Busch started his day 3^rd, behind his brother Kurt and pole setter Greg Biffle. Busch avoided the big one on lap 17 where Elliott Sadler hook quarter panels with David Gilliland coming out of turn two. 

The accident took out over half of the top 12 in season points. Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne would struggle for the rest of the race in badly damaged cars. Many pulled into the garage to get their cars fixed, except Sadler and Hamlin. 

Hamlin could not slow in time to react to the cars blocking his path and nailed Sadler and Kahne going about ½ to ¾ speed. The rest would come back on the track to log laps in hope of moving up a few positions on the track and retain their positions in the overall standings. 

Kyle Busch would find his way in and out of the lead throughout the race. Through pit stops and many drivers not getting a handle on their cars, we would see the lead lap car count dwindle very rapidly. By halfway of the race, we saw 16 drivers on the lead lap. By the last stop of the race, we saw 6 drivers left. 

Busch, on the last round of pit stops, came out 7 seconds in front of second place Carl Edwards and 10 seconds in front of 3^rd place Greg Biffle. The last 40 laps of the race, Edwards could not gain the momentum back.  

Busch would finish the race 4.2 seconds in front of Edwards and only after slowing not to pass any other lapped down cars, as the team kept on him on the radio that he did not have to pass anyone else. Otherwise, it could have been a difference of 6 seconds. 

Edwards had a good car starting 14^th to move into the lead to be in front for 64 laps but with pit stops and cautions towards the end of the race could not gather the steam he needed to make any challenge at the end. 

Biffle looked to be a threat at the start of the race, but his car had voltage issues to keep him in the top 3, but could not contend with his teammate and Busch. 

Biffle led the most laps with 164, but with the ailing car, fell off pace in the second half, not to make any challenges, and hang on for dear life for a top 5 finish. 

The rough day award goes to both Sadler and Stewart. Sadler with only racing the 17 laps and Stewart to finish 41^st and 200 laps down. 

PRE RACE CHATTER 

Momentum is one of those intangibles that plays a pivotal role in the ebb and flow of sports. One stellar performance or one set of circumstances can suddenly turn the tide in favor of the athlete and his outlook on the rest of the season. If any driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is carrying momentum into this weekend’s race at Dover International Speedway, it’s Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge. 

Fresh off back-to-back wins at Lowe’s Motor Speedway — first the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 17, when he was voted into the competition by the fans, and then the Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday evening — Kahne and his race team have suddenly reasserted themselves as a force to reckon with. Now 12th in the point standings, could it be that this team has returned to the form that saw Kahne win a series-high six races in 2006? Only time will tell, but performances from the past two weekends appear to have provided this team with a wave of momentum. 

“You know, it really feels good to win on this weekend,” Kahne said last Sunday, after claiming his eighth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, and his first points win since October, 2006. “Confidence is huge. I feel like I gave better input this week … I’ve stepped up and given Kenny (Francis) more to work with as a crew chief and I’ve given our engineers more to work with. And, I wasn’t doing that at the start of the year. I think that’s a big part of the confidence, and it shows on the racetrack.” 

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Combos Toyota) continues to be on top of the leader board in the championship point standings and has even widened his lead over second place Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet). Busch had a 79-point lead over Burton last week and after his third-place showing at the Coca-Cola 600, has increased that lead to 94 points. The top five in the standings remain unchanged from a week ago, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet), Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota) and Clint Bowyer (No. 07 DirecTV Chevrolet) holding down spots 3-4-5. Busch has the season’s top Driver Rating (113.1), followed by Earnhardt Jr. (110.2) and Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford, 102.0). Busch and Edwards are tied with a series-best three victories apiece on the season the season. Busch, Burton, Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) and Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) have been in the top 12 for all 12 weeks of the season. 

Only 39 points separate positions 9-12. Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) is ninth this week, seven points ahead of Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet), 10 points ahead of Biffle and 39 points ahead of Kahne. 

David Ragan (No. 6 AAA Ford) was 12th last week and has dropped to 13th in the standings, 56 points behind Kahne. Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford), who has made the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup all four years, heads into this week’s action at Dover ranked 16th in the standings, 190 points out of 12th. 

Dover’s high-banked one-mile concrete racing surface that has been likened to 400 laps of racing in a concrete cereal bowl has earned it the moniker of “The Monster Mile.” This Sunday’s race is considered to be one of the most challenging on the series circuit and fresh off the heels of last week’s 600-miler at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, poses yet another endurance test for the 43 drivers and their race teams. 

