The race was one of the fastest races run at this track as Busch when leading kept a 3 second distance between him and the field.

Busch had led early in the race with the team telling him to slow down. Busch did not seem to hear it as he kept banging off of the outside walls of turns one, two, three and four. He seemed to leave his mark everywhere. The car had a huge amount of damage, which did not slow Busch down. 

Busch’s team, during a pit stop had not put a lug nut on the car, which in turn, put him to the tail end of the leaders in 20^th place, a lap down. Busch had fought diversity though, to get back on the lead lap, tear through the field to move into the top ten, halfway through the race. 

With more than 100 laps to go, Busch moved back in to the lead and did not look back. Busch was able to hit the wall hard, not only once, but at least five times. Each hit seemed to make the car go faster. 

Busch won the race by 3.1 seconds over Carl Edwards. Edwards had a tough day himself. 

Edwards started 36^th. He moved into the top 20 by lap 100. Edwards fought a car that did not want to give him the best handling car, but was able to power through a wheel vibration that affected all the Roush powered cars to finish second, but not enough though to even challenge Busch in the closing laps of the event. 

Hendrick power was strong through the event. Jeff Gordon finished 3^rd, Dale Earnhardt Jr., 4^th. Jimmy Johnson held himself in the top 10 for a majority of the race, but the ill fated car would slip back to 13^th in the closing laps. 

Some of the movers of the race – Give a big shout out to Dave Blaney who started 13^th. Blaney would move into the top ten, to keep himself in the ranks for the event. Blaney’s team would have fast pit stops to keep him in the hunt fir the win. 

Blaney would make key moves during the race to get into the top 5. In the end the car slipped though back to 9^th, giving Blaney a needed shot in the arm for his mediocre season with his first top 10 finish of the year.  

Blaney would also get some help to keep himself in the top 35, where he was on the bubble in the points chase. 

Other notable finishes would be David Ragan (5^th) with his 2^nd top five and 3^rd top 10 of the season and Travis Kvapil (8^th) with his 3^rd top ten for his season. 

Drivers in trouble saw Tony Stewart with a lap 3 crash after Elliott Sadler shot up from the apron into his car in turn one on lap 1. Stewart had fallen back to two laps down, back far in the field. 

Through several pit stops, good moves and key breaks, Stewart was able to regain one of his laps back and the next one to be in the lucky dog position. He did not get his break, though he did catch up to Busch near the end of the race to show his car was not going to go down in flames. 

Greg Biffle would continue his tough year as he would be only one of two drivers in the garage for the race. Biffle had led 95 laps of the event (2^nd most), and looked to be in contention for the win, but a transmission issue would put him into pit lane.  

Biffle would also have further issues as his engine would expire several laps later in the race. 

PRE RACE CHATTER 

Richard Childress Racing’s trio of drivers dominate this week’s top five in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. And, with RCR claiming eight wins at Darlington Raceway over the years, the outlook for that organization is looking up as the series travels to the track deemed “Too Tough to Tame” for the Dodge 500 this Saturday night. 

Clint Bowyer’s (No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet) win at Richmond International Raceway last week moved him up from seventh to fourth in the standings. Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet), the points leader for the previous four weeks, moved down a spot to second, while Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet) climbed a spot to fifth. 

Bowyer and Burton (Bristol) have each posted wins this year. The three have combined to tally 18 top-10 and eight top-five finishes. Team owner Richard Childress likes the chemistry the three teams are displaying. 

“I think it shows the consistency and teamwork we’re working with at RCR right now,” said Childress. “Everyone is trying to be the most competitive they can be and hopefully, have a run at The Chase and the championship. All three teams and all three drivers still have areas to improve on. We’re not resting on what we’ve accomplished at all but it is good knowing we have things headed in the right direction at this point in the season.” 

For the second time this season, Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s/Indiana Jones Toyota) sits atop the championship point standings. Busch’s second-place showing last Saturday at Richmond marked his sixth top-five finish of the season.  

Busch’s 109.4 Driver Rating is best among all series drivers, as is his Average Running Position of 9.0. The Driver Rating, a formula combining a number of Loop Data statistics, gives a clear description of how a driver’s season, or race, has played out.  

