Category: Race Central

Race Central Stories

  • Logano captures the NNS Great Clips 200 pole at Phoenix; Sadler wrecks

    Logano captures the NNS Great Clips 200 pole at Phoenix; Sadler wrecks

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Noel Lanier” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Joey Logano wants to leave JGR with a bang and nothing would sound better than to win another race for the famed Super Bowl winning coach and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion winning car owner, Joe Gibbs. Logano is off to a good start this weekend after posting a lap of 27.14, which beat Kyle Busch by just four tenths of a second. Austin Dillon, Sam Hornish Jr., and Brian Vickers rounded out the top-5.

    Vickers is particularly happy this weekend. He will drive full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series next season in 2013, and is excited about defending his championship from ten years ago. Sam Hornish Jr. wants to prove to Roger Penske that he is worthy enough to force Penske to make a fourth team for 2013. Penske cited economic uncertainty as the reason why Hornish was let go the first time after the 2010 season. Hornish has since built a reputation off his Nationwide Series performances, and his run-ins with Danica Patrick.

    Austin Dillon is coming into this weekend with good news as well after it was announced he will be running in the Daytona 500 next season driving RCR’s No.33. He is hoping to pull out a victory here in the desert. Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jason Leffler, and Brian Scott rounded out the top-10.

    Stenhouse was unhappy about his lap after complaining of his car’s very loose condition. “We had a bad lap because I got loose. I nearly wrecked it.”

    He can breathe a little easier though. At least he didn’t crash like Elliott Sadler. Sadler entered Turn 3 on his qualifying lap in the marbles and ended up in the wall. Sadler came up off the dog leg a little too abruptly, and it cost him as he ended up in the marbles as soon as he entered the turn. The two came into this race tied for the championship lead. Sadler will have to race his way through the field and be smart. He won here in the spring. Brian Scott starts this race from the tenth position after collecting his second career Truck Series victory last evening. He hopes to create his own sweep.

    Starting Lineup
    Great Clips 200, Phoenix Int’l Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/qual.php?race=32
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 18 Joey Logano Toyota 132.621 27.145
    2 54 Kyle Busch Toyota 132.445 27.181
    3 3 Austin Dillon* Chevrolet 132.261 27.219
    4 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 132.047 27.263
    5 20 Brian Vickers Toyota 132.033 27.266
    6 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 131.989 27.275
    7 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 131.844 27.305
    8 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 131.675 27.34
    9 30 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 131.593 27.357
    10 11 Brian Scott Toyota 131.31 27.416
    11 33 Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet 131.081 27.464
    12 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 130.957 27.49
    13 88 Cole Whitt* Chevrolet 130.938 27.494
    14 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 130.895 27.503
    15 19 Mike Bliss Toyota 130.895 27.503
    16 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 130.624 27.56
    17 43 Michael Annett Ford 130.439 27.599
    18 14 Eric McClure Toyota 130.077 27.676
    19 10 Jeff Green Toyota 130.044 27.683
    20 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 129.861 27.722
    21 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 129.734 27.749
    22 199 Alex Bowman Toyota 129.613 27.775
    23 108 Paulie Harraka Ford 129.227 27.858
    24 100 Blake Koch Toyota 129.208 27.862
    25 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 129.037 27.899
    26 86 Kevin Lepage Ford 128.921 27.924
    27 81 Jason Bowles* Toyota 128.852 27.939
    28 47 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 128.852 27.939
    29 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 128.778 27.955
    30 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet 128.292 28.061
    31 191 Tony Raines Toyota 128.041 28.116
    32 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 128.023 28.12
    33 73 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 127.547 28.225
    34 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 127.083 28.328
    35 15 Timmy Hill Ford 127.083 28.328
    36 23 Jamie Dick Chevrolet 126.778 28.396
    37 39 Dexter Stacey Ford 126.011 28.569
    38 4 Daryl Harr Chevrolet 124.675 28.875
    39 44 John Blankenship Chevrolet 122.917 29.288
    40 41 Noel Dowler+ Ford 121.741 29.571
    41 124 Derek White+ Toyota 120.144 29.964
    42 70 Nur Ali+ Chevrolet 102.837 35.007
    43 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 126.121 28.544
  • Brian Scott Survives Wreck-Fest To Score Second Truck Win

    Brian Scott Survives Wreck-Fest To Score Second Truck Win

    [media-credit name=”Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Brian Scott survived the wreck-fest in Phoenix and scored his second Camping World Truck Series victory after a battle with the young Kyle Larson on a green-white-checkered finish. Larson had the lead late before a caution set up the wild finish.

    The race itself was great throughout. However; there was a point in the race where there was six consecutive cautions. six green laps were run during that time frame. Cautions breed cautions.

    Jeff Choquette hit the wall hard off turn-2 to bring out the first yellow of the race, but then Todd Bodine received major front-end damage after a Jason White spun out.

    Parker Kligerman followed suit on the very next green flag as he got loose and Matt Crafton was left helpless as he plowed into the accident. Kligerman was visibly upset with himself, but high-fived his crew and apologized for his mistake.

    The chaos ensued as Nelson Piquet Jr. got loose on the very next restart in Turn 3 and wiped out both Ron Hornaday and Johnny Sauter. Piquet was a heavy favorite to pull out a victory here in the desert.

    Eventually someone had to lost their temper after another caution. German Quiroga got loose entering turn-1 and plowed the No.2 Chevrolet Silverado of Brendan Gaughan from behind and both hit the wall very hard. Gaughan emerged from the truck and screamed things at Quiroga that probably nobody wants to hear. In Gaughan’s interview, he claimed that he spoke fluent Spanish and the kid simply “screwed up”, but no apology came from Gaughan. Quiroga was very apologetic and admitted to losing the handle of his No.51 truck.

    James Buescher came into this race as the points leader and kept it despite losing a tire late in the race. Brian Scott survived the madness for his second Truck Series victory. His last victory came at Dover in 2009 in the AAA Insurance 200.

