Busch led the most laps, but it came down to the last lap where at the time leader Jimmy Johnson valiantly did his best to hold off Busch form gaining the win. 

Coming to the green flag with two to go after a caution from a David Gilliland blown motor, Johnson pulled a slow restart, like Kyle Busch did last week, to throw Busch off pace, did not work as Busch was able to shoot around Johnson on the outside as the field headed into turns one and two.  

Busch leapt around Johnson as they came out of turn two. Johnson could not recover to gain the speed to go back in front. Busch held onto the lead for the next lap to take home his third win in the last 4 races and his 7 win of the season. 

This is the first weekend sweep since Busch won the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races at Atlanta in March of this year. It is the first NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series weekend sweep since Busch won both at Phoenix last November. 

The Busch brothers have now won four consecutive races: Kyle (three) and Kurt (one). The last time that four brothers won four straight was by Tim (three) and Fonty (one) Flock between Sept. 11 and Oct. 6, 1955. Twice before that four consecutive races had been won by brothers: all three Flock brothers Tim (two), Bob (one) and Fonty (one) combined for four straight wins between July 20 and Sept. 1, 1952; while Herb (three) and Donald (one) Thomas combined to win the final four races of that season. 

Johnson started the race 5^th. He fell back in many positions early in the race, keeping sight of the top ten. Johnson would lead 15 laps in the event. Johnson’s team would keep the car dialed in, but the efforts and the restart at the end would not allow him to get the momentum to pull off the win. 

Kevin Harvick had one of his best runs of the season from his 13^th place start to cross the finish line 3^rd. Harvick would retain a top 10 and a top 5 position through most of the night. Harvick challenged Johnson for 2^nd place on the last lap. Johnson was able to hold him off though. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started on the outside front row. Earnhardt’s day would be a tough one though. His car was in bad need of several changes to make the driver of the car feel comfortable with the handling in the transition into the night.  

The first pit stop for Earnhardt would be huge changes to his car, which fell his car back to 29^th on the restart. Earnhardt would recover with several other stops back up to a finish of 16^th. 

The hard charger of the night would see A.J. Allmendinger moving up from his start of 39^th to a 13^th place finish. Allmendinger would see the top ten a few times.

The hard luck award would go to Denny Hamlin as he and his tem struggled with an electrical issue that put him 5 laps down to a 40^th place finish after starting the race 7^th.

PRE RACE CHATTER 

Every inch matters. 

In this case, mere inches amounted to a 20 point swing as drivers compete for Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup eligibility. 

When a caution flag came out on the last lap of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR officials reviewed video to determine Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) was just ahead of Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) and thereby the winner of the race. 

Not only did the win boost Busch’s lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, it earned him yet another 10 potential bonus points. 

Each win during the series’ first 26 races is worth a 10-point bonus if a driver makes the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Busch has six wins, which would give him a commanding lead in Chase seeding. 

If Edwards had passed Busch, he would have earned the bonus points and cut Busch’s lead. 

With only eight races remaining before the Chase begins, teams that are comfortable with their position in the standings will start taking more chances to win races and earn precious bonus points. 

Because just like inches, every point matters. 

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has run half its season, with surprises and stellar competition the highlights of the first 18 races. A number of storylines have emerged, starting with Kyle Busch’s dominance. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet), whose move to Hendrick Motorsports set the wheels in motion for Busch’s move to Joe Gibbs Racing, grabbed his first win in over two years and is second in the standings.

Other top storylines include Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) and Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) experiencing resurgent seasons, Hendrick Motorsports “struggling” and new blood at the top of the heap with Busch, Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman (No. 12 Kodak Dodge) all leading the standings for the first time in their careers.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Mid-Season Look

18 of 36 races complete
10 different race winners
11 different pole winners
46 drivers have led at least one lap
74 different drivers have attempted to qualify for at least one race
All four manufacturers are in the top 12
All four manufacturers have won at least three races 

Chicagoland Speedway underwent a noticeable facelift during the off-season, adding lights to the 1.5-mile facility. Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race will be the first under the lights followed by the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Saturday night. 

“We are very excited to showcase our newly installed lights at Chicagoland Speedway during NASCAR race weekend,” said Matthew Alexander, president of Chicagoland Speedway. “Night racing is one of the most thrilling experiences for fans to be a part of, and now we will be able to bring that type of buzz and exciting atmosphere to our facility for fans to enjoy. This is an exciting step for the growth of racing in the Chicago market.”

The new lights have been welcomed by many NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, including two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet).

“It’s going to be a learning curve racing at Chicago under the lights for the first time, but I’m looking forward to it,” Johnson said. “Chicagoland is where I got my first NASCAR win (in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2001) and we’ve run well there in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It’d be great to get a win there for (crew chief) Chad (Knaus), since it is his home track.” 