The 23-year-old has been described by many as a “throwback” driver, as his propensity to drive the wheels off of anything he can plus his competitive demeanor on the race track has propelled him to center stage at this point of the NASCAR racing season. He heads into this week end’s action with seven victories spread across all three of NASCAR’s major series —two in NASCAR Sprint Cup, three in NASCAR Nationwide Series, and two in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. 

Following his on-track tangle with Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet) in the closing laps of Saturday’s race at Richmond, Busch matter-of-factly said “it was just, good hard racing.” 

"I mean, if I went out there on that final restart and just gave way to the No. 88 (Earnhardt Jr.), then that wouldn't be a true race car driver," Busch said. "So, you know, I had to do what I had to do to win for my team, to win for (my sponsors). You know, unfortunately circumstances happened." 

TO WIN YOU MUST QUALIFY 

Greg Biffle won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Dodge Challenger 500 with a lap of 27.405 seconds, 179.442 mph. Biffle broke Ward Burton’s track qualifying record of 28.295 seconds, 173.797 mph – set March 22, 1996, in the first qualifying session after the last re-paving of Darlington raceway. Burton’s was the longest standing qualifying record at an active, non-restrictor-plate track. The top-41 times bettered Burton’s speed. 

This is his fifth pole in 197 career NASCAR Sprint Cup races. This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2008. This is Biffle’s first pole and sixth top-10 start in eight races at Darlington Raceway. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (second) posted his sixth top-10 start of 2008 and his fourth in 14 Darlington races. Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his sixth top-10 start in 10 races at Darlington. This is his 11th top-10 start of the 2008 season. Dave Blaney (13th) was the fastest of the drivers required to make the field on time. Regan Smith (16th) was the fastest qualifying rookie. 

NOW LET'S GET THEM GOING!! 

We’ll see Robby Gordon and Kasey Kahne going to the back for car changes. Many of the drivers’ mothers give the command to start engines. The drivers hit the new pavement of the Lady in Black. Will tires last longer? Will drivers last longer? Time will tell. Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. take us out of turn four to the… 

GREEN FLAG as Biffle and Earnhardt Jr. rocket away from the field. As it looks like Earnhardt was going to take the lead… 

YELLOW FLAG lap one as Elliott Sadler wiggles on the bottom of turn one then shoots up into the path of Tony Stewart. Sadler’s car crunches the front end of Stewart’s car as his car hits the front end into the wall. 

We see Sadler, Stewart, Reed Sorenson, Paul Menard, Travis Kvapil, Carl Edwards, Kyle Petty and Clint Bowyer. Sadler takes his car to the garage. NASCAR scores Earnhardt Jr. in the lead. 

GREEN FLAG lap 5 as the single file of drivers race into turns one and two. NO fast getaways for Earnhardt and Biffle. Lap 7 both Busch brothers move into 3^rd and 4^th, as older brother Kurt is in front. Lap 9 Earnhardt Jr. and Biffle start to pull away by over one second from the field. Lap 10 Kyle Petty nails the wall hard and takes his car to pit road.

YELLOW FLAG lap 11 as Sam Hornish Jr. hits the wall and limps down the front stretch. Petty is the lucky dog. The first 15 drivers or so stay out. We hear about a dozen or more drivers have earned “The Darlington Stripe.” Hornish Jr. takes his car to the garage. 

GREEN FLAG lap 15 led by Earnhardt and Biffle once again. One thing we see is that it looks like all the cars are driving sideways, well talk more about that in a minute as Kyle Busch makes his challenge for the lead. Lap 17 Busch is the new leader as Earnhardt backs off for a minute to give room. 

Lap 20 as Earnhardt gave room, he slides back to 4^th as Kurt Busch takes advantage of the opening. Lap 21 Kyle Busch leads the field by 1.7 seconds. The way the cars are setup these days with the suspensions has the rear end of the car off set about a half foot to the right, so the cars do not drive straight anymore. There is no rule against this at this time, but expect NASCAR to develop something to correct it. 

Lap 25 the top 10 drivers are – Kyle Busch, Biffle, Kurt Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Scott Riggs, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton. Lap 28 Kyle Busch leads Biffle by 3 seconds. 