    Tune in for coverage of the Nationwide race tomorrow on my Twitter @SirRyanTheOHara.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Lucas Oil 150, Phoenix Int’l Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=21
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 3 18 Brian Scott Toyota 0
    2 6 4 Kyle Larson Chevrolet 43
    3 17 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 41
    4 8 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 41
    5 2 29 Ryan Blaney Ram 39
    6 14 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 38
    7 4 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 37
    8 1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 37
    9 11 27 Ryan Truex Chevrolet 0
    10 22 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 35
    11 23 135 Matt Merrell Chevrolet 33
    12 13 119 David Mayhew Ram 0
    13 27 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 31
    14 15 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 30
    15 21 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 30
    16 32 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 28
    17 9 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 27
    18 33 8 Todd Peck Toyota 26
    19 34 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 25
    20 5 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 24
    21 26 23 Jason White Ford 23
    22 10 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 22
    23 19 2 Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet 0
    24 18 151 German Quiroga Toyota 20
    25 16 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 19
    26 30 174 Brian Weber Chevrolet 18
    27 7 7 Parker Kligerman Toyota 17
    28 12 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 16
    29 36 5 John King * Ford 15
    30 20 297 Jeff Choquette Chevrolet 14
    31 24 225 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet 0
    32 31 93 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 12
    33 25 7 Ross Chastain * Chevrolet 11
    34 35 84 Chris Fontaine Chevrolet 10
    35 28 38 Chris Jones Chevrolet 9
    36 29 0 Blake Koch Ford 0
  • Lap by Lap: Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway won by Brian Scott

    Lap by Lap: Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway won by Brian Scott

    [media-credit name=”Christian Petersen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”283″][/media-credit]In a late green white checkered, Brian Scott would take the lead from Kyle Larson and lead the final laps to win the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway for Kyle Busch Motorsports’ first win of 2012.

     

    Lap 1 Nelson Piquet Jr. grabs the lead early while Scott clears Ryan Blaney for second

    Lap 2 Piquet Jr. leads Scott, Blaney, Crafton, Gale, Buescher, Peters, Truex, Larson and Mayhew.

    Lap 6 Mayhew passes Larson for ninth

    Lap 7 Paludo passes Larson for 10th

    Lap 9 Scott passes Piquet Jr. for the lead

    Lap 23 Scott leads Blaney, Crafton, Piquet Jr., Gale, Buescher, Peters, Mathew, Truex and Sauter

    Caution Jeff Choquette gets into the wall after a flat right front tire……pit stops. Buescher pulls close to the wall; Scott takes two tires, though reports possible motor issue. Scott leads Peters, Dillon, Kligermann off pit road.

    Restart lap 42. Scott leads as Dillon grabs second ahead of Peters and Kligermann

    Caution lap 44 John King gets into the wall

    Restart lap 48. Dillon and Scott side-by-side for the lead. Scott clears Dillon off of turn four.

    Caution lap 49 wreck on the front stretch after Jason White has some issues, collecting Bodine

    Restart lap 54. Dillon and Scott side-by-side for the lead. Dillon grabs the lead…..Caution. Kligermann got into the wall. Kligermann gets loose underneath Blaney, collecting Crafton.

    Restart lap 56……Caution as Piquet Jr. turns Sauter into the wall while battling for position, collecting Hornaday

    Restart lap 73…..Dillon pulls ahead of Scott off of turn two

    Caution lap 74 Gale goes around after getting loose underneath Blaney. Piquet Jr. gets the lucky dog…..leaders Ryan Truex stays out, inheriting the lead. Top seven trucks stayed out.

    Restart 72 laps to go as Truex holds the lead.

    71 laps to go Peters gets into Truex down the front straight, Truex saves it.

    70 laps to go Truex leads Peters, Mayhew, Larson, Dillion, Scott, Gaughan, Blaney and Buescher

    68 to go Truex leads Lofton, Peters, Larson, Mayhew, Gaughan, Dillon, Scott, Blaney and Buescher; Scott passes Dillon for seventh

    64 to go Scott and Dillon pass Gaughan for sixth and seventh after Gaughan got into the wall slightly

    60 to go Mayhew and Blaney pass Gaughan for eighth and ninth while Coulter passes Buescher for 10th after Gaughan gets sideways and Buescher slows to avoid

    59 to go Truex leads Lofton, Peters, Larson, Scott, Dillon, Blaney, Guaghan, Coulter and Buescher. Sieg 11th with Mayhew 12th after Mayhew got loose.

    54 to go Lofton and Peters pass Truex for first and second

    52 to go Scott passes Truex for third

    49 to go Lofton leads Peters, Scott, Truex, Larson, Dillon, Blaney, Coulter, Gaughan and Buescher.

    48 to go Caution Truex runs out of room trying to get around the lap truck of Mike Harmon and spins him. Blaney made slight contact with Harmon. Lofton pits as the leader for four tires.

    42 to go Peters battles with Larson and Scott for the lead three-wide down the back – Larson grabs the lead through turns three and four. Quiroga gets into Gaughan, collecting Dillon. Gaughan expressed his displeasure with Quiroga. Red flag.

    Restart 36 laps to go as Larson holds the lead while Scott passes Peters.

    35 to go Larson leads Scott, Peters, Coulter, Seig, Buescher, Blaney, Piquet Jr., Truex, Mayhew

    32 to go Truex passes Piquet Jr for eighth; Gale passes Mayhew for 10th; Busecher passes Seig for fifth

    31 to go Gale passes Piquet Jr. and Truex both to move up to eighth

    30 to go Larson leads Scott, Peters, Coulter, Buescher, Seig, Blaney, Gale, Piquet Jr. and Truex

    27 to go Scott and Larson get side-by-side off of turn two; Larson drives it deep into turn three, holding Scott off as Scott slid up due to Larson’s move

    17 to go Dillon, who came into the night second in points, falls a lap down to race leader Kyle Larson

    16 to go Larson leads Scott, Peters, Coulter, Buescher, Seig, Blaney, Gale, Piquet Jr., Truex

    8 to go Seig passes Buescher for fifth; Blaney passes Buescher for sixth

    6 to go Lofton gets into Truex, passing him for 10th

    3 to go Caution – Buescher gets into the wall after a flat right front tire

    Restart 2 to go Brian Scott passes Kyle Larson for the lead through turns one and two

    Brian Scott wins the race! Larson. Coulter. Peters. Blaney. Seig.

