Burton started the race in Owner’s Points order. From the drop of the green flag, Burton took his 4^th place start to keep himself in the top ten for the entire race. The turning point of his race came with 60 to go where Burton battled with Greg Biffle to take the lead and did not give it up until the end of the race. 

With a couple of yellow flags until the end of the race, Burton’s pit crew nailed his stops to keep him in the front of the pack. The last caution, Burton did not take tires and the fuel only stop let him pull in front of Jimmy Johnson with 37 to go. 

On the restart, Johnson battled with Burton for several laps in drag race fashion. Within ten laps of the drag race, Johnson had to be content with second place which did not last for him as Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray passed Johnson. 

With the challenges for second place, Burton distanced himself from the field to win his third race at Lowe’s. The last time was the spring race in 1999. Burton won at this tract for a total of 3 times. He has 15 top 10 wins at the track in his 30 races. 

Burton’s victory of the Chase thrusts him up to 2^nd in points after another calamity filled race had claimed Carl Edwards (33^rd), Matt Kenseth (41^st), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (36^th) and Denny Hamlin (16^th) over the course of many wrecks that occurred during the event. 

“That’s what won the race for us,” said Burton, who held the lead for the final 57 of 334 laps after passing Biffle for the top spot on Lap 278. 

The points shuffle dropped Edwards to 4^th. The night’s win allowed Burton to take over 2^nd in standings as Greg Biffle finish behind Burton in 7^th, 39 race points which placed Burton 17 points overall in front of Biffle. 

Johnson remains the Chase Points leader by a slim 69 points over Burton.  

Johnson started his race on the pole, but would find challenges and adversity with a loose racecar in the event. On the last run, Johnson would almost capture the lead, but the loose car fell off in it’s handling on the last restart, allowing the other drivers to pass Johnson without much challenge to end up with a 6^th place finish. 

“He (Burton) has always been on my radar,” said Johnson, who fought late-race handling problems and faded to sixth at the finish after battling Burton for the lead early in the final 33-lap green-flag run. 

Johnson finished one spot ahead of Greg Biffle, who remained third in the standings. Ignition problems cost Carl Edwards 16 laps early in the race and dropped him to 33rd at the finish. Edwards fell from second to fourth in points, 168 behind Johnson. 

“It is pretty disappointing, because I was just taking it pretty easy. We ran real, real hard here in the spring and worked our car too hard. I was just going to take care of the racecar; that was what I was trying to do. We just got some bad luck there.” 

Clean air was king at Lowe’s, where Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers all opened leads of more than seven seconds at various points in the race. Stewart’s handling suffered in traffic, however, and he finished 11th but remained seventh in the Chase standings, 228 points behind Johnson. 

Vickers suffered a hard brush with the Turn 4 wall on Lap 252 and fell to 18th at the finish, one lap down.
      
For Edwards, the end to the fifth Chase week couldn’t have come soon enough, after he scuffled with Kevin Harvick in the nationwide garage on Thursday and spent the next two days fending off questions about the fracas. 

“There’s only one thing to do, and that’s to learn from everything this week,” Edwards said. “That’s for sure. I can guarantee you that if I had the week to do over again, the last seven days would be a lot different.  But you just have to do what you think is right at the time and move on after that.  

“Today’s race didn’t help at all. That car right there is a great racecar. I don’t know if we’ve ever had the problem that we had there. It was something with the ignition system, so it’s very frustrating, but nobody got hurt at least, I guess.”  

PRE RACE NOTES 

Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway may represent an ideal follow-up; it’s proven ground for many of the 12 teams battling for the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title, and also represents the opportunity to rebound, or establish momentum.

The fifth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Saturday’s event marks the halfway point, and with seven of the 12 Chase participants switching positions after Talladega, those out front likely have eyes on rear-view mirrors.  

Only 99 points separate the top four Chase drivers, who all retained their spots; only 27 points separate second from fourth. 

Reigning and two-time series champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) extended his lead over second-place Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford) to 72 points.

Edwards leads third-place and Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) by five points, while Biffle leads fourth-place Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) by 22 points. 

Johnson will be formidable at LMS, where he has five career wins and a series-high Driver Rating of 116.5. He’s attempting to become only the second driver in NASCAR history to win three consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup titles. Cale Yarborough (1976-78) is the other driver to do so.  

Saturday also marks Johnson’s 250th career start. 