Dover is celebrating its 40th anniversary season in 2008. Earlier this month, plans for Phase II of the track’s “Monster Makeover” Capital Improvement project were unveiled, including the dedication ceremony for the new 46-foot Monster Monument at Victory Plaza. Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon was on hand for the festivities. 

“It’s an amazing monument and it really symbolizes what this track is all about to the drivers and the fans,” said Gordon, who has won four times at Dover. “The Monster Mile brings out the monster in all of us. It’s a grueling, fast race track that is very, very tough. 

Bobby Allison, a seven-time Dover winner, will be the first driver honored with a marquee plaque on the Monster Monument in a special ceremony scheduled for Saturday, May 31 at Victory Plaza. 

TO WIN YOU MUST QUALIFY 

Greg Biffle won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Best Buy 400 benefiting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks with a lap of 23.193 seconds, 155.219 mph. This is his sixth pole in 199 career NASCAR Sprint Cup races. This is his second pole and fourth top-10 start in 2008. This is Biffle’s first pole and sixth top-10 start in 12 races at Dover International Speedway. 

Kurt Busch (second) posted his fourth top-10 start of 2008 and his 11th in 16 Dover races. Kyle Busch (third) posted his 10th top-10 start of the season and his second in seven races at Dover. 

Jimmie Johnson (fourth) joined Kyle Busch as the only drivers with 10 top-10 starts in 2008. AJ Allmendinger (eighth) was the fastest of the drivers required to make the field on time. Sam Hornish Jr. (16th) was the fastest qualifying rookie. 

ALLRIGHT – LET’S ROCK AND ROLL!! 

Cars to the back – The #7 of Robby Gordon as somebody else qualified his car. As the rain killed happy hour yesterday, we will have a competition caution on lap 30. 

All right, everybody sit back and relax for 400 laps of door-banging fun. We have the command to start engines and the cars roll onto the track. Three laps around as the drivers get ready. Out of turn four, led by Biffle and Kurt Busch… 

GREEN FLAG as Biffle and Kurt Busch were side by side until turn 2 where Busch almost tagged the wall, which allowed Biffle to gain almost a 1 second lead. Lap 3 Jimmy Johnson takes over second place. 

J.J. Yeley picks up a Dover stripe in turn one. Lap 5 Kurt Busch must be way loose as his brother Kyle and Jeff Gordon take over 3^rd and 4^th. Lap 7 Biffle is up to a 2 second lead. 

Lap 8 David Reutimann was almost turned sideways going into turn one, but has a huge save to keep going. Lap 10 Biffle is up to 2.3 seconds in front.  

Laps 11 through 20 Biffle continues to pull away from the field to 3.7 seconds. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 17 as Elliott Sadler comes done on David Gilliland out of turn 2 in front of Tony Stewart who plows into Sadler which sets off a mini-big one as drivers cannot stop in time. 

Kasey Kahne slows down and looks like he will miss the action until Denny Hamlin plows into the back of Kahne shooting him into Sadler, causing him to spin out a few times more. Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks like he will make it until he is rear ended by Bobby Labonte. Kevin Harvick is plowed from behind by Bill Elliott. Scott Riggs and Clint Bowyer both clip the cars on the high side. Paul Menard tries to avoid the cars on the inside and clips the inside wall. 

The RED FLAG is out on lap 22 to clean this up as Tony Stewart drives to the garage. We stay red for about 25 minutes. The yellow flag is back out and this will server as the competition caution. All the drivers come into pit road. The race back to the track is Biffle, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Travis Kvapil. 

GREEB FLAG lap 27 as Biffle and Kyle Busch get the show going. Earnhardt Jr. is back on the track, 10 laps down. He will be there for points. We are hearing from most of the teams, they will be back out to just ride along as it’s so early in the race. 

Laps 31 through 40 we hear that Hamlin may not return to the race. The accident has shaken up the racing order. Carl Edwards has moved up to 4^th from his start of 14^th as well as Dave Blaney from 18^th to 7^th and Matt Kenseth from 21^st up to 11^th. 

Laps 41 through 50 Biffle is back to a 2 second lead over Kyle and Kurt Busch. Newman runs 5^th from his start of 11^th. Biffle has caught the back of the field. The drivers who will be 1^st on the list Bill Elliott, Tony Raines, Patrick Carpentier, Michael McDowell and David Reutimann. 