  • Kyle Busch Snags Second Career Phoenix Pole

    Kyle Busch Snags Second Career Phoenix Pole

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]Kyle Busch captured the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway with a lap of 138.766 mph.  Busch is trying to gain some momentum carrying on to the 2013 season after missing the Chase for the third time in his career.

    “We’ll take it and it will be a good starting spot for us. Obviously, getting first pit selection and all that’s good for us. The M&M’s Camry was awesome all day today. Can’t wait for tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get this thing dolled up for race trim and have a good race car come Sunday.” Busch said.

    Martin Truex Jr. qualified second and is in the Chase, but is too far back in the lineup to make a charge for the championship as the duo of Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski continue their dominance.

    The weather played a huge factor in the qualifying today. A cold front has hit Arizona this past weekend and it ha been raining off and on all day. Areas like Prescott and Flagstaff even saw snow. The cloud coverage disrupted the handling on Jimmie Johnson’s car during his qualifying lap, and he wound up in 24th, his worst qualifying effort since Bristol. Brad Keselowski qualified his #2 Miller Lite Dodge in the 14th position. He also had some trouble on his qualifying lap, but Mother Nature was a little more lenient to Keselowski.

    If Keselowski wants to gain any momentum, he needs to do it on Sunday. Johnson is already ten spots behind Brad when the race begins, and he can’t hesitate when Johnson is a 4-time winner at this track.

    Spring winner Denny Hamlin will start from the third position. Kasey Kahne (2011 winner of this event), Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, Regan Smith, Mark Martin, and Tony Stewart will round out the Top 10 for Sunday’s race.

    Notables: Jeff Gordon (11th), Ryan Newman (12th), Carl Edwards (13th), Joey Logano (15th), Clint Bowyer (16th), Kevin Harvick (19th), Greg Biffle (20th), Matt Kenseth (22nd), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (23rd), Danica Patrick (37th).

    For you Kyle Busch fans, I asked him in the media center the following question: How important is it for you and your team to get a win before the season is out to carry momentum for 2013?

    “I think getting a win would be nice. We don’t necessarily need a win, but we need to finish well these final few races. I think we actually have performed well enough these past couple weeks. We were up there battling Brad and Jimmie at Texas all night long, but we just didn’t have the car in the end and of course we’ve been bitten by fuel in the past, but to win would definitely be a big boost to this team.”

    Starting Lineup
    AdvoCare 500, Phoenix Int’l Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=35
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 138.766 25.943
    2 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 138.217 26.046
    3 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 137.578 26.167
    4 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 137.478 26.186
    5 43 Aric Almirola Ford 137.211 26.237
    6 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 137.007 26.276
    7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 136.992 26.279
    8 51 Regan Smith Chevrolet 136.872 26.302
    9 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 136.867 26.303
    10 55 Mark Martin Toyota 136.867 26.303
    11 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 136.83 26.31
    12 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 136.721 26.331
    13 99 Carl Edwards Ford 136.679 26.339
    14 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 136.622 26.35
    15 20 Joey Logano Toyota 136.488 26.376
    16 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 136.436 26.386
    17 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 136.359 26.401
    18 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 136.353 26.402
    19 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 136.271 26.418
    20 16 Greg Biffle Ford 136.219 26.428
    21 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 136.003 26.47
    22 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 135.906 26.489
    23 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 135.547 26.559
    24 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 135.44 26.58
    25 13 Casey Mears Ford 135.211 26.625
    26 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 135.171 26.633
    27 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 134.948 26.677
    28 98 Michael McDowell Ford 134.948 26.677
    29 34 David Ragan Ford 134.932 26.68
    30 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 134.449 26.776
    31 38 David Gilliland Ford 134.374 26.791
    32 30 David Stremme Toyota 134.343 26.797
    33 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 134.198 26.826
    34 144 David Reutimann Ford 134.008 26.864
    35 33 Stephen Leicht* Chevrolet 133.62 26.942
    36 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 133.576 26.951
    37 10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 132.954 27.077
    38 26 Josh Wise* Ford 132.817 27.105
    39 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 132.387 27.193
    40 191 Jason Leffler Toyota 131.329 27.412
    41 32 Timmy Hill Ford 129.945 27.704
    42 36 Dave Blaney+ Chevrolet 128.691 27.974
    43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 130.067 27.678
  • PIQUET JR. CAPTURES POLE FOR THE LUCAS OIL 150

    PIQUET JR. CAPTURES POLE FOR THE LUCAS OIL 150

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”217″][/media-credit]PHOENIX — Nelson Piquet Jr. captures the pole for the 15th Annual Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway with a lap time of 26.778 seconds, 134.439 mph. The time set a new PIR record for the series, surpassing Clint Bowyer’s speed of 133.949 mph in February 2011, the final race before the track was repaved.

    Piquet Jr., who currently ranked seventh in points heading into Friday’s semi-final race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, earned his fourth pole in 51 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, his fourth pole in 2012 and his 15th top-10 start of the year. It is his first pole at Phoenix International Raceway.

    “I feel good, we were even better in practice,” said Piquet Jr. “I’m happy we managed to do our homework and to be on the pole. Now the next step is to win the race.”

    Ryan Blaney finished second in qualifying and will join Piquet Jr. on the front row after posting a time of 26.793 (134.363 mph). For Blaney, it was his third top-10 start of 2012 and his first at PIR. Points leader James Buescher qualified ninth among the 38 entries with a time of 26.922 (133.720 mph), while Ty Dillon, who currently ranks second in points (-15) finished 21st with a time of 27.313 (131.805).

    “We were loose in and tight in the middle, still had a decent time, it was about the same as what we ran in practice last night,” said Buescher. “I was hoping to be able to pick it up a little but we didn’t. We’ll just have to race our way to the front.”

    Brian Scott qualified third with a speed of 134.238 mph and will be joined in the second row by Cale Gale who ran a speed of 134.218. Timothy Peters, who ranks third in points, qualified eighth with a speed of 133.764, while Parker Kligerman, who is fourth in points, qualified seventh (133.769).

    About Phoenix International Raceway

    Since 1964, Phoenix International Raceway has served race fans as the premier motorsports venue in the Southwest. Watch the AdvoCare 500 on Sunday, Nov. 11. Tickets for the entire Nov. 8-11 NASCAR event weekend at Phoenix International Raceway can be purchased online at PhoenixRaceway.com/Tickets or by calling 1-866-408-RACE (7223). For more information, visit PhoenixRaceway.com, Facebook.com/PhoenixRaceway and Twitter.com/PhoenixRaceway.

