2010 Shelby American

2010 Shelby American

Race details[1][2]
Race 3 of 36 in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season
Date	February 28, 2010 (2010-February-28)
Official name	Shelby American
Location	Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance	267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.542 km)
Weather	Sunny with a high around 64; wind out of the NNE at 6 mph. There was a zero percent chance of precipitation.
Average speed	141.450 miles per hour (227.642 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Kurt Busch	Penske Racing
Time	28.614
Most laps led
Driver	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	219
Winner
No. 48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers	Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2010 Shelby American at Las Vegas was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series motor race that was held on February 28, 2010 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada as the third race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season^[3] The race consisted of 267 laps, 400.5 miles (645 km).

The race began with Kurt Busch, from Penske Racing, on the pole. During the race there were ten different leaders, twenty lead changes, and seven cautions.^[4] Jimmie Johnson, from Hendrick Motorsports, ended up winning the 2010 Shelby American^[5] while Kevin Harvick finished 2nd and Jeff Gordon finished third after leading the most laps (219).

Race report

Practices and qualifying

Polesitter Kurt Busch (pictured in 2015)

In the first practice session on February 26, the fastest were Juan Pablo Montoya, Sam Hornish, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon.^[6] During qualifying runs, Kurt Busch ran the fastest lap with a speed of 188.719 miles per hour (303.714 km/h) and a time of 28.614 seconds to be on the pole position, while Casey Mears and Terry Cook failed to qualify.^[7] In the second practice session, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, David Reutimann, and Clint Bowyer were the fastest.^[8] In final practice Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, and Marcos Ambrose were the fastest.^[9] Unlike the first two practice sessions, final practice had one red flag because Dale Earnhardt, Jr. spun to pit road.^[10]

Race summary

On February 28, 2010, at 3 p.m. EST, Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Chaplain Joe Freiburger said the invocation. Afterward, America's Got Talent winner Terry Fator sang the national anthem. Carroll Shelby and Kim Kardashian gave the command "Gentlemen, start your engines!" for the race.^[11]

On the start, Kurt Busch led the field to the green flag. On the same lap, Jeff Gordon passed Kurt Busch for the lead. On lap 2, Kevin Conway collided with the wall; to cause the first caution. On lap 5, Jeff Gordon led the field to the green flag. After the restart, the field became spread out, but on lap 45, Mike Bliss collided with the wall to bring out the second caution. The restart happened on lap 52, with Jeff Gordon leading. One lap later, Greg Biffle passed Gordon, and the third caution came out. The third caution came out because the caution lights did not turn off. On the lap 56 restart, Greg Biffle led the field to the green flag, but one lap later, Jeff Gordon reclaimed the lead.^[11]

The race then experienced a 30 lap run that ended because Sam Hornish, Jr. spun to bring out the fourth caution. All the leaders pitted, but the first one off pit road was Matt Kenseth. On lap 92, Matt Kenseth led them down for the restart. One lap later, though, the fifth caution came out because Jamie McMurray collided with Juan Pablo Montoya. A. J. Allmendinger was also involved in the accident. The restart happened on lap 97 with Kenseth still the leader, but on lap 98, Jeff Gordon passed him. On lap 107, the sixth caution came out because the caution lights inadvertently turned on. Most lead lap cars made their pit stop, but Scott Speed stayed out to become the leader.^[11]

Race winner Jimmie Johnson in 2007.

On lap 113, Scott Speed led the field to the green flag. Also, on the restart, Scott Speed had a horrible start, that caused Jeff Gordon to pass him. From lap 113 to 228, a long green flag run happened. On lap 158, green flag pit stops began. During the pit stops the leaders were Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart. Afterwards, the top-five drivers were Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton, and Kevin Harvick. Then on lap 212, green flag pit stops happened again. After the pit stops the leader was Jeff Gordon. On lap 228, the seventh caution came out because Kevin Conway collided with the wall. Clint Bowyer stayed off pit road to lead on the restart. Immediately after the start, on lap 233, Jeff Gordon reclaimed the lead. On lap 251, Jimmie Johnson passed Jeff Gordon for the lead. Jimmie Johnson kept the lead to win his second consecutive race in 2010.^[1][11]

Race results

References