The 2009 Autism Speaks 400 presented by Heluva Good! was the thirteenth points race in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Held on May 31 of that year at the Dover International Speedway in Dover, Delaware, consisting of and marked the halfway point to the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Fox Sports, in its 2009 swan song, televised the race beginning at 1:30 PM EDT while MRN (terrestrial) and SiriusXM (satellite) handled radio coverage starting at 1 PM.
The biggest change that year at Dover was a new pit road area. Previously, Dover's pit road only had enough room for 42 pit stalls, meaning one team had to share a pit until a car dropped out of the race. Now, thanks to a new pit wall facing the main stands, widening the lanes within pit road by , the area was rebuilt and all 43 cars will have their own pit stalls that are longer than before.
On May 28, 2009, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Tony Eury Jr. had been replaced as the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 team. Eury, who is Earnhardt's cousin, had joined the organization from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (which later merged with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2009) prior to the 2008 season.
The management transition followed a 40th-place finish at the 2009 Coca-Cola 600, leaving the team 19th in the series standings at the time. The following personnel changes were implemented:
Brian Whitesell: The team manager served as the crew chief for the June 7 race at Dover International Speedway.
Lance McGrew: An experienced crew chief within the Hendrick organization, McGrew was named the interim replacement. Although originally scheduled to start at Pocono Raceway, he took over the role a week early at Dover after developmental driver Brad Keselowski failed to qualify for that event.
Michigan International Speedway: McGrew continued as the crew chief for the August race at Michigan, where Earnhardt achieved a third-place finish.
McGrew remained with the No. 88 team through the end of the 2010 season before being replaced by Steve Letarte in 2011.
Jeff Gordon wrecked his car in the first run of qualifying. David Reutimann, winner of the previous week's rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 took his third career pole.
The Jimmie Johnson #48 Lowe's team chose a rather unusual strategy: they chose the last pit stall (the newly designated 43rd pit stall). It worked to a charm as he led the most laps (298), and made the win with a pass of Tony Stewart with three laps to go and claim the win coming from seventh place on the final pit stop under caution that had earlier cost them the lead.