Lap 35 some of the movers of the race are – Carl Edwards from his start of 36^th up to 21^st, Brian Vickers from 28^th up to 20^th, Casey Mears from 29^th up to 17^th, Jamie McMurray from 25^th up to 16^th and Martin Truex Jr. from 22^nd up to 11^th. 

Lap 40 drivers on the slide backwards are – Joe Nemechek from 17^th back to 23^rd, Michael McDowell from 18^th back to 27^th, Bill Elliott from 20^th back to 34^th and Stewart from 4^th back to 37^th. 

We see Biffle take the lead from Kyle Busch as he complains of his brakes being junk. We can see his rotors glowing red already. This will be a long day for him. Lap 43 we know that Sadler, Hornish Jr. and Petty are in the garage while Juan Pablo Montoya, Clint Bowyer are a lap down. 

Lap 45 drivers in the danger zone – Reed Sorenson, Stewart, Bill Elliott, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman. 

Lap 50 your top 20 drivers are – Biffle, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Kurt Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Harvick, Riggs, Labonte, Burton, Truex Jr., Dave Blaney, David Ragan, Sterling Marlin, Regan Smith, McMurray, Mears, Kvapil, Edwards and David Reutimann. 

Lap 55 pit stops are underway. Michael Waltrip and Smith are in and out. Lap 57 Burton is in along with Vickers. Lap 58 Nemechek, McDowell, A.J. Allmendinger, Labonte and Blaney are in. 

Lap 59 Johnson and Kyle Busch are in. Biffle is in along with Earnhardt Jr., and 5 others. Kurt Busch gets five points for leading a lap. Kvapil leads a lap. Lap 62 Bowyer is in along with Edwards. Lap 63 Matt Kenseth is the leader as he pitted on the first caution. 

Lap 65 Kahne leads a lap as most drivers have completed their stops. Lap 66 Denny Hamlin is in. Lap 67 Patrick Carpentier leads a lap. Lap 68 Newman picks up a pit road penalty for his crew not being in control of the tire going back to the pit wall. He will loose a precious lap for that mistake. 

Lap 70 David Gilliland leads a lap. Lap 71 Kyle Busch is the leader once again after stops, followed by Biffle. Lap 75 your top ten drivers are – Kyle Busch, Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Burton, Jeff Gordon, Johnson, Truex Jr., Kurt Busch and Labonte. 

Lap 80 Biffle closes in on Kyle Busch. They get stuck behind Waltrip for a minute. Looking at Kyle Busch’s car, we still see they brakes glowing red. Lap 84 we hear that Busch is now having issues with steering the car in the corners. 

Lap 87 as we keep watching the “Crooked Offset Trim” cars going down the straights, Kyle Busch leads Biffle by a half second as they lead the rest of the field by 7 seconds, who is Earnhardt Jr. who is 5 seconds in front of everyone else. 

Lap 94 Newman is two laps down along with Sorenson, Elliott, McDowell, Stewart, Montoya, Menard, Allmendinger, Gilliland, Nemechek, Carpentier, Bowyer, Waltrip, Smith and Robby Gordon. Lap 97 Marlin, J.J. Yeley, Vickers, Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne would be the next ones to go a lap down. Sadler is back on track. 

Lap 100 your top 20 drivers are – Kyle Busch, Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Truex Jr., Johnson, Kvapil, Burton, Kurt Busch, Labonte, Blaney, Mears, Reutimann, Ragan, Edwards, Kenseth, Riggs, McMurray and Hamlin. So far we have seen 11 lead changes among 10 drivers and 2 cautions for 6 laps. 

Lap 106 as the second round of pit stops are here, Kyle Busch is slowing down. Biffle closes in to a few car lengths of Busch. Earnhardt is 4.5 seconds behind and closing as well as the rest of the field which is 8 seconds + behind. 

Lap 110 Biffle takes the lead. Lap 111 Robby Gordon is heading to his pit with a battery problem. Lap 112 Vickers, Waltrip are in. Lap 114 Burton is in along with McDowell. Lap 116 Smith, Allmendinger and Blaney are in. Lap 118 Truex Jr., Johnson and Riggs are in for stops. Reutimann, Nemechek and Bowyer are in. 

Lap 119 Labonte, McMurray, Mears are in. Lap 120 Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Martin are in. Lap 121 Earnhardt Jr. and many others are in. Lap 122 Biffle is in. Jeff Gordon will lead a lap. Lap 122 Hamlin leads a lap during pit stops. 