  • Johnson wins at Texas and stretches his points lead to 7 over Keselowski

    Johnson wins at Texas and stretches his points lead to 7 over Keselowski

    [media-credit name=”Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”235″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson won from the pole for the second week in a row on Sunday in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Johnson restarted on the outside of Brad Keselowski on the final green-white-checkered restart. Johnson made the pass and pulled away while exiting turn-2 and held onto the lead for the final laps.

    “I got a great restart and got by him. I knew we had the speed if I could just get by him.” Johnson said.

    After contact on the previous restart, Keselowski kept it honest.

    “I had to choose between wrecking him and winning the race and it didn’t seem right to wreck ‘em. Ran ‘em hard and we’re going to keep him honest. I know if we keep running like this that we won’t be beat.” Keselowski said. “It’s going to be a dogfight all the way down to Homestead.”

    Johnson led 168 laps and stretched his lead in the series standings to 7 points over Brad Keselowski with two races remaining.

    “It was an awesome race. It’s a great way to do it when the gloves are off and it’s bare-knuckle fighting,” Johnson said.

    Kyle Busch finished third and Kurt Busch finished eighth and were the only two top-10 finishers that were not in the chase.

    Matt Kenseth finished fourth and Tony Stewart finished fifth.

    “I didn’t think we would ever be standing here with a top-five the way our day started. We started way off and these guys never gave up. They battled hard all day long and got me a good finish.” Kenseth said.

    Other chase contenders that still had a shot entering Texas were Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne. Bowyer finished sixth and is now 36 points out and Kahne finished 25th and is now 58 points out.

    Unofficial Race Results
    AAA Texas 500, Texas Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=34
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 48
    2 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 43
    3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 42
    4 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 41
    5 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 39
    6 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 38
    7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 37
    8 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 36
    9 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 35
    10 16 Greg Biffle Ford 34
    11 20 Joey Logano Toyota 33
    12 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 33
    13 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 31
    14 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 30
    15 43 Aric Almirola Ford 29
    16 99 Carl Edwards Ford 28
    17 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
    18 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 26
    19 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 25
    20 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 24
    21 13 Casey Mears Ford 23
    22 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    23 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 22
    24 10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 0
    25 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 19
    26 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 18
    27 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 17
    28 34 David Ragan Ford 16
    29 55 Mark Martin Toyota 15
    30 195 Scott Speed Ford 14
    31 32 Ken Schrader Ford 13
    32 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 12
    33 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 11
    34 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 10
    35 38 David Gilliland Ford 9
    36 51 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 8
    37 26 Josh Wise * Ford 7
    38 98 Michael McDowell Ford 6
    39 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 5
    40 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    41 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 0
    42 37 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 2
    43 191 Reed Sorenson Toyota 0
  • Harvick is Happy in Texas!; Sadler & Stenhouse are tied in the series standings

    Harvick is Happy in Texas!; Sadler & Stenhouse are tied in the series standings

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]Kevin Harvick won the 8th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway for his 39th victory in his NASCAR Nationwide Series career and the second of the season.

    Ryan Blaney (Career Best) finished second, Kyle Busch third, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fourth and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-5.

    Busch started on the pole and led lap 1 with Sadler right behind him. By lap 8, Busch had over a second lead over Sadler.

    The first caution waved when the #19 of Hal Martin hit the wall in turn 1 and then hit it again coming off of turn 2 on lap 13. Everybody wanted to come in and looked like they were going to but everybody was faking and nobody came in that was in the top 20. During this caution, Stenhouse Jr told his crew chief, he knows who is in the #33 (Harvick) and wanted to pass him but he knew he has to be careful.

    Stenhouse Jr. also got penalized one position due to not maintaining  speed under caution when he faked it to pit road and the 20 sped up and passed him.

    Busch lead them back to green on lap 17 and Sadler did not get a good restart at all. Busch cleared him immediately and Harvick and Stenhouse Jr. were three wide for second with Sadler.  Harvick took the position and Sadler kept the spot from Stenhouse. Sadler got passed him  (Harvick) quite easily on lap 20 while Harvick shut the door on Stenhouse Jr. Sadler and Stenhouse Jr are battling for the Championship which is why Harvick let Sadler pass him due to being teammates.

    The second caution waved for debris on lap 45 with Busch still leading. Everybody decided to come in for the first stop of the evening. Logano came in 3rd saying he wanted a big swing. He got a wedge adjustment along with four tires and fuel and was gone. Harvick also came in and said at the start, he was way to tight but at the end of the run, he was very good. he got 4 tires and fuel and was off. Busch came in and said all he wanted was four tires, fuel and some tape on the grill. He got those and was off. He barley beat Harvick off pit road but got him.

    Busch lead the field back to the green and stormed off into the corner and pulled away from Harvick on the back stretch. Busch is looking for his first win his own Kyle Busch Motorsports car. KBM has 1 win but that was Kurt Busch in Richmond earlier in the year. Harvick was gaining and gaining every lap and finally passed him on lap 64 to take the top spot. Sadler passed Busch six laps later to take second away.

    The third caution waved on lap 83 when the #81 of Jason Bowles smacked the wall in turns 1 and 2. All of the leaders came in for their second stop of the night.  Sadler came in saying he wanted more grip so he got some new fresh Goodyear’s and fuel and was off. Harvick stopped in his pit box telling his Crew Chief, he was very happy with his car and did not want any changes. He easily came out first with a scramble behind them. Busch gained three spots on pit road while Sam Hornish Jr. missed his pit stall and will restart 21st.

    Harvick led the field back to green. Busch was side by side with Harvick into the corner and took over the lead on the frontstretch. He got into 1 and 2 way too fast and slide up the turn and lost a couple spots. He got them back but it cost him a couple laps to recover.

    After 42 laps under green, green flag pit stops started to occur with Cole Whitt and Danica Patrick starting them. Patrick had to come in 8 laps early due to a vibration. Whitt also had to come in, saying he was “wrecking loose” They both came in and completed there stops and were away. Logano was getting told to save fuel for 8 laps so they can get into the window that they can make it one more stop.