Lap 50 your top 20 drivers are – Biffle, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Edwards, Newman, Johnson, Brian Vickers, Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., Kvapil, David Ragan, Jeff Burton, A.J. Allmendinger, Gilliland and Mark Martin. 

Laps 51 through 60 Edwards takes over 3^rd from Kurt Busch. Biffle has passed the drivers we spoke about and now we look at Yeley, Kahne, Menard and Bowyer who would go down next. 

Laps 61 through 70 as Biffle is contending with slower drivers, his lead has diminished to 1.5 seconds. Kenseth takes over 6^th from Johnson. Truex has moved up to 10^th passing Jeff Gordon.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 66 as Raines stops on the high side of turn four for some reason. This will cause a penalty on him for a lap. Kahne is the lucky dog. The race out of pit road is Biffle, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Kenseth and Edwards. 

GREEN FLAG lap 71 as Biffle and Kyle Busch get the race up to speed. 

Laps 71 through 80 YELLOW FLAG as Joe Nemechek bangs into the outside wall on the front stretch after clipping the front of Michael Waltrip’s car. Yeley will be the lucky dog. 

GREEN FLAG lap 78 as Biffle and Kyle Busch start us back up again.  

Laps 81 through 90 We almost see another accident as Gilliland and Juan Pablo Montoya get together. Battle for 3^rd as Edwards takes 3^rd from Kurt Busch. The next lap Kenseth takes 4^th from him as well. 

Harvick is back on track with no front body on it. Harvick is down 53 laps. Stewart, Riggs, Sadler and Hamlin are still in the garage. Edwards takes 2^nd from Kyle Busch. Biffle leads by 1.6 seconds. 

Laps 91 through 100 Vickers takes over 10^th from Truex Jr. Biffle leads by 2 seconds over Edwards. 

Lap 100 your top 20 drivers are – Biffle, Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kenseth, McMurray, Johnson, Kurt Busch, Newman, Jeff Gordon, Vickers, Truex Jr., Burton, Blaney, Kvapil, Ragan, Montoya, Gilliland, Casey Mears, Allmendinger and Martin. So far we have seen 2 lead changes among 2 leaders and 3 cautions for 16 laps and one red flag. 29 drivers remain on the lead lap. 

Laps 101 through 110 Edwards has closed in on Biffle to less than one second. 

Laps 111 through 120 27 drivers remain on the lead lap. Other drivers that have gone a lap down are Robby Gordon, Menard, Regan Smith, Reed Sorenson. The next drivers on the list are Yeley, Jeremy Mayfield, Kahne, Hornish Jr. and Martin. 

Edwards is on the bumper of Biffle for the lead as they contend with slower drivers. 

Laps 121 through 130 the skies are getting cloudy. The weather report has thunderstorms coming into the area. We are almost 70 laps from halfway. Jeff Gordon takes 6^th place over from McMurray. 22 drivers remain on the lead lap. Stewart is back on track 114 laps down. 

Laps 131 through 140 Kurt Busch has slipped back to 13^th with the threat of Kvapil behind him and slips to 14^th on the next lap. We head talk of pit stops coming up soon. 

Laps 141 through 150 Edwards hangs onto Biffle. Allmendinger drops a lap down with Mears, Gilliland, Ragan, Montoya and Bowyer, next on the list. Newman is on pit road. It looks like the Dodge cars cannot run as long as the other cars. 

Lap 148 Biffle, Allmendinger, Martin, Truex Jr., Gilliland are in. Lap 149 Kenseth, Mears, Vickers and 10 other drivers are in. Lap 150 pit road is busy as many others are in for stops. Kyle Busch is in. 

Laps 151 through 160 Johnson is the leader for a moment.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 153 for Allmendinger who comes to a stop on the apron. Your top 20 drivers are Biffle, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Menard, Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Johnson, McMurray, Vickers, Newman, Burton, Blaney, Truex Jr., Kvapil and Bowyer. Lap down drivers Montoya, Gilliland, Ragan, Mears and Martin finish out the top 20. 

We see that Kurt Busch has some type of issue with his fuel line in the trunk area of his car. Johnson is on pit road. GREEN FLAG lap 158 as Biffle and Kyle Busch race the field into turns one and two. 

