2011 AdvoCare 500

File:Atlanta Motor Speedway aerial 2006.jpg, the race track where the race was held.]]

Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway.{{cite web|title=NASCAR Race Tracks |url=http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ |access-date=September 2, 2011 |location=NASCAR |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012082703/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ |archive-date=October 12, 2010 }} The standard track at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is {{convert|1.54|mi|km}} long.{{cite web|title=NASCAR Tracks—The Atlanta Motor Speedway |url=http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/media/facts/ |publisher=Atlanta Motor Speedway |access-date=September 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721061215/http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/media/facts/ |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead }} The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five.

Before the race, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson led the Drivers' Championship with 830 points, and Matt Kenseth stood in third with 798 points. Carl Edwards was fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 795 points, and Kevin Harvick was fifth with 782 points. Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart rounded out the first ten positions.{{cite web|title=Driver's Championship Classification|url=http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2011/24/data/standings_official.html|location=NASCAR|access-date=September 2, 2011}} In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 153 points, 19 points ahead of Ford. Toyota, with 133 points, was 25 points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.{{cite web|title=Manufactures' Championship Classification|url=http://www.jayski.com/stats/2011/manu2011.htm|location=Jayski.com|access-date=September 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901235750/http://www.jayski.com/stats/2011/manu2011.htm|archive-date=September 1, 2011|url-status=dead}} Stewart was the race's defending champion.{{cite web|title=2010 Emory Healthcare 500|url=http://www.racing-reference.info/race/2010_Emory_Healthcare_500/W|publisher=racing-reference.com|access-date=September 2, 2011}}

File:Kasey Kahne (cropped).jpg won the pole position for Red Bull Racing Team]]

Two practice sessions were held before the Sunday race, one on Friday and the other on Saturday. The first session lasted 80 minutes, while the second session ran for 90 minutes.{{cite web|title=Event Schedule|url=http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2011/story?id=6457467#prac|access-date=September 2, 2011|location=Jayski's Silly Season Site|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901193949/http://www.jayski.com/news/races/2011/story?id=6457467#prac|archive-date=September 1, 2011|url-status=dead}} During the first practice session, Brad Keselowski was quickest, ahead of Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer in second and third.{{cite web|title=Practice 1 Timing and Scoring|url=http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2011/25/data/practice1_speeds.html|publisher=NASCAR|access-date=September 2, 2011}} Martin Truex Jr. was scored fourth quickest, while Mark Martin was fifth. In the second and final practice session, Gordon was scored quickest, as Stewart and Bowyer followed in the second and third positions.{{cite web|title=Practice 2 Timing and Scoring|url=http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2011/25/data/practice2_speeds.html|publisher=NASCAR|access-date=September 3, 2011}} Keselowski was scored in the fourth position, while Greg Biffle followed in fifth.

During qualifying, forty-seven cars were entered, but only forty-three would be able because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure.{{cite web|title=Qualifying Order|url=http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2011/25/data/qual_order.html|access-date=September 3, 2011|location=NASCAR}} Kasey Kahne clinched his eighth career pole position, with a time of 29.775 seconds.{{cite web|title=Race Lineup: Atlanta|url=http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2011/25/data/lineup.html|publisher=NASCAR|access-date=September 3, 2011}} He was joined on the front row of the grid by Bowyer. Kyle Busch qualified third, Brian Vickers took fourth, and Gordon started fifth. Kenseth, Edwards, Truex Jr., Newman, and Kurt Busch rounded out the first ten positions. The four drivers that failed to qualify for the race were T. J. Bell, David Stremme, Geoffrey Bodine, and Tony Raines.

After winning the pole position, Kahne stated, "It was definitely not a perfect lap, but it was a little better than what everyone else did. I've ran better laps than that before and not been on the pole. You never know what you're going to get, but the track is pretty slippery right now and I like it like that." He also commented, "We need to win if we want to make the Chase. Right now we're one of the ones on the outside looking in." Bowyer, who qualified second, was relieved because of his good starting position: "A good qualifying run is a breath of fresh air for all of us. We need a good run desperately." He continued, "She was loose, holy cow! It was a handful for all of us."{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/story/2011-09-03/Kasey-Kahne-wins-Sprint-Cup-pole-on-Atlantas-slippery-track/50252584/1 | title=Kasey Kahne wins Sprint Cup pole on Atlanta's slippery track — USATODAY.com | work=USA Today | date=September 3, 2011 | agency=Associated Press | access-date=September 4, 2011 | location=Atlanta, Georgia}}

The race, the 25th in the season, was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. EDT. However, because of inclement weather from Tropical Storm Lee, NASCAR moved the start time twenty minutes earlier than the scheduled time.{{cite web | url=http://www.nascar.com/news/110904/atlanta-rain-update/index.html | title=Racing the weather — Sep 04, 2011 - NASCAR.COM | publisher=NASCAR | date=September 4, 2011 | access-date=September 4, 2011 | author=Aumann, Mark }} The race was not able to be held as expected on September 4, 2011, and was rescheduled on September 6, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. EDT.{{cite web | url=http://www.nascar.com/lap-by-lap/110904/lblatlanta/index.html | title=Lap-by-Lap: Atlanta — Sep 04, 2011 - NASCAR.COM | publisher=NASCAR | date=September 4, 2011 | access-date=September 4, 2011}} The race was televised live in the United States on ESPN.

This race was the first NASCAR race to be held on a Tuesday since 2007.

File:Jeff Gordon 2010 Pepsi Max 400.jpg scored the 85th win of his Cup Series career.]]

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

;Drivers' Championship standings

{{col-2}}

;Manufacturers' Championship standings

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings.

{{col-end}}

{{Reflist}}

{{NASCAR next race

| Series = Sprint Cup Series

| Season = 2011

| Previous_race = 2011 Irwin Tools Night Race

| Next_race = 2011 Wonderful Pistachios 400

}}

{{2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup |state=collapsed}}

{{NASCAR on ESPN|state=collapsed}}

AdvoCare 500

AdvoCare 500

Category:NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Category:September 2011 sports events in the United States