    Green flag pit stops continued with Stenhouse Jr. driving his ford mustang into the pits. He said he has been way too loose and they need to tighten it up. They got that done along with the regular service and was gone. Logano came in saying he was good and no changes. His Crew Chief wanted him to stay out one more lap but Logano feared that he would run out. Dillon came in, after leading a lap, saying he was way too tight and need to loosens him up. They had a slow stop due to the jackman. 19.9 was his time which was about 5-6 seconds slower then a regular pit stop. Harvick retook the lead after green flag stops were completed.

    The fourth caution came out when the #52 Joey Gase spun out but did a good job of not putting it into the wall and went to pit road for new tires. Everybody came in and got fuel so they can make the distance. Ryan Newman was the only one who did not get tires and went out first.

    Green Flag went back to green with 42 laps to go. Denny Hamlin, Blaney and Justin Allgaier did not pit so they lead the field to the restart. Everybody was looking for positions as they went 3-4 wide into turn 1. Hamlin kept the lead but Harvick took it over with 38 laps to go with Busch following him to take second.

    The fifth caution was waved with 24 laps to go when the #87 of Joe Nemechek brushed the wall and slowed to bring the yellow flag out. Nobody pitted except for the guys who did not pit the previous stop. Dillon was the only one who came in the last stop and this stop.

    Green flag waved once again with 19 laps to go with Harvick and Busch battling for the lead. Hornish up for third while Harvick cleared Busch to take the top spot. Dillon got loose and and got into Annett which made Brian Scott get into the wall. Scott then bumped the wall again after damage but no caution.  While that was happening, Blaney was moving up and Sadler was moving down. Blaney, who came in to get fresh tires during the caution, was all the way up to third with 7 laps to go. Ryan got within .982 of Harvick but had to settle for second.

    After the race, Dillon and Hamlin got into to coming onto pit road. Dillon tried to bump him but bumped himself into the wall. He then tried spin him out but they mostly were just bumping and banging. Dillon got out and went straight to his motor home while his crew chief went and talk to Hamlin.

    “He only got his ride because of his name.  Maybe (Dillon) needs to take his little a** over there and fix the race cars if he wants to be wrecking.”

    Dillon had no comment.

    Sadler and Stenhouse Jr. are tied in the series standings, but Stenhouse Jr.holds the tiebreaker.

    Unofficial Race Results
    O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, Texas
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=31
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    2 22 Ryan Blaney Dodge 42
    3 54 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
    4 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 40
    5 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0
    6 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 39
    7 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 37
    8 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 36
    9 198 Kevin Swindell Ford 35
    10 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0
    11 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 34
    12 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 32
    13 38 Brad Sweet * Chevrolet 31
    14 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 30
    15 199 Kenny Wallace Toyota 29
    16 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 28
    17 43 Michael Annett Ford 27
    18 10 Mike Bliss Toyota 26
    19 30 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 0
    20 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 24
    21 14 Eric McClure Toyota 23
    22 11 Brian Scott Toyota 22
    23 124 David Starr Toyota 0
    24 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 20
    25 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 19
    26 44 John Blankenship Chevrolet 0
    27 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 17
    28 4 Danny Efland Chevrolet 16
    29 41 Juan Carlos Blum Chevrolet 15
    30 19 Hal Martin Toyota 0
    31 52 Joey Gase * Chevrolet 13
    32 108 Scott Saunders Ford 12
    33 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota 11
    34 3 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 0
    35 39 Tim Andrews Ford 9
    36 70 Johanna Long * Chevrolet 8
    37 191 Jeff Green Toyota 7
    38 100 Blake Koch Toyota 6
    39 175 Kelly Bires Ford 5
    40 86 Kevin Lepage Ford 4
    41 47 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 0
    42 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 0
    43 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 1
  • Sauter wins at Texas; Chevrolet clinchs 2012 NCWTS Manufacturers’ Championship

    Sauter wins at Texas; Chevrolet clinchs 2012 NCWTS Manufacturers’ Championship

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]Johnny Sauter won Friday nights NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 350 at Texas Motor Speedway.  Sauter took over the lead with 11 laps remaining and captured his second win of the season (both at Texas) and the sixth of his career.

    “We’ve had the truck to beat I felt last week and just had a lot of bad luck this year quite frankly.  Toyota had a great week down in San Antonio at the Toyota Tundra plant down there.  Say, ‘Hi,’ to all of those people down there.  Just an awesome performance.” Sauter said.

    Parker Kligerman only took two tires on his final pit stop and could not hold off Sauter for the lead.  Kligerman finished second.

    “I hate finishing second man — so does this truck.  This truck is 001, the one of the first of the new trucks Red Horse built, the new generation.  Every time we’ve run it we either finished fourth or second.  It wants to win so bad, but sadly this is probably its last race.” Kligerman said.

    Polesitter Nelson Piquet Jr. led twice for a race-high 65 laps and finished third.

    Chevrolet clinched the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Manufacturers’ Championship with Piquet Jr.’s third place finish.  Chevrolet has captured the prestigious title for the eighth time since the 1995 inception of the Series.

    Kyle Busch finished fourth and Ty Dilon finished fifth.

    Dillon’s fifth place finished moved to within 15 points of the series points lead after current points leader James Buescher finished 11th, after he reported a vibration about midway through the race and contact from Matt Crafton on the restart after the second caution flag.

    “It could have been worse.” Buescher said. “I thought we were controlling our own destiny tonight and we got run into on a restart.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    WinStar World Casino 350, Texas
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=20
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 13 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 47
    2 10 7 Parker Kligerman Toyota 43
    3 1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 43
    4 3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
    5 9 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 40
    6 11 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 39
    7 5 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 37
    8 19 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 36
    9 7 5 Aric Almirola Ford 0
    10 14 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 34
    11 2 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 34
    12 21 8 Max Gresham * Chevrolet 32
    13 18 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 31
    14 4 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 31
    15 12 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 30
    16 8 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 28
    17 15 2 Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet 0
    18 17 4 Brandon McReynolds Chevrolet 26
    19 20 23 Jason White Ford 26
    20 22 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 24
    21 27 81 David Starr Toyota 23
    22 23 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 22
    23 25 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 21
    24 6 119 David Mayhew Ram 0
    25 26 7 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 19
    26 34 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 18
    27 36 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Ram 17
    28 24 151 German Quiroga Toyota 16
    29 35 84 Russ Dugger Chevrolet 15
    30 16 29 Ryan Blaney Ram 14
    31 31 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 13
    32 33 27 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet 0
    33 29 25 B.J. McLeod Chevrolet 0
    34 30 174 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 0
    35 32 93 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 9
    36 28 38 Chris Jones Chevrolet 8
  • Johnson captures the AAA Texas 500 pole at Texas Motor Speedway

    Johnson captures the AAA Texas 500 pole at Texas Motor Speedway

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”215″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson captured the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) with a lap of 191.076 MPH (28.261 SECS). This is Johnson’ first pole at TMS and the 29th of his career.  Johnson also captured the pole last week at Martinsville and won the race.