Laps 161 through 170 Vickers moves up to 6^th, passing McMurray. Menard slips back to 12^th. Some of the movers since the start of the race are Edwards from 14^th to 2^nd, Kenseth from 21^st to 4^th, Burton from 38^th up to 9^th, Bowyer from 26^th up to 11^th and Montoya from 35^th up to 14^th. 

Carpentier picks up a flat tire after contact with another car. Edwards takes the lead from Biffle on lap 170. 

Laps 171 through 180 we hear that Biffle may have some type of mechanical issue. The shakers since the start of the race is Allmendinger from 8^th down to 38^th, Kahne from 15^th down to 28^th, Mayfield from 10^th down to 27^th, Kurt Busch from 2^nd down to 22^nd and Johnson from 4^th down to 14^th. 

Laps 181 through 190 Edwards has increased his lead to 2 seconds over Biffle and Kyle Busch knocking on Biffle’s door. The next lap Biffle takes it. 16 drivers remain on the lead lap. Truex Jr., Montoya, Menard and Johnson would be the next ones on the list. 

Laps 191 through 200 Edwards leads Kyle Busch by 1.7 seconds, Biffle by 3.6 seconds and Kenseth by 5.7 seconds.  

Lap 200 (Halfway) your top 20 drivers are Edwards, Kyle Busch, Biffle, Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Vickers, McMurray, Burton, Bowyer, Blaney, Kvapil, Newman, Johnson, Truex Jr., Menard and Montoya with Ragan, Gilliland, Mears and Reutimann a lap down. We still see 16 drivers on the lead lap. 7 lead changes were among 5 leaders and 4 cautions for 22 laps.

Laps 201 through 210 no real battles during this segment. 

Laps 211 through 220 Bowyer is on pit road for a flat tire. Most stops will happen in 15 laps. Johnson and Kvapil battle for 11^th. Edwards is slowing a bit, which allows Kyle Busch to close in. Bowyer is back on pit road. 

Laps 221 through 230 as 13 drivers remain on the lead lap. Bowyer’s hood is up on his car, as his right front shock is broken. Pit stops begin with Newman coming in on lap 228. Lap 229 Truex Jr. and Riggs are in. Lap 230 Ragan, Robby Gordon, and Raines are in. 

Laps 231 through 240 Vickers is in laps 231. Lap 232 Gilliland, Hornish Jr., McMurray, Johnson are in. Lap 233 Edwards is in along with Burton, Martin and Reutimann. Lap 234 Biffle is in as well as Kyle Busch, Montoya, Kenseth, Waltrip, Blaney are in. Vickers picks up a speeding ticket. He will perform a drive through. Lap 236 Menard picks up 5 points for leading a lap. Menard makes a rookie mistake and comes in the next lap, so he will be passed by Kyle Busch before Menard crosses the start finish line to complete a full lap. 

Laps 241 through 250 as most stops are complete, Kyle Busch leads again. He is followed by Edwards 1.2 seconds down and Biffle 6.3 seconds down. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 242 for debris. Montoya will be the lucky dog. GREEN FLAG lap 247 with Kyle Busch and Edwards lead the 13 lead lap drivers and a long line of lap down drivers into turns one and two. 

Lap 250 your top twenty drivers are Kyle Busch, Edwards, Biffle, Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Blaney, Burton, Johnson, Kvapil, McMurray, Truex Jr., Newman and Montoya with Menard, Ragan, Vickers, Gilliland, Regan Smith, Hornish Jr. and Mears a lap down. 

Laps 251 through 260 Menard is falling back in the pack. McMurray, Truex Jr. and Burton battle for 8^th, 9^th and 10^th.  

Laps 261 through 270 Kyle Busch leads Edwards by 1.5 seconds. Biffle closes in on Edwards.  

Laps 271 through 280 Johnson has moved up to 6^th. Just about all the drivers who were a lap down are two laps down. Menard, Vickers and Ragan are still one lap down. 24^th place Yeley is 3 laps down. 25^th place Sorenson, McDowell, Mayfield, Kahne, Martin are 4 laps down. Waltrip is 5 laps down along with Carpentier. 

Laps 281 through 290 Labonte is 7 laps down, Nemechek and Elliott are 8 laps down, Raines is 9 laps down, Bowyer 10 laps down, Earnhardt Jr. 11 laps, Allmendinger 34, Harvick 68, Riggs 89 and the last driver on the track Stewart 115. Sadler and Hamlin are done for the day. 

