The 2011 Aaron's 499 was the eighth race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season out of thirty six total races. The race was held on April 17 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Jeff Gordon won his 70th pole position, leading a Hendrick Motorsports sweep of the top four starting positions. Nearly the entire race, in similar fashion to the 2011 Daytona 500, was marked by the prevalence of 2-car drafting. On the last lap, four 2-car drafting teams contended for the win, and all eight cars finished within about three car-lengths of each other. Johnson, pushed by Earnhardt, won the race by .002 seconds over Clint Bowyer, the 2010 fall race winner at the track.
Talladega Superspeedway, the race track where the race was held.
Jeff Gordon scored the 70th pole position of his career.
Jimmie Johnson won the race in a finish tied for the closest in the series' history.
2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 63rd season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 40th modern-era Cup series season. 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 final ten races were known as 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Tony Stewart, the 2011 Sprint Cup Series champion.
Carl Edwards finished second in the championship, losing the tie breaker to champion Tony Stewart.
Kevin Harvick finished third in the championship, 58 points back.
Andy Lally's car at Pocono Raceway, he won the Rookie of the Year.