2011 Subway Jalapeño 250

The 2011 Subway Jalapeño 250 was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida on July 1, 2011. The race was 10th iteration of the event as well as the 17th race of the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series. Kevin Harvick won the pole while Elliott Sadler led the most laps. But it was Joey Logano who made a last lap pass on Sadler to win the race after Logano started in 18th but had to go back and start 40th and got caught up in a spin on lap 26.

Background
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races for ARCA, AMA Superbike, IMSA, SCCA, and Motocross. The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.500 mi high-speed tri-oval, a 3.560 mi sports car course, a 2.950 mi motorcycle course, and a 1320 ft karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180 acre infield includes the 29 acre Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is operated by NASCAR pursuant to a lease with the City of Daytona Beach on the property that runs until 2054. Dale Earnhardt is Daytona International Speedway's all-time winningest driver, with a total of 34 career victories (12- Daytona 500 Qualifying Races) (7- NASCAR Xfinity Series Races) (6- Busch Clash Races) (6- IROC Races) (2- Pepsi 400 July Races) (1- The 1998 Daytona 500).

Entry List

 * (R) denotes rookie driver
 * (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points

Qualifying
Kevin Harvick won the pole for the race with a time of 49.545 and a speed of 181.653. Harvick's team Kevin Harvick Incorporated dominated the first two rows.

* – made the field via owners points.

** – Joey Logano, Mike Bliss, and Eric McClure had to start at the rear of the field all for adjustments outside impound.

Race
Drivers began to form into tandems when the race started. Pole sitter Kevin Harvick led the first lap with Elliott Sadler behind him. On lap 3, Tony Stewart attempted to take the lead with Clint Bowyer behind him and led that lap before he and Bowyer got separated and gave the lead back to Harvick. Bowyer also pitted the same lap believing he had a flat tire. On lap 7, Brad Keselowski attempted to take the lead with Aric Almirola but couldn't pass Harvick. Keselowski tried again on lap 9 and this time was successful. On lap 10, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took the lead with Trevor Bayne behind him. On lap 14, Brad Keselowski took the lead back from Stenhouse. On lap 16, Elliott Sadler took the lead. On lap 17, Keselowski took the lead back. On lap 20, Kevin Harvick took the lead. On lap 22, Aric Almirola took the lead. On lap 23, Kevin Harvick took the lead back. On lap 24, Danica Patrick took the lead with Tony Stewart behind her. On lap 26, the first caution flew when Joey Logano spun in turn 3 after he and his partner Brian Scott tried to go low to avoid a lapped car in Kevin Lepage but realizing they would go below the yellow line which would be a penalty but Logano got turned by Scott. Elliott Sadler won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart on lap 31. On lap 34, the second caution would fly when Ricky Carmichael spun in turn 2 after he cut a left rear tire while getting pushed by Timmy Hill and hit the outside wall. The wreck also collected Danny Efland who spun late to avoid Carmichael but got turned by Aric Almirola. The race would restart on lap 39. On lap 40, Danica Patrick took the lead with Tony Stewart pushing her. On lap 43, Reed Sorenson took the lead with Jason Leffler. On lap 44, Patrick took the lead back after Sorenson and Leffler switched positions. At the same time, the third caution would fly when Eric McClure got turned by his teammate Mike Bliss down the frontstretch into turn 1 and McClure went up and hit the outside wall hard and spun down through the infield.

Final laps
Jason Leffler won the race off of pit road but Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Steve Wallace, Michael Annett, and Brad Keselowski did not pit and Edwards led the field to the restart on lap 49. But on the restart, a stack up ensued on the inside line and Jennifer Jo Cobb ran into the rear of Tim George Jr. hard enough to where it punctured the radiator of Cobb's car and brought out the 4th caution for oil. The race would restart with 47 laps to go on lap 54. With 43 laps to go, Danica Patrick took the lead with Aric Almirola behind her. With 40 laps to go, Carl Edwards retook the lead. With 36 to go, Kyle Busch took the lead. With 35 to go, Elliott Sadler took the lead. With 29 to go, Carl Edwards took the lead. With 28 to go, Clint Bowyer took the lead. With 27 to go, Tony Stewart took the lead. With 25 to go, Carl Edwards took the lead back. With 23 to go, Tony Stewart tried to take the lead from Edwards with Sadler and led that lap but could not get in front of Edwards. With 21 laps to go, the 5th caution flew when Clint Bowyer hit the outside backstretch wall hard after he got hooked by his teammate Kevin Harvick. Kevin Harvick won the race off of pit road and he led the field to the restart with 16 laps to go. On the restart, Harvick fell back after failing to get in front of his teammate Elliott Sadler and Sadler took the lead with Tony Stewart behind him. With 15 to go, Joey Logano attempted to take the lead with Kyle Busch but failed to do so after Busch made contact with Aric Almirola that caused them to fall back. With 13 laps to go, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took the lead with Trevor Bayne. With 12 to go, Sadler took the lead back. With 11 laps to go, the 6th and final caution flew when Joe Nemechek got turned by Kevin Conway and both of the NEMCO cars slid up into the outside wall in turn 3. The race would restart for the last time with 7 laps to go. On the restart, Brad Keselowski took the lead with Kevin Harvick. With 6 laps to go, Elliott Sadler took the lead back. With 5 to go, Danica Patrick took the lead with Aric Almirola. Patrick was looking for her first Nationwide Series win. But with 4 to go, Sadler took the lead back. Soon, a pack of 10 cars formed up in tandems and tried to catch the Sadler–Stewart tandem. On the last lap, a tandem of Michael Annett and Steve Wallace passed Sadler and Annett took the lead. In turn 1, the tandem of Danica Patrick and Aric Almirola went high to pass the Sadler–Stewart tandem and hit the outside wall but never lost momentum. Down the backstretch, a tandem of Joey Logano and Kyle Busch passed the Annett–Wallace tandem as both ended up getting separated. Logano and Busch would hold off everyone and Busch pushed Logano to the win. Behind them, a big wreck occurred through the tri-oval that took out 8 cars. It started when Mike Wallace, who was alone with no tandem, got loose off of turn 4 after almost making contact with Steve Wallace and Mike washed up high almost into Danica Patrick. Patrick got loose from Almirola and Patrick tried to come back down to re-hook with Almirola but Patrick got hooked by Almirola and Patrick turned down into Wallace. Mike Wallace got loose and came up into Patrick and both spun down and collected Steve Wallace, Elliott Sadler, and Tony Stewart and all 5 cars spun up into Aric Almirola and all 6 cars crashed into the outside wall. The wreck also caused Almirola's car to catch on fire. The wreck also collected Jamie McMurray and Brian Scott. The race would be Logano's first and only win of the 2011 Nationwide Series season. Jason Leffler, Reed Sorenson, Kyle Busch, and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top 5 while Michael Annett, Kenny Wallace, Elliott Sadler, Aric Almirola, and Danica Patrick rounded out the top 10.