    “I knew I put down a good lap. Very proud of the effort my Lowe’s team put into this race car today. We didn’t unload like we wanted to. We made a lot of progress through the practice session, and then got it right there for qualifying.” Johnson said.

    Greg Biffle qualified second with a lap of 190.382 MPH.

    “I drove it down in there and committed but couldn’t hold it down from the center out. The car was sliding and skating and I probably carried too much speed on entry and paid the price on exit. I backed it up a little in three and four and got a better three and four but the 48 put down a heck of a lap going that early. I am sure some guys that are faster here are coming up but we will have to wait and see.” Biffle said of his qualifying run.

    Kyle Busch qualified third, Clint Bowyer fourth and Martin Truex Jr. qualified fifth.

    “It was really good in (turns) one and two and anytime you get in it like that. You know, you got one and two that’s got all that grip and the shade, and you get down to (turns) three and four.” Bowyer said.

    Second place in the series points, Brad Keselowski qualified eighth.

    “It feels like the pole. It may not be the pole, but it feels like the pole for us. Our car has had a ton of speed since we’ve been here in race trim. Qualifying trim has been our weakness all year. I think that bodes very well for us on Sunday.” Keselowski said.

    Starting Lineup
    AAA Texas 500, Texas Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=34
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 191.076 28.261
    2 16 Greg Biffle Ford 190.382 28.364
    3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 190.128 28.402
    4 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 190.067 28.411
    5 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 189.994 28.422
    6 20 Joey Logano Toyota 189.76 28.457
    7 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 189.607 28.48
    8 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 189.533 28.491
    9 99 Carl Edwards Ford 189.474 28.5
    10 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 189.46 28.502
    11 55 Mark Martin Toyota 189.294 28.527
    12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 189.274 28.53
    13 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 188.99 28.573
    14 43 Aric Almirola Ford 188.976 28.575
    15 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 188.923 28.583
    16 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 188.798 28.602
    17 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 188.626 28.628
    18 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 188.396 28.663
    19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 188.357 28.669
    20 13 Casey Mears Ford 188.337 28.672
    21 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 188.042 28.717
    22 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 187.996 28.724
    23 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 187.78 28.757
    24 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 187.565 28.79
    25 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 187.435 28.81
    26 51 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 187.389 28.817
    27 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 187.35 28.823
    28 37 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 187.266 28.836
    29 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 187.227 28.842
    30 38 David Gilliland Ford 186.858 28.899
    31 195 Scott Speed Ford 186.858 28.899
    32 10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 186.541 28.948
    33 34 David Ragan Ford 186.477 28.958
    34 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 186.471 28.959
    35 26 Josh Wise* Ford 186.413 28.968
    36 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 186.368 28.975
    37 98 Michael McDowell Ford 186.066 29.022
    38 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 185.867 29.053
    39 191 Reed Sorenson Toyota 185.714 29.077
    40 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 184.906 29.204
    41 83 Landon Cassill+ Toyota 184.382 29.287
    42 32 Ken Schrader+ Ford 181.843 29.696
    43 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 185.586 29.097
  • Lap by Lap: TUMS Fast Relief 500 won by Jimmie Johnson

    Lap by Lap: TUMS Fast Relief 500 won by Jimmie Johnson

    [media-credit name=”Tyler Barrick/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson would take the lead late in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 to take the victory and the points lead, two points ahead of Brad Keselowski.

     

    Lap 1 Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers side-by-side for the lead; Johnson leads at the line by a nose

    Lap 2 Johnson clears Vickers for the lead

    Lap 6 Johnson leads Vickers, Kyle Busch, Burton, Hamlin, Bowyer, Stewart, Kenseth, Gordon and Menard

    Lap 12 Johnson leads Vickers, Kyle Busch, Burton, Hamlin, Bowyer, Gordon, Stewart, Menard, Logano, Truex Jr., Earnhardt Jr., Almirola, Kenseth.

    Lap 14 Keselowski runs 30th after starting 32nd

    Lap 15 Hamlin, Bowyer and Gordon by Burton for position

    Lap 17 Bowyer and Gordon pass Hamlin for position

    Lap 18 Keselowski 29th

    Lap 29 Johnson leads Vickers, Gordon, Bowyer, Hamlin, Busch, Stewart, Menard, Truex Jr., Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 31 Keselwoski 27th

    Lap 34 Gordon passes Vickers for second

    Lap 37 Keselowski 28th

    Lap 39 Bowyer passes Vickers

    Lap 40 Hamlin passes Vickers so it’s Johnson leading Gordon, Bowyer, Hamlin, Vickers, Busch, Stewart, Menard, Truex Jr., Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 41 Busch passes Vickers

    Lap 44 Kahne passes Earnhardt Jr. Keselowski 27th.

    Caution Lap 45 David Stremme slows in turn one with a flat tire…..leaders head down pit road. Johnson leads Gordon, Hamlin, Busch, Bower, Vickers, Truex Jr. and Stewart off pit road. Hamlin caught speeding on pit road, restarts 30th. Keselowski up to 17th after changing left side tires

    Lap 52 Restart as Johnson and Gordon side-by-side into turn one, Johnson clears Gordon into turn three

    Lap 53 Busch passes Gordon for second

    Lap 57 Johnson leads Busch, Gordon, Bowyer, Vickers, Truex Jr., Earnhardt Jr., Stewart, Kahne and Menard.

