The 2011 Irwin Tools Night Race was a NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on August 27, 2011 at Bristol Motor Speedway

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...

 in Bristol

Bristol, Tennessee

Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundaries of both cities run parallel to each other along State...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. Contested over 500 laps on the half-mile oval, it was the 24th race of the 2011 season

2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was the 63rd season of professional stock car racing in the United States. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races, beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The...

. The race was won by Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski

Bradley Robert Keselowski is an American auto racing driver currently competing in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in the Sprint Cup Series and the #22 Discount Tire Company/Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing...

 of Penske Racing

Penske Racing

Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...

. Martin Truex, Jr. finished second, and Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon

Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...

 finished third.

Background

The track, Bristol Motor Speedway

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...

, is one of five short tracks

Short track motor racing

In North American auto racing, particularly with regard to NASCAR, a short track is a racetrack of less than one mile in length. Short track racing, often associated with fairgrounds and similar venues, is where stock car racing first got off the back roads and into organized and regulated...

 to hold NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 races, the others being Richmond International Raceway

Richmond International Raceway

Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile , D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series...

, Dover International Speedway

Dover International Speedway

Dover International Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned race track located in Dover, Delaware, owned by, and serving as the corporate headquarters of, Dover Motorsports, Inc. It is co-located with a harness racing track, Dover Downs, and shares the complex with Dover Downs Hotel & Casino...

, Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, near Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved...

, and Phoenix International Raceway

Phoenix International Raceway

Phoenix International Raceway, also known as PIR, is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the Indycar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series...

. The standard track at Bristol Motor Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.533 mile (0.85777822 km) long. The track's turns are banked

Banked turn

A banked turn is a turn or change of direction in which the vehicle banks or inclines, usually towards the inside of the turn. The bank angle is the angle at which the vehicle is inclined about its longitudinal axis with respect to its path....

 from twenty-four to thirty degrees

Degree (angle)

A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...

, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked from six to ten degrees. The back stretch also has banking from six to ten degrees.

Before the race, Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch

Kyle Thomas Busch, is an American NASCAR driver and team owner. He currently drives the No. 18 Mars/Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/NOS Energy Drink Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs in the Nationwide Series, and the No...

 led the Drivers' Championship with 799 points, and Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver. He currently drives the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports....

 stood in second with 789 points. Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick

Kevin Michael Harvick is an American stock car auto racing race car driver and car owner currently competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving the No. 29 Budweiser/Jimmy John's/Rheem/Okuma/Realtree Outdoors/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet Impala...

 was third in the Drivers' Championship with 760 points, and Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards

Carl Michael Edwards, II is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #99 Fastenal/Aflac Ford Fusion in the Sprint Cup Series and the #60 Ford in the Nationwide Series for Roush Fenway Racing...

 was fourth with 760 points. Matt Kenseth

Matt Kenseth

Matthew Roy "Matt" Kenseth is an American stock car driver. Kenseth currently drives the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing...

, Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon

Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins, and has the...

, Ryan Newman

Ryan Newman

Ryan Joseph Newman is a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He drives the #39 United States Army/Tornados/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for Stewart Haas Racing under crew chief Tony Gibson. Newman graduated from Purdue University in 2001 with a B.S. in vehicle structure engineering...

, Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch

Kurt Thomas Busch is an American NASCAR and NHRA driver. He drives the No. 22 Shell Oil Company/Pennzoil Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and will race on an "opportunity permitting" basis in the Pro Stock division of NHRA...

, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

* NOTE: References to "Earnhardt", "he", and "him" refer to the subject of this article, unless otherwise specified. References to his father will include "Sr."...

 and Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart

Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...

 rounded out the first ten positions. Kyle Busch was the race's defending champion.

Race

The race was televised by ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 in the United States. However, several affiliates including ABC owned-and-operated WABC

WABC-TV

WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, WPVI in Philadelphia and WTVD

WTVD

WTVD, channel 11, is an owned-and-operated television station of the Walt Disney Company-owned American Broadcasting Company, licensed to Durham, North Carolina. The station serves the areas of Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Fayetteville, known as the Triangle...

 in Raleigh-Durham pre-empted the race in order to offer continuing coverage of Hurricane Irene.