Lap 124 Stewart misses pit road entrance who will need to go around another lap. We also see that Kyle Busch tap the back of Biffle’s car in turn one. Biffle is big time sideways, like he driving on a dirt track, saves the car and continues on. 

Lap 131 unlike the last round of pit stops, Kyle Busch leads Biffle by 1 second and Earnhardt Jr. by 2.8 seconds. Truex Jr. has moved up to 4^th with Kvapil into 5^th. Lap 136 24 drivers remain on the lead lap. Lap 137 Kyle Busch almost loses the car and hits the wall. We hear that his brakes are not working the way he needs them to. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 139 for debris. Bowyer should be the lucky dog. The leader are in for their stops lead in by Kyle Busch. The race out of pit road is Earnhardt Jr., Biffle, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Truex Jr. Kyle Busch and Scott Riggs to the back for pit road penalties. 

GREEN FLAG lap 144 as Earnhardt Jr. and Biffle lead the drivers back up to speed. Lap 146 Harvick slaps the wall out of turn two, hard. The car hits the front then the back as pieces fly off of the car. Harvick will be pushed back to the garage. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 147 for debris from Harvick’s car. Menard is the lucky dog. Lap 150 the top 20 drivers are – Earnhardt Jr., Biffle, Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kvapil, Johnson, Jeff Burton, Labonte, Blaney, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Reutimann, Ragan, Kenseth, Mears, Martin, Edwards, Kahne and Kyle Busch. 

GREEN FLAG lap 151 as Earnhardt and Biffle get the show going once again. Lap 157 Biffle makes the move on the inside of Earnhardt, but will sit for a few laps before making it. Lap 159 Biffle takes the lead. Truex Jr. also makes the move as well to take 2^nd from him. 

Lap 160 Kyle Busch passes Labonte to 13^th, taking no prisoners on his way back to the front. Lap 162 Busch working on the inside of Kenseth for 12^th on the apron. Lap 164 Biffle leads by 2.3 seconds in front of Truex Jr. 

Lap 167 some of the current movers of the race – Kyle Busch on his way back front, running 12^th, Truex Jr. 2^nd, Kvapil 6^th from his 24^th starting position, Hamlin from 21^st up to 7^th, Kenseth from 34^th up to 13^th, Reutimann from 30^th up to 14^th, Mears from 29^th up to 15^th, McMurray from 25^th to 16^th and Martin from 27^th to 18^th. 

On the down slide are – Kurt Busch from 5^th down to 13^th, Riggs from 9^th down to 22^nd, Montoya from 19^th to 28^th, Stewart from 4^th down to 30^th, Marlin from 14^th down to 33^rd, Smith from 16^th down to 35^th, Nemechek from 17^th down to 36^th. 

Lap 178 Harvick’s team still is working on the car to get him back out on the track. Lap 184 Biffle leads Truex Jr. by 2.2 seconds. Kyle Busch has moved up to 9^th. Earnhardt Jr. slapped the wall a few laps ago coming out of turn two, but continued on. He dropped back to 4^th. 

Lap 187 (Halfway home) as Biffle puts Kahne down a lap. The next drivers to look going down a lap are Riggs, Bowyer and Vickers. Lap 190 we see a pass here or there, but mostly the drivers hold position on the old tires. We should see pit stops in about 10 to 15 laps. 

Lap 194 Biffle is on pit road with a possible broken transmission. Biffle drops to the apron, which allows Truex Jr. to lead the race. Hamlin has moved up to 3^rd, Gordon to 2^nd. 

Lap 200 your top 20 drivers are – Truex Jr., Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Blaney, Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Ragan, Kvapil, Kurt Busch, Burton, Mears, Edwards, Reutimann, McMurray, Martin, Labonte, Bowyer and Riggs. So far we have seen 22 lead changes among 13 leaders and 4 cautions for 13 laps. 

Lap 202 pit stops are underway as Truex Jr. makes a stop. Lap 203 Earnhardt Jr. is in. Almost all the leaders have made a stop. Harvick came back on the track for one lap and he takes it back to the garage. Lap 206 McMurray leads a lap. Ragan misses pit road entrance and will have to go around one more time. 