    Lap 59 Keselowski 17th

    Lap 60 Hamlin 29th

    Lap 62 Gordon passes Busch for second; Earnhardt Jr. passes Truex for sixth

    Lap 70 Gordon passes Johnson for the lead

    Lap 75 Gordon leads Johnson, Busch and Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 78 Gordon leads Johnson, Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Vickers, Bowyer, Truex Jr., Kahne

    Lap 90 Gordon leads Johnson, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Vickers, Bowyer, Truex Jr., Kahne, Stewart and Kurt Busch

    Lap 91 Montoya passes Kurt Busch for 10th; Keselowski 20th

    Lap 95 Hamlin 14th

    Caution Lap 98 David Gilliland has a flat right front tire……leaders pit. Johnson leads Kyle Busch, Gordon, Vickers, Bowyer, Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Earnhardt Jr. off pit road.

    Restart lap 104 as Johnson and Kyle Busch are side-by-side for the lead

    Lap 105 Johnson clears Busch for first, Gordon clears Busch for second

    Lap 106 Gordon looking inside of Johnson for the lead,

    Lap 107 Gordon clears Johnson outta turn two; Busch clears Johnson for second

    Lap 108 Johnson and Vickers make contact battling for third

    Lap 109 Vickers clears Johnson for third

    Lap 110 Gordon leads Ky Busch, Vickers, Johnson, Bowyer, Ku Busch, Truex Jr., Montoya, Kahne, Newman, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 112 Keselowski 21st

    Lap 115 Vickers alongside Busch for second….Gordon leads Vickers, Busch, Johnson, Bowyer, Ku Busch, Montoya, Kahne, Truex Jr. and Hamlin.

    Lap 118 Keselowski 20th

    Travis Kvapil spins in turn two…..Gordon, Ky Busch and Truex Jr. stay out as the leaders pit. Landon Cassill gets the lucky dog…….Johnson back to 11th due to taking four tires against those who took two

    Restart lap 137 as its Gordon and Ky Busch side-by-side for the lead

    Lap 138 Gordon clears Busch going into turn one

    Lap 146 Gordon leads Vickers, Hamlin, Truex Jr., Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Montoya, Ku. Busch, Ky. Busch as Vickers look for the lead from Gordon

    Lap 147 Vickers passes Gordon for the lead

    Lap 148 Hamlin passes Gordon for second

    Caution lap 150 Ky. Busch goes around in turn two after getting loose…..Keselowski, Kahne, Gordon, Montoya and Truex Jr. pit with some other drivers. Kahne first off pit road, will restart 17th with Gordon 18th.

    Restart Lap 156

    Lap 157 Vickers clears Hamlin for the lead with Earnhardt Jr. third, followed by Johnson and Bowyer.

    Lap 161 Vickers leads Hamlin, Johnson, Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Ku Busch, Newman, McMurray, Hornish Jr. and Edwards.

    Lap 163 Keselwoski 22nd.

    Lap 165 Hamlin passes Vickers for the lead

    Lap 166 Johnson passes Vickers for second so it is Hamlin leading Johnson, Vickers, Bowyer, Ku Busch, Earnhardt Jr., McMurray, Newman, Hornish Jr. and Edwards.

    Lap 170 Johnson passes Hamlin for the lead

    Lap 183 Bowyer and Johnson are side-by-side for the lead and Bowyer clears Johnson going into turn three

    Lap 184 Gordon passes Ku Busch for sixth

    Lap 185 Bowyer leads Johnson, Hamlin, Vickers, McMurray, Gordon, Ku Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Edwards and Hornish Jr. Hamlin passes Johnson for second.

    Lap 187 Keselowski 18th

    Caution Lap 199 Marcos Ambrose spins in turn two by himself……leaders pit……Hamlin leads Johnson, Gordon, Bower, Ku Busch, Truex Jr., Earnhardt Jr. off pit road. Hamlin caught speeding, will restart at the back of the field.

    Restart Lap 205 as Johnson and Gordon are side-by-side for the lead. Gordon clears Johnson off of turn four on the outside.

    Lap 210 Gordon leads Johnson, Bowyer, Ku Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Edwards, Kahne, Truex Jr., Harvick, Vickers. Keselowski 13th.

    Lap 212 Hamlin 26th as Johnson is all over Gordon’s back bumper.

    Caution #6 Lap 213 Travis Kvapil and Marcos Ambrose spin in turn two. Allmendinger got into Smith, cutting Ambrose’s tire, resulting in Ambrose’s spin. Leaders stay out.

    Restart Lap 219 as Gordon holds serve ahead of Bowyer and Johnson

    Lap 220 Bowyer clears Johnson for second

    Lap 223 Gordon leads Bowyer, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Ku Busch, Kahne, Edwards, Vickers, Harvick and Montoya.

    Lap 224 Keselwoski passes McMurray for 11th

    Lap 225 Hamlin 23rd

    Lap 226 Bowyer passes Gordon for the lead

    Lap 228 Bowyer leads Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Kahne

    Caution Lap 229 Kurt Busch goes for a spin virtue of contact with Kevin Harvick. Some of the leaders stay out, some of the leaders pit. Vickers is the first of the leaders to pit out of sixth

    Restart lap 235 as Johnson and Bowyer are side-by-side for the lead. Truex Jr. to receive a penalty for changing lanes before the restart.

    Lap 238 Bowyer clears Johnson ahead of Gordon, Eanhardt Jr. and Kahne

    Lap 240 Bowyer leads Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Kahne, Harvick, Edwards, Keselowski, Vickers, Hornish Jr. and Biffle. Hamlin 12th. Gordon mentioned a valve train pop about 30 laps ago.

    Lap 246 Hamlin alongside Biffle for 11th

    Lap 249 Kahne passes Earnhardt Jr., Vickers passes Keselowski, Hamlin passes Hornish Jr.

    Lap 250 Kahne passes Johnson for third

    Lap 251 Hamlin and Ky. Busch pass Keselowski

    Lap 253 Bowyer leads Gordon, Kahne, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Vickers, Edwards, Hamlin, Ky. Busch, Keselowski

    Lap 254 Vickers passes Harvick

    Lap 256 Vickers passes Earnhardt Jr.