TO WIN IT’S BEST TO QUALIFY 

Well, most of the time it is. This weekend’s race will be started by points as qualifying was washed out by rain. 

NOW LET’S GET TO SOME NIGHT RACING 

We will have a competition caution on lap 35, due to the rain. J.J. Yeley and Joe Nemechek to the back. 

GREEN FLAG as Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr. lead the field into turns one and two. Yeley will have to perform a drive through for removing weight from the car and will loose a lap. 

Lap 3 Busch like his past races this season so far is leading by almost 1 second as Carl Edwards passes Earnhardt Jr. for 2^nd place. Lap 4 trouble for Michael McDowell as he tags the outside wall and takes the car to pit road. 

Lap 7 more trouble for McDowell as he returns to pit road to get more damage fixed, as well as running over his air hose. We find out that Jason Leffler was loose, slid up in turn three, sandwiching McDowell into the wall.  

Lap 10 Kyle Busch up to 1.3 seconds over Edwards. Matt Kenseth takes over 4^th place from Earnhardt. Jimmy Johnson took over 3^rd. Edwards is in front of Johnson by 2 seconds. 

Lap 18 as Kyle Busch runs 1.6 seconds in front of Edwards and 4 seconds in front of Johnson, some of the movers are Tony Stewart from 12^th up to 6^th, Martin Truex Jr. from 19^th to 11^th and Elliott Sadler from 26^th up to 19^th. 

Lap 22 Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. run up against the wall as they look for the extra handling and speed to keep them up front. 

Lap 25 your top ten drivers are Kyle Busch, Edwards, Johnson, Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick. Lap 30 we hear that Harvick’s steering wheel is not set in the correct position and throws off his feel for the car. 

Lap 33 Denny Hamlin has lost the lights to his gauges. This may be a battery issue with his car. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 36 for the competition caution. Busch will loose his lead that he had. Who will come out first. Yeley is the lucky dog. The race out is Burton, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson. Burton picks up a speeding ticket and will have to fall back to the end of the field. 

GREEN FLAG lap 39 as Busch and Edwards rocket away from the pack. Lap 40 they are already 1 second in front of the field. Lap 42 Edwards to the low side in turn three to take the lead, but no, he can’t hang on and let’s Busch go for a second. 

Lap 44 Edwards makes the run again and now takes the lead. Hamlin has major electrical issues and takes his car to pit road on lap 46. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 48 as Hamlin is too slow for NASCAR’s comfort. A tow truck will push Hamlin to pit road and he coasts to the garage. Lap 49 Burton is on pit road one lap too early to get damage fixed. No lucky dog. The field heads to pit road. 

Lap 50 your top twenty as the field is back on track is Gordon, Biffle, Vickers, Newman, Leffler, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Edwards, Stewart, Kenseth, Harvick, Truex Jr., Mark Martin, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Dave Blaney, David Gilliland and Travis Kvapil. 

GREEN FLAG lap 52 as Jeff Gordon and Biffle lead the single file of drivers back to racing. Even though Hamlin is a lap or two down, NASCAR informs him that he needs to drop to the back of the pack. 

Lap 54 as Gordon, Biffle and Vickers pull away from the field, Johnson, Edwards, Stewart and Newman battle for 5^th through 8^th. Lap 56 Biffle takes over as the leader. 

Lap 61 Vickers takes over 2^nd place from Gordon. For you Earnhardt Jr. fans, the team had to make some big time changes to his car where he restarted 29^th. Lap 63 Biffle leads Vickers by 1.2 seconds. 

Lap 65 Stewart has moved up to 4^th, Truex Jr. up to 8^th, Harvick 9^th. Some other drivers moving up are Blaney from 30^th up to 16^th, McMurray from 24^th up to 17^th, A.J. Allmendinger from 39^th up to 18^th, Scott Riggs from 38^th up to 19^th and Leffler from 43^rd up to 21^st. 

Lap 70 some of the drivers back in the field a bit are Johnson from 5^th back to 11^th, Kahne from 8^th back to 15^th, Clint Bowyer from 10^th back to 22^nd, Earnhardt Jr. from 2^nd back to 27^th, Burton from 3^rd back to 38^th and Hamlin down 4 laps from 7^th back to 42^nd. 

Lap 75 your top 10 drivers are Biffle, Vickers, Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Edwards, Truex Jr., Kenseth, Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin. Lap 79 Truex Jr. closes in on Jeff Gordon for 5^th and takes it as they head into turn 2. 

Lap 80 in the next few laps we should see the leader, Biffle pass slower drivers. The first ones it looks to be Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott and Casey Mears. Lap 86 Truex Jr. closes in on Edwards for 4^th place and takes it over on the front stretch. Pit stops should be underway in the next few laps. 

