| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 26 of 36 in the2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series | |||
 Layout of Richmond International Raceway | |||
| Date | September 10, 2011 (2011-09-10) | ||
| Location | Richmond International Raceway,Richmond, Virginia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.75 miles (1.21 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (483 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 89.91 miles per hour (144.70 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Michael Waltrip Racing | ||
| Time | 21.196 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 202 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick,Dale Jarrett andAndy Petree | ||
The2011 Wonderful Pistachios 400 was aNASCARSprint Cup Seriesstock car race held on September 10, 2011, atRichmond International Raceway inRichmond, Virginia.
Contested over 400 laps, it was the 26th race of the2011 season and the final race before the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. The race was won byKevin Harvick for theRichard Childress Racing team.Carl Edwards finished second, andJeff Gordon clinched third. For only the second time in modern-Sprint Cup history, an event was followed four days after another one. In this case, theAdvoCare 500 was held four days earlier than this event.
This race was dominated by accidents both involving single cars and multiple cars. Each green flag run averaged almost 20 laps while more than 21% of the race would be held under a caution flag. Kevin Harvick would dominate a good portion of the race whileJeff Gordon had a reasonable chance to win the race between laps 378 and 384.Scott Speed was the last-place finisher of the race due to a crash on lap 7. DespitePaul Menard's awful finish, he was the last driver to finish the race without any mechanical issues.[3]
Juan Pablo Montoya's 15th-place finish andMarcos Ambrose's 21st-place finish were respectable finishes for the token foreigners in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.[3] According to the gambling pundits,Kyle Busch was the mostly likely to win prior to the checkered flag while Ambrose,Regan Smith andBobby Labonte were the three dark horses of the event.[4]
Each finisher was given a different amount of money as his/her individual winnings. These winnings were given out in addition to the driver's weekly salary as a part of a multi-car team. While Kevin Harvick received $256,736 for his valiant effort ($358,860.72 when considering inflation), last-place driver Scott Speed received a meager $66,860 ($93,455.64 when considering inflation).[5]
| Pos[3] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 400 | 202 |
| 2 | 8 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 400 | 113 |
| 3 | 17 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 400 | 7 |
| 4 | 20 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | 400 | 0 |
| 5 | 11 | 22 | Kurt Busch | Dodge | 400 | 0 |
| 6 | 13 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 400 | 0 |
| 7 | 22 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 400 | 0 |
| 8 | 18 | 39 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 400 | 0 |
| 9 | 28 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 400 | 0 |
| 10 | 4 | 5 | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | 400 | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | Points[3] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Busch | 2012 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 2012 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | 2009 |
| 4 | Matt Kenseth | 2006 |
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson | 2003 |
| Previous race: 2011 AdvoCare 500 | Sprint Cup Series 2011 season | Next race: 2011 GEICO 400 |