The 2009 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on August 3, 2009, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 200 laps, it was the twenty-first race of the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, won the race.
It took three hours fifty-seven minutes to complete. Juan Pablo Montoya was humbly given a second-place finish by being .869 seconds slower than Hamlin. Eight drivers failed to finish the race; including last-place finisher Mike Wallace who parked his car on lap 13. Derrike Cope's vehicle was too slow to qualify for the race. Previous-day rain forced a competition caution on lap 22; most other yellow flags after this one were mainly for debris or accidents. Nearly 20% of the race was held under the caution flag; with a green flag run lasting an average of nearly 15 laps.
Top ten finishers
Timeline
Start of race: Jimmie Johnson began the race in first place
Lap 13: Mike Wallace decided to park his vehicle even though nothing was wrong with it Lap 17: The power steering malfunctioned in Tony Raines' vehicle Lap 24: David Gilliand's alternator stopped working properly Lap 26: Dave Blaney managed to overheat his vehicle Lap 30: Ignition problems forced Joe Nemechek out of the race Lap 36: Transmission issues caused Sterling Marlin to exit the race prematurely Lap 38: Patrick Carpentier's race weekend would be over due to a faulty transmission Lap 180: Bobby Labonte had a terminal crash; forcing him to retire from the race early Finish: Denny Hamlin was officially declared the winner of the event