Lap 90 Newman is in for his stop. Some drivers will be able to stay out an extra 10 laps, so it will take this round a bit to complete. Lap 92 Biffle and Leffler are in. Lap 93 Vickers and Jeff Gordon is in. Stewart picks up 5 points for leading a lap. Lap 98 Sam Hornish Jr. is in for his stop. 

Lap 100 your top twenty drivers are Stewart, Truex Jr., Edwards, Harvick, Kenseth, Martin, Johnson, Ragan, Kyle Busch, Kahne, Kurt Busch, Allmendinger, Blaney, McMurray Kvapil, Riggs, Bowyer, McDowell, Paul Menard and Yeley. So far we have seen 5 lead changes among 6 leaders and 2 cautions for 7 laps. 

Lap 101 Earnhardt Jr., Juan Pablo Montoya, Elliott Sadler, Kahne, Elliott and Nemechek and a dozen others are on pit road. Lap 103 Johnson is in along with Kenseth, Martin and Kyle Busch. Lap 104 Edwards and Ragan hit their stalls along with Stewart and Harvick. 

Lap 105 Kvapil picks up a ticket for hitting the pit road in cone and Kurt Busch picks up for speeding. Lap 107 it looks like pit stops are complete. Biffle is back in the lead followed by Vickers, Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Edwards. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 111 as Bobby Labonte is the lucky dog after Michael Waltrip reacting for Patrick Carpentier hitting the wall on the exit of turn four. Waltrip jogs to the left and clips the front end of Burton and flies through the infield. He has minor damage. 

The race out of pit road is Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Ragan, Allmendinger and Stewart. Truex Jr. picks up a speeding ticket and will go to the back.  

GREEN FLAG lap 116 as Kenseth and Kyle Busch lead our drivers back to racing. Kurt Busch and Burton stayed out, running in front of the leaders trying to stay on the lead lap. Lap 120 Stewart has caught up to Kyle Busch and Kenseth as the run side by side for the lead.

Lap 122 Kenseth falls off pace a bit as Stewart runs with Kyle Busch. Stewart had gotten loose for a second, allowing Busch a one second lead. Lap 124 Kenseth heads to pit road as his issue was a tire going down. 

Lap 125 your top 10 drivers are Kyle Busch, Stewart, Ragan, Allmendinger, Vickers, Edwards, Martin, Harvick, Johnson and Kahne. Lap 131 Edwards closes in on Vickers for 5^th place.  

Lap 135 (Halfway) as Kyle Busch is now 2.3 seconds in front of Stewart. Vickers holds off Edwards. Lap 136 McMurray is on pit road. The fans watching TNT tv gets to watch Larry Mac saw another announcer in half. Two laps later the yellow comes out. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 141 for debris. Burton is the lucky dog. The leaders head into pit road. Kyle Busch leads them back out to the track followed by Stewart, Harvick, Edwards and Vickers. 30 drivers remain on the lead lap. 

GREEN FLAG lap 146 as Kyle Busch and Stewart bring the field back up to speed. Kenseth runs behind Kyle Busch, who is the lucky dog at the moment. They run 1.5 seconds in front of Stewart and Harvick. 

Lap 150 your top twenty drivers are Kyle Busch, Stewart, Harvick, Edwards, Vickers, Ragan, Martin, Johnson, Allmendinger, Sadler, Jeff Gordon, Kahne, Biffle, McDowell, Truex Jr., Bowyer, Menard, Riggs and Newman. 

Lap 156 Kyle Busch by 2 seconds over Stewart then it’s another 2.7 seconds to 3^rd place Harvick. Lap 159 Jeff Gordon challenges Allmendinger for 9^th place. As they head into turn three Gordon takes the position. 

Lap 160 it looks like Gordon acted too quickly as he falls back to 11^th. Gordon may have gotten loose which allows Allmendinger and Biffle to pass him. Lap 165 Elliott Sadler has moved up in the field to 12^th from his start of 26^th. 

Lap 167 Stewart is closing in Kyle Busch as the gap between them shrinks to 1 second. Lap 171 Stewart is now 5 car lengths behind Busch. Lap 175 your top ten drivers are Kyle Busch, Stewart, Harvick, Edwards, Ragan, Vickers, Johnson, Martin, Allmendinger, and Biffle. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 177 for debris. The leaders head to pit road for another time. Kenseth is the lucky dog. The race back is Kyle Busch, Stewart, Edwards, Harvick and Ragan. 

GREEN FLAG lap 182 as Kyle Busch and Stewart lead the two rows of drivers back to racing. 30 drivers remain on the lead lap. Lap 184 Johnson and Vickers battle for 6^th. Johnson is holding the position though. Lap 187 Allmendinger takes over 8^th place from Jeff Gordon. The next lap Gordon takes it back. 