Lap 207 Biffle’s issue may have been a tire issue as he looks ok on the track, back in the lead. Lap 215 Biffle leads by 3 seconds over Truex Jr., 4.2 seconds over Hamlin and 6 seconds to Jeff Gordon. 

Lap 220 Kenseth may have a tire going down. Menard has an issue with his car and the team pushes it to the garage. Lap 223 Biffle leads Truex Jr. by 5.2 seconds. Lap 225 your top 10 drivers are – Biffle, Truex Jr., Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Kurt Busch and Kvapil. 

Lap 227 Kenseth remains on the track. It could be a loose wheel as we see him look really out of shape when he is in the turns. Lap 230 Blaney is up to 4^th. He has had a great race so far. 

Lap 231 17 drivers remain on the lead lap as Biffle puts Burton down a lap. We still see Martin, Vickers who would be the next ones to go a lap down then Mears, Reutimann and Edwards. 

Lap 233 Truex Jr. is back in the lead followed by Hamlin. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 235 for debris on the front. Biffle is on pit road with an engine issue. Labonte is the lucky dog. Biffle will go to the garage as the leaders are on pit road. Hamlin, Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch are the first back to the track. We see that Newman is clobbered by Vickers with a last minute decision to go to pit road. 

GREEN FLAG lap 240 as Hamlin and Truex Jr. bring the drivers back to racing. Lap 241 Hendrick power has been looking good as Gordon runs 3^rd, Earnhardt Jr. 4^th, Johnson 6^th and Mears 13^th. 

Lap 245 Kurt Busch moves to 4^th, Blaney is back to 7^th. Lap 247 Edwards runs 10^th from his start of 36^th.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 248 as Vickers looses control of his car out of turn 4, hitting the inside wall. Bowyer is the lucky dog. Some of the leaders head into pit road, lead by Hamlin. Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Kvapil and Kurt Busch stay out. Hamlin, Reutimann, Ragan and Truex Jr. are the first ones back to the track.  

The rest of the top twenty are – Burton, Martin, Mears, McMurray, Riggs, Kenseth, Labonte and Bowyer. Everyone else is a lap down. 

GREEN FLAG lap 252 as Gordon and Earnhardt jam through the gears in front of the two rows of drivers. Lap 257 we hear that Edwards feels like he has a loose wheel/ Edwards still holds onto 6^th place.  

Lap 259 Gilliland slams the wall coming out of turn 4 who continues on. Lap 260 Kyle Busch passes Earnhardt Jr. for 2^nd place. Lap 267 Jeff Gordon leads Kyle Busch by a half second. He leads Earnhardt Jr. by 2.6 seconds and Johnson by 4.7 seconds. 

Lap 270 Kyle Busch takes the lead with Mears blowing a left front tire behind him. Mears limps along for another lap to get back to the garage. Lap 272 Blaney has been running a great race as he moves past Johnson into 4^th. 

Lap 275 your top ten drivers are Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Blaney, Edwards, Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Johnson, Ragan and Truex Jr.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 279 for debris which may have been from Allmendinger. Kahne should be the lucky dog. After pit stops we will have 20 drivers on the lead lap. Kyle Busch will lead the drivers in. The race out of pit road is Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Edwards and Ragan. 

GREEN FLAG lap 284 as Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch will lead the two rows of drivers back to racing with Stewart and Yeley, a lap down on the inside. At the line, Gordon allows Stewart to jump ahead to possibly get his lap back naturally. Lap 285 Gordon is off pace, which allows Kyle Busch to retake the lead. 

Lap 278 as Gordon falls back to 4^th, Kyle Busch tags the wall yet again. He has some big dents on the right side of his car. Lap 290 Earnhardt Jr. is slipping back in time to almost 1 second behind, holding 2^nd place. 

Lap 295 Busch continues to pull away from the field to put Earnhardt Jr. back to 1.5 seconds behind and 3^rd place Edwards to 1.7 seconds. Lap 298 Jeff Gordon runs 4^th and 3.6 seconds behind. 