Laps 291 through 300 it looks like the Kyle Busch – Carl Edwards show as a half second separate the two drivers. They lead the field by 2.5 seconds over 3^rd place Biffle. 

Soon we may see Montoya and Kvapil go down a lap to leave us with 11 drivers on the lead lap. 

Lap 300 (100 to go) you top twenty drivers are Kyle Busch, Edwards, Biffle, Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Johnson, McMurray, Truex Jr., Burton, Newman, Blaney, Kvapil and Montoya on the lead lap with Vickers, Ragan, Menard, Gilliland, Smith, Mears and Hornish Jr. a lap down. So far we have seen 10 lead changes among 6 leaders. 13 drivers at the moment are on the lead lap and we have seen 5 cautions for 26 laps. 

Laps 301 through 310 Kyle Busch threads the needle passing Martin on the outside and sliding in front of Edwards.  

Laps 311 through 320 Stewart is on pit road. Raines is in. Edwards and Biffle are in on lap 317 for what could be the last stops of the day. Kyle Busch is in as Kenseth gets five points for leading. Lap 319 Kenseth is in along with Johnson, Burton, Montoya, Kvapil and others are in. Lap 320 Jeff Gordon is in but could have it been one lap too long? We will see. 

Laps 321 through 330 Newman leads for only his third lap of the day. He is the last of the leaders who has not pitted yet. Lap 327 Newman is in, leaving Kyle Busch back in front of Edwards by 2.5 seconds. 3^rd place Biffle is 4.1 seconds behind, 4^th place Kenseth is 7.5 seconds, 5^th place Jeff Gordon 12 seconds, 6^th place Johnson 17 seconds and last driver on the lead lap Truex Jr. running 7^th is 24 seconds behind and still in danger of going a lap down. 

Laps 331 through 340 Kyle Busch is up to 3.2 seconds for his lead. Stewart is done for the day along with Raines. 

Laps 341 through 350 Burton battles with McMurray for 8^th. McMurray has 8^th. Kyle Busch is now up to 6.2 seconds over Edwards, who looks to be slowing where Biffle is closing in on him. 

Lap 350 (50 to go) your top 20 drivers are Kyle Busch, Edwards, Biffle, Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Johnson and Truex Jr. with McMurray, Burton, Blaney, Kvapil, Montoya, Vickers, Newman, Ragan, Menard, Gilliland, Mears, Hornish Jr. and Robby Gordon a lap down. 

Laps 351 through 360 Kyle Busch is now 7.8 seconds in front of the field. 

Lap 360 (40 to go) Edwards has closed back to 7 seconds. 

35 to go Edwards has closed in to a 6 second difference. 

30 to go Truex Jr. is about to go down a lap to leave 5 drivers on the lead lap. Blaney passes McMurray 9^th. 

25 to go Kyle Busch leads Edwards by 5.8 seconds. 

20 to go Kyle Busch by 5.7 seconds as Truex Jr. keeps himself on the lead lap. 

15 to go Kyle Busch still by 5.9 seconds over Edwards, 3^rd place Biffle by 9.5 seconds, 4^th place Kenseth by 15.7 seconds, 5^th place Jeff Gordon by 22 seconds and the last driver on the lead lap of Truex Jr. by 25 seconds. 

10 to go the separation is 5.6 seconds. 

5 to go the separation is 5.7 seconds. The top 6 remain the same. 

3 to go as Kyle Busch navigates through the lapped down traffic retains his 5 second plus lead. 

2 to go no mistakes by anyone will leave a clean day for Kyle Busch. 

WHITE FLAG as the team tells Busch to go easy, he does not have to pass anyone else. Out of turn four… 

CHECKERED FLAG for Kyle Busch by 4.2 seconds over Edwards.  

Your top ten drivers are Kyle Busch, Edwards, Biffle, Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Truex Jr., Johnson, Burton, Blaney and McMurray. 

The race lasted for 3 and a half hours. We saw 6 drivers finish on the lead lap. 9 drivers took the lead 15 times and we hung out for 5 cautions for 26 laps. 

Biffle led the most laps with 164, so give him five bonus points for leading the most laps. Kyle Busch led 158, Edwards led 64, Newman 6, Jeff Gordon 3, Johnson 2 and Kenseth, McDowell and McMurray led one. 

Your big mover of the race was Burton, who started 38^th, finished 8^th. The hard luck award goes to Sadler who started 9^th finished on the trailer.