Marcos Ambrose won his first career pole position by posting a new track record speed in qualifying.

Top speeds approached 218 miles per hour (351 km/h) during the day; NASCAR determined that the installation of restrictor plates would not be required, and NASCAR vice-president of competition Robin Pemberton spoke of his expectation that speeds would reduce as the surface rubbered in and track temperatures increased.

After he was suspended from the preceding Pocono 400 for verbally abusing Sporting News reporter Bob Pockrass at the Nationwide Series round at Dover International Speedway, Kurt Busch was reinstated to the No.

Trevor Bayne, Stewart, Kenseth, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard, and Truex followed in positions three to ten.

Harvick, Edwards, Menard, Bayne, Johnson, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, and Kenseth completed the top ten ahead of the qualifying session.

[14] The only incident in the Friday practice sessions was Jamie McMurray scraping the right-hand quarter of his vehicle when he made contact with the outside barrier.

[19] He was joined on the grid's front row by Harvick who was 0.211 seconds slower, and held the pole until Ambrose's lap.

[19] Edwards' engine developed a possible fuel related issue on his warm-up lap, and he did not set a timed effort.

[19] After qualifying, Ambrose said, "It is a good bragging right, I'll give it that, I'm just really excited to get the speed, and to claim to be the fastest guy out there is just awesome.

[24][25] Biffle was quickest with a lap of 36.801 seconds, followed by Johnson, Edwards, Kahne, McMurray, Kurt Busch, A. J. Allmendinger, Truex, Martin, and Harvick.

[26] Top speeds approached no higher than 195.647 mph (314.863 km/h), but the new left-hand side tires received a mixed reception from drivers.

Newman felt that NASCAR made the correct decision, and Edwards predicted that the while the cars were looser, it would improve the quality of racing.

[25] Earnhardt, however, commented that he could not complete extra laps due to a handling difficulty,[27] and Ambrose noted a lower amount of grip and increased vehicular imbalance provided by the tires.

[25] Live television coverage of the race began at 12:01 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−05:00) in the United States on TNT.

[29] Doug Bradshaw, pastor of Williamston Free Methodist Church, began pre-race ceremonies with an invocation.

Josh Wise's engine failed on lap ten, necessitating the second caution as oil was laid on the track.

A competition caution was waved on lap 26 to mandate that teams made pit stops because of the new left-hand side tires, and the track's newer pavement.

Upfront, Ambrose closed the gap to Kenseth, and he overtook him for the lead on lap 49 despite the presence of Ken Schrader's slower car.

[2][29][31] On the lap, a seventh caution was prompted for a three-car accident, that began when Logano attempted to avoid hitting Gilliland (who made contact with the barrier), and lost control of his car.

Hamlin received assistance to exit his car by Newman's and Kyle Busch's pit crews, as safety officials extinguished the fire.

Biffle, Bowyer, McMurray, and Keselowski each led the pack over the next seven laps, until Earnhardt regained the lead after all pit stops had been completed.

[29][31] In the meantime, Earnhardt opened his lead at the front of the field to more than five seconds, and he held it for the remainder of the race to win.

[2] "As soon as I got out of the car, my initial thoughts was about how many people were in their living rooms screaming at the top of their lungs, running out in their yard.

[2] He dedicated the victory to his fanbase and thanked his team and pit crew for supporting him,[33] "I was so nervous in the last few laps of that race four years ago.

"[36] Stewart conceded that Earnhardt had a faster car than his but insisted that the latter's victory was not designated as "a national holiday" due to its popularity, "This morning they were celebrating his fourth anniversary of his last win, so I guess we're all in a state of mourning now, because he's broke that string now, so I don't know what we're all supposed to think.

"[37] Earnhardt received congratulations via text messages from various people and celebrities through Twitter, including former driver Mario Andretti, multi-instrumentalist Charlie Daniels and country music singer Brad Paisley.

[35][38] Steve Letarte, Earnhardt's crew chief, commented his belief that the driver and team's focus helped him to win, "I can't say enough about the group of guys we have here.

"[39] Tori Petry of sports radio station WGGG opined the victory helped NASCAR receive better exposure,[40] and Los Angeles Times writer Jim Peltz wrote he believed it would provide the series with an attendance and television ratings increase.

[32] He said it was an experience that he hoped to avoid in the future but praised the modern safety standards of racing vehicles, "Thankfully, we've got everything that we have safety-wise.

Harvick, Truex, Stewart, Bowyer, Keselowski, Edwards and Kyle Busch rounded out the top twelve.