    Lap 267 Bowyer leads Gordon, Kahne, Johnson, Vickers, Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, Ky. Busch, Harvick, Keselowski

    Lap 269 Vickers alongside Johnson for fourth

    Lap 272 Vickers clears Johnson for fourth; Hamlin passes Earnhardt Jr. for sixth

    Lap 277 Bowyer leads Gordon, Kahne, Vickers, Johnson, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Ky. Busch, Harvick, Keselowski

    Lap 281 Hamlin passes Johnson for fifth

    Lap 289 Bowyer leads Gordon, Kahne, Vickers, Hamlin, Johnson, Ky. Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick and Keselowski

    Lap 296 Hamlin passes Vickers for fourth

    Lap 302 Bowyer gets into Stewart trying to lap him

    Lap 316 Kahne passes Gordon for second

    Lap 321 Bowyer leads Kahne, Gordon, Hamlin, Vickers, Johnson, Ky. Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick and Keselowski

    Lap 324 Hamlin passes Gordon for third

    Lap 326 Vickers gets alongside Gordon for fourth, clearing him coming out of turn four

    Lap 335 Harvick pits

    Lap 337 Gordon pits

    Lap 339 Allmendinger pits

    Lap 340 Bowyer leads Kahne, Hamlin, Vickers, Ky. Busch, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Edwards and Labonte

    Lap 341 Biffle and Cassill pit

    Lap 342 Hornish Jr. pits

    Lap 343 Edwards and Earnhardt Jr. pit

    Lap 344 Hamlin gets into Kahne, trying to pass him.

    Lap 345 Kahne pits to hand second over to Hamlin.

    Lap 346 Bowyer leads Hamlin and Vickers. Keselowski up to sixth.

    Lap 347 Labonte pits.

    Lap 349 Burton goes way up the race track, keeps it off the wall, makes it to the pits….Ambrose pits.

    Lap 350 Bowyer pits to hand the lead over to Hamlin. Hamlin leads Vickers, Ky. Busch, Johnson

    Lap 353 Johnson pits.

    Lap 356 Hamlin leads Vickers, Ky. Busch, Keselowski, McMurray…..Hamlin and Keselowski head down pit road. Vickers leads.

    Lap 360 McMurray pits as Vickers leads Almirola and Kenseth.

    Lap 361 Stewart pits

    Lap 364 Vickers pits to hand the lead over to Kenseth.

    Lap 366 Kahne passes Kenseth for the lead

    Lap 367 Kenseth pits.

    Lap 369 Kahne leads Bowyer, Hamlin, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Ky. Busch, Johnson, Harvick, Hornish Jr., Newman, Keselowski

    Lap 372 Hamlin runs into problems as the car shuts off, loses multiple spots, but gets it back running. Now back to eighth.

    Lap 383 Hamlin once again slows, though gets it back going as Bowyer is just about to put him a lap down. Hamlin runs 15th.

    Lap 388 Hamlin goes a lap down as it shuts off again.

    Lap 389 Bowyer leads Kahne, Gordon, Johnson, Ky. Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Vickers, Keselowski, Hornish Jr.

    Lap 391 Hamlin warned that he is not making minimum speed.

    Caution Lap 392 Hamlin stalled on the front stretch……leaders head down pit road. Johnson leads Bowyer, Ky. Busch, Kahne, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Vickers off pit road.

    Restart lap 400 as Johnson pulls ahead of Bowyer and Busch.

    97 laps to go Johnson leads Bowyer, Ky. Busch, Gordon, Kahne, Earnhardt Jr., Vickers, Keselowski, Biffle, Harvick

    91 laps to go Hornish Jr., Allmendinger, Edwards, Labonte and Logano pass Harvick for position

    79 laps to go Johnson leads Bowyer, Gordon, Ky. Busch, Kahne, Vickers, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Biffle and Hornish Jr. as Harvick goes a lap down with reported engine issues.

    77 laps to go Hamlin back on track as they have fixed the “master switch”

    74 laps to go Biffle passes Earnhardt Jr. for ninth

    72 laps to go Gordon passes Bowyer

    62 laps to go Johnson leads Gordon, Bowyer, Ky. Busch……Montoya spins after contact with Johnson in tight quarters with Travis Kvapil…..leaders pit…….Johnson leads Gordon, Ky. Busch, Bowyer, Kahne, Vickers, Keselowski, Hornish Jr. off pit road

    Restart 55 laps to go

    51 laps to go Johnson leads Gordon, Ky. Busch, Bowyer, Kahne, Vickers, Keselowski, Hornish Jr., Earnhardt Jr. and Biffle. Allmendinger instructed to come to pit road to get bumper bar removed

    47 laps to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Hornish Jr.; Vickers passes Kahne

    45 laps to go Bowyer passes Ky. Busch; Keselowski passes Kahne

    44 laps to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Kahne

    42 laps to go Johnson leads Gordon, Bowyer, Ky. Busch, Vickers, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Kahne, Hornish Jr. and Biffle.

    30 laps to go Johnson leads Gordon, Bowyer, Ky. Busch, Vickers, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Kahne, Hornish Jr., Biffle.

    Caution 25 laps to go Harvick blows up….Keselowski and Earnhardt Jr. stayed out while everybody else pitted.

    Restart 19 laps to go as Keselowski clears the field with Johnson behind him. Kyle Busch alongside Earnhardt Jr. for third.

    15 laps to go Johnson all over Keselowski’s bumper for the lead

    14 laps to go Johnson passes Keselowski for the lead as Ky. Busch passes Keselowski for second.

    13 laps to go Kahne passes Keselowski for third

    12 laps to go Gordon passes Keselowski for fourth

    11 laps to go Almirola under Keselowski for fifth as Johnson leads Ky. Busch, Kahne, Gordon.

    Caution 9 laps to go Hornish got into Edwards, who then took Jr. around with him

    Restart 5 laps to go as Johnson clears Ky. Busch out of turn two.

    4 laps to go Ky. Busch holds Kahne off for second.

    Johnson wins ahead of Ky. Busch, Kahne, Almirola, Bowyer, Keselowski, Gordon, Vickers, Labonte, Biffle, Newman, Menard, Hornish Jr., Ku. Busch, Kenseth, Logano, McMurray, Edwards, Casssill, Montoya, Earnhardt Jr.

    Johnson leads Keselowski by two points, Bowyer by 26 points, Kahne by 29, Hamlin by 49