Lap 300 your top 20 drivers are – Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Blaney, Ragan, Hamlin, Truex Jr., Johnson, Kenseth, Burton, McMurray, Bowyer, Kvapil, Kurt Busch, Martin, Labonte, Reutimann, Riggs and Kahne. So far we have seen 33 lead changes among 15 drivers and 7 cautions for 24 laps. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 301 as Hamlin and Truex Jr. tangle in turn 4. Truex Jr. has big time damage on the right side of his car as Hamlin spins around. Truex looks to have the bad end of the deal. Gilliland should be the lucky dog. 

The race back to the track is Kyle Busch, Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Ragan and Earnhardt Jr. 

GREEN FLAG lap 307 (60 to go) as Kyle Busch and Edwards lead us back to racing. Lap 312 Kahne is big loose, almost wrecking out of turn four on the inside of Kurt Busch. Lap 314 Kyle Busch runs 1.3 seconds in front of Edwards, 3.8 seconds of Jeff Gordon and 4.2 seconds of Earnhardt Jr. 

Lap 321 Stewart battles Vickers for the lucky dog position, Edwards hangs onto staying below a 2 second difference between him and Kyle Busch. Jeff Gordon slips back to 5.5 seconds, Earnhardt Jr. 6.4 seconds. 

Lap 267 (40 to go) Blaney holds onto 5^th place, holding Ragan from making a pass. Lap 330 Blaney closes in on 4^th place Earnhardt. Lap 331 Kenseth closes in on Johnson for 7^th. 

Lap 332 (35 to go) Hamlin looking to take 8^th from Johnson who has been fighting his car issues for the entire race. Lap 335 Johnson is falling off pace. Truex Jr. hits the wall, allowing McMurray, Burton and Kvapil to pass him for 11^th, 12^th and 13^th. 

30 to go as Kyle Busch continues to pull away from Edwards to put the difference to 3.2 seconds, 3^rd place Gordon 6.9 seconds, 4^th place Earnhardt 7.3 seconds. Lap 342 Kenseth passes Blaney for 6^th. Lap 343 McMurray and Kvapil for 10^th place. 

20 to go as Busch has a 3.3 second lead over Edwards. Ragan closing in on Earnhardt Jr. for 4^th place. Lap 348 Stewart, a lap down has been on the move to close in on Kyle Busch to get back on the lead lap. 

Lap 350 your top 20 drivers are – Kyle Busch, Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Ragan, Kenseth, Blaney, Hamlin, Kvapil, Johnson, Burton, McMurray, Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Martin, Riggs, Bowyer, Labonte, Reutimann and Gilliland. 

15 to go Busch keeps the distance to 3.5 seconds back to Edwards.  

12 to go Edwards is the only one who could have anything for Busch. Busch looks to good though. 

10 to go Kyle Busch in his beat up car has the race unless he makes a mistake.  

9 to go Ragan looking to take 4^th from Earnhardt Jr.  

8 laps to go we hear talk that several drivers will have to stop for fuel. 

7 to go Johnson slides back to 13^th place. Busch to 3.7 seconds lead. 

5 to go the battered car of Kyle Busch has a 3.3 second lead. 3^rd place Jeff Gordon is 8.9 seconds. 

3 to go Busch is smooth through the turns. 

2 to go Kyle Busch looks to win his 3^rd Sprint Cup event of the year. 

WHITE FLAG for Busch. No battles in the top ten. 

CHECKERED FLAG for Kyle Busch. Busch on his victory lap bows to the crowd which is eerily silent. We do hear some cheering though. 

You top ten finishers of the race were – Kyle Busch, Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Ragan, Kenseth, Hamlin, Kvapil, Blaney and Burton. 

Kyle Busch led the most laps with 169. Biffle led 95, Earnhardt Jr. 35, Jeff Gordon 24, Hamlin 15 and Truex Jr. 11. 

We saw a race for 3 and a half hours. We also saw 35 lead changes among 15 leaders and 8 cautions for 30 laps. 

Kyle Busch won the Dodge Challenger 500, his ninth victory in 125 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is his third victory and eighth top-10 finish in 2008. This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in four races at Darlington Raceway. 

Busch became the 43rd different race winner at Darlington and at 23 years, eight days – the youngest. He beat Terry Labonte (9/1/1980) by nine months and eight days. 

Carl Edwards (second) posted his seventh top-10 finish of 2008 and his fourth in five races at Darlington.