Lap 190 Kyle Busch leads Stewart by 1.5 seconds. Lap 191 Edwards takes over 2^nd from Stewart. Lap 192 Kenseth is starting a good run up to 21^st from the restart of 29^th. Lap 196 Edwards closes in on Kyle Busch about a half second behind now. 

Lap 198 Harvick takes over 3^rd from Stewart. Lap 200 (67 to go) your top 20 drivers are Kyle Busch, Edwards, Harvick, Johnson, Ragan, Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Allmendinger, Sadler, Martin, Truex Jr., McDowell, Biffle, Kurt Busch, Kenseth, Bowyer, Kahne, Newman and Burton. So far we have seen 10 lead changes among 8 leaders and 5 cautions for 20 laps.

Lap 202 Edwards takes over as the leader. Lap 211 Edwards brings his car in with a flat tire which allows Kyle Busch to take the lead again. Edwards will fall a lap down. Lap 217 (50 to go) we see that Edwards support rod that holds the front splitter has broken. We see big time sparks flying from his car. 

Lap 220 Kyle Busch runs 1 second in front of Harvick. Some of the movers on the track are Harvick to 2^nd from 13^th, Stewart 4^th from 12^th, Ragan 5^th from 14^th, Vickers 6^th from 15^th, Allmendinger 8^th from 39^th. Lap 222 battle for 2^nd as Johnson keeps trying the low side of Harvick in the corners. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 225 for debris. Leffler is the lucky dog. The leaders enter pit road. Kyle Busch, Newman, Johnson and Harvick are the first five back to the track. 

GREEN FLAG lap 230 as Kyle Busch and Newman lead us back to racing. Busch has a great restart and by the next lap is one second in front of the pack. Lap 232 in to 233 Kyle Busch is now 2.3 seconds in front of Johnson as the leaders contend with lapped traffic. 

Lap 234 Stewart is side by side with Biffle. They come out of turn two and Stewart almost hits Biffle on the side.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 237 (30 to go) for Leffler’s rear bumper that flies off onto Menard’s hood then onto the track. Kvapil is the lucky dog this time. 

GREEN FLAG lap 239 as Kyle Busch and Johnson lead us back to racing. Johnson clears the lapped traffic. We have a two car battle for the lead. Sadler has moved up to 8^th from his start of 26^th tonight. Earnhardt Jr. has moved back up to 16^th. 

Lap 243 Johnson starts to size up Kyle Busch for the lead. Lap 244 Johnson cant do much with it though. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 245 as Bobby Labonte is tapped from the left rear corner by Yeley. McMurray is the lucky dog.  

GREEN FLAG with 20 to go. Kyle Busch and Johnson on the outside line with 13 drivers on the inside. The top 4 clear the lapped drivers. Lap 249 Johnson all over the rear bumper of Busch. Lap 250 Johnson on the inside of Busch. On the back side of the track Johnson takes the lead. Your top 10 drivers are Johnson, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Biffle, Newman, Vickers, Stewart, Kenseth, Ragan and Truex Jr. 

15 to go Johnson almost by 1 second, Harvick closes in on Busch. Kvapil on pit road. 

10 to go Johnson by 1.3 seconds.

9 to go battle for 8^th between Newman and Ragan. Stewart and Kenseth battle for 6^th as Kenseth takes it. 

8 to go Johnson by 1.6 seconds. Ragan takes 8^th place. Jeff Gordon slips back to 12^th as Sadler passes him. 

7 to go Earnhardt Jr. runs 15^th. 

YELLOW FLAG 6 to go as Gilliland blows up. 

GREEN WHITE CHECKERED in regulation laps. 

GREEN FLAG lap 265 Johnson pulls a Kyle Busch with the slow start like last week. Drag race Busch on the outside Johnson on the inside. Out of turn four Busch is back in front. 

WHITE FLAG Busch holds the lead Harvick all over Johnson through the corners. Out of turn 4 Busch has the lead as he comes across the line to win another race. 

Your top ten for the night were Kyle Busch, Johnson, Harvick, Biffle, Stewart, Vickers, Kenseth, Ragan, Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman. 

We saw 16 lead changes among 10 leaders. We also saw 9 cautions for 24 laps. 

Busch led the most laps with 165, Biffle led 43, Edwards 15, Johnson 15, Stewart 11, Kenseth 6 and Truex Jr. along with Vickers 2. 

Kyle Busch won the LifeLock.com 400, his 11th victory in 133 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. This is his seventh victory and 13th top-10 finish in 2008. This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in four races at Chicagoland Speedway. 

Jimmie Johnson (second) posted his sixth top-10 finish in seven races at Chicago. It is his ninth top-10 finish in 2008. 

Kevin Harvick (third) posted his sixth top-10 finish in eight races at Chicago.

Patrick Carpentier (30th) was the highest finishing rookie.