Busch for the first position. During the 231st lap, Edwards passed Busch to take over the second position, making Busch fall to third after two laps. Two laps later, the fifth caution was given because
Travis Kvapil Travis Wade Kvapil ( ; born March 1, 1976) is an American professional stock car driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Silverado for Beaver Motorsports. He was the 2003 NASCAR ...
spun sideways. During the caution, the first eight cars did not pit, while the others did. Hamlin led on the restart ahead of Carl Edwards in second. At lap 242, Kurt Busch moved up to ninth, after passing Stewart. Three laps later, Stewart fell to 12th, after being passed by Martin and Logano. By lap 249, Hamlin had a 0.75 second lead over second. On lap 252, Jeff Burton moved up to the seventh position. Fourteen laps later, Edwards reclaimed the lead from Hamlin. On lap 268, Montoya moved up to fourth after passing Johnson. By lap 274, Edwards had a one-second lead over Hamlin in second. On the following lap, Newman passed Johnson for fifth as Harvick moved to twelfth. Edwards continued to expand his lead to two seconds on lap 287. At the 292nd lap, Johnson fell to sixth after being passed by Burton. Six laps later, Hamlin made a pit stop for fuel and two new tires, which caused him to fall to nineteenth. On lap 301, Hamlin moved back on the lead lap, after passing Edwards. Logano passed Johnson for fourth as Burton made a pit stop on lap 303. With six laps remaining, Johnson fell to sixth as Harvick moved to seventh. Edwards maintained the lead to win his first race of the 2010 season. Newman finished second, ahead of Logano in third and Biffle in fourth. Johnson clinched the fifth position, after starting twenty-first.


Post-race

Race winner
Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. 9 ...
appeared in victory lane after his
victory lap A victory lap (also lap of honor) is a term used in motorsports to describe an extra lap of the race track after the conclusion of a race. This lap, driven at reduced speed, allows the winning driver to celebrate their victory and gives the sp ...
to start celebrating his first win of the season, in front of a crowd of 75,000 people. After winning the race, he described his happiness saying, "A win is very important to us. It's a very big accomplishment for us." He continued, "I think it's something that we needed for our confidence. We needed it as a payoff for all the hard work the guys have put in at the shop, the engine department." Hamlin, who led the most laps, described his frustration: "The strategy and what-not at the end just didn't work our way. That's all I can ask for, is to have the better car than those two guys – and we did. But, unfortunately, the strategy bit us. We're just going to have to go there and do it the old-fashioned way next week and try to beat them on the race track." Afterward, Newman, who finished second, commented, "We were saving fuel the whole time. Made more sense to save fuel. We were two laps short. We just did what I thought we needed to do. If Carl made it, Carl made it." Fifth place finisher Johnson described his happiness by saying: "We're going to go home and we're going to make sure we have the best engines, go through our simulation stuff, make sure our car is as fast as it can be and then race. We were in a good situation and could take the risk, take the chance. It worked out for us. In the Drivers' Championship, Hamlin remained first with 6,462 points, 15 ahead of Johnson in second. Harvick followed in third with 6,416 points. Edwards and Kenseth rounded out the first five positions with 6,198 and 6,151. In the Manufacturers' Championship,
Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
maintained first place with 255 points, 42 ahead of
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
and 88 ahead of
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
.
Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
remained fourth with 135 points. 4.201 million people watched the race on television. The race took two hours, forty-nine minutes and one second to complete, and the margin of victory was 4.770 seconds.


Results


Qualifying


Race results


Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings * Note: Only the top twelve positions are included for the driver standings. These drivers qualified for the
Chase for the Sprint Cup The NASCAR playoffs is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as 'The Chase for the Championship' on January 21, 2004, and was used exclusively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2015. Si ...
.


References

{{2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup , state=collapsed Kobalt Tools 500 (Phoenix) Kobalt Tools 500 (Phoenix) NASCAR races at Phoenix Raceway November 2010 sports events in the United States