[6] Before the race, Kevin Harvick led the Drivers' Championship with 586 points, and Carl Edwards stood in second with 581.

[10] Thursday's sessions was also used to test fuel injection, which the Sprint Cup Series will switch to for the 2012 season.

[12] Travis Kvapil was about one-tenth of a second slowing than Menard's pace, followed by Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, and David Ragan.

Of the four manufacturer and drivers, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was quickest in both sessions for Roush Fenway Racing and Ford.

[17] Kyle Busch, after finishing the final practice in first, won the pole position for Joe Gibbs Racing[18] He was joined on the front row of the grid by Montoya.

According to Sports Illustrated NASCAR writer Brant James, Kentucky Speedway's reputation as an epicenter of traffic mayhem preceded it.

An increase in seating capacity to 107,000 and an inaugural Sprint Cup race guaranteed that the already troublesome venue would become one of the most inaccessible in all of NASCAR.

[25] Those who made it to the race were only reported having to wait half an hour or more to use the restroom due to a shortage of port-a-johns.

[26][27] Bruton Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports, had joked on the day before the race that "we expect everyone to be home by Tuesday.

[28]One of the thousands who never made it to the track was Kentucky Senate President and gubernatorial candidate David L. Williams, who left the state capital of Frankfort, 45 miles (72 km) away, at 2:00 pm.

Instead, the entire day was a horrible black eye for the sport at a facility that was completely unprepared for an event of this size and stature.

[29] The race, the 18th in the season, began at 7:30 pm EDT and was televised live in the United States on TNT.

[30] Raceway Ministries pastor John Roberts began pre-race ceremonies, by giving the invocation.

Next, Nick Lachey performed the national anthem, and Steve Beshear, Kentucky's Governor, gave the command for drivers to start their engines.