“I’m fortunate to be able to do what I love for a living,” he said. “I’m so thankful for the success this team has had. I also know that I wouldn’t be where I am today without the hard work of (crew chief) Chad (Knaus) and my guys. This sport is a total team effort and I am so lucky to have such an awesome team.” 

Other Bank of America 500 storylines: 

Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) is the defending winner of Saturday’s Bank of America 500. It’s also the last time he won. Gordon, currently eighth in the Chase standings, hasn’t had a winless season since his rookie year of 1992. 

Edwards, Biffle and teammate Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Carhartt Ford) all hope to right themselves at LMS, after getting caught in a Lap 175 accident at Talladega. All three excel at LMS — Kenseth notched his first career win there, Biffle finished second in the May event and Edwards has an average LMS finish of 7.6. 

Despite a wreck-induced 38th-place finish at Talladega, Gordon is optimistic about his chances this weekend. He finished fourth two weeks ago at another 1.5-mile track – Kansas Speedway – and posted the fastest speed during last month’s series test at LMS.

“There’s still a lot of racing left this year, and I’m not counting anybody out just yet,” Gordon said. 

He’s attempting something not even Johnson has accomplished — to become the first driver to sweep all three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at LMS. 

Earlier this season, Kahne’s back-to-back wins at LMS kick-started a run to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. 

He first won the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race there on May 17, following with a victory on May 25 in the Coca-Cola 600. 

Kahne didn’t make the Chase — he’s currently 14th in the series standings — but making history would be a high note. 

“Lowe’s is definitely one of my favorite tracks and we have a unique opportunity to win all three races here this year,” Kahne said. “We’ve won all the races here — we are just trying to get it done in one year. It would be a huge accomplishment for me personally and everyone at Gillett Evernham Motorsports to be able to complete the sweep.” 

Kahne has three wins, three top fives, four top 10s and one DNF (did not finish) in nine career starts at LMS (this doesn’t include non-points All-Star events). 

He also ranks well in pre-race NASCAR Loop Data statistics for LMS — third in Driver Rating (98.4) behind Johnson and Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s/Susan G. Komen For The Cure Toyota), respectively. He also ranks third in Average Running Position (12.7) and Quality Passes (296).  

Kahne ranks second in Fastest Laps Run (227) and Green Flag Passes (516).

“It's a track where I seem to know what the car needs to go fast,” he said of LMS. “The line that you need to run here is so crucial. Lowe’s Motor Speedway is such a sensitive track, you can really mess up here by missing your line by just a little bit or not slowing down quite enough getting to the white line throughout the race.

“It’s a great track and hopefully we can continue to keep up the success here and get a win in the Bank of America 500.” 

QUALIFYING NOTES 

Another rainout for our drivers means we start by owners’ points. This will put Jimmy Johnson on the pole with Carl Edwards on the outside front row. 

NOW – LET’S KICK THE TIRES AND LIGHT THE FIRES 

In the dark night at Lowe’s they drivers come out of turn 4 to the… 

GREEN FLAG as we are off and rolling. Johnson has a big jump on the field. Lap 3 Jeff Gordon bounces off the outside turn 2 wall. Lap 5 Gordon slams out of the turn 4 wall this time. He has some damage this time around. 

Lap 10 Gordon is in to get the damage fixed. He will fall one lap down. Lap 16 Johnson still leads the field by over a half second. Lap 25 your top 10 drivers are Johnson leading by almost 1 second, Edwards, Tony Stewart,  Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin. 

Lap 28 Let’s keep an eye on a few drivers from the back of the pack tonight. Paul Menard started 27^th and he has moved up to 21^st, Waltrip started 31^st and has moved up to 24^th.  

Lap 33 Stewart has been on the move and takes over at the leader. Lap 41 Stewart has grown his lead to 3.4 seconds over Johnson. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 43 as Joe Nemechek slams the outside turn four wall, metal flying off his car. The leader head for pit road. Johnson is the first back to the track, followed by Edwards, Jeff Burton, Stewart and Biffle. Reutimann may have been the lucky dog. 

GREEN FLAG lap 48 as Johnson leads the field back to racing. Lap 50 your top 20 drivers are Johnson, Edwards, Stewart, Biffle, Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin, Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, David Ragan, Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Elliott Sadler, Michael Waltrip and Kurt Busch.  

Lap 53 Edwards takes his car to the garage as he picked up a flat tire on the right side. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 54 as A.J. Allmendinger slams the wall in turn three. Jeff Gordon is the lucky dog. Allmendinger was stuck in the middle three wide on the back stretch, ping ponged his way and shot right, into the outside wall. 

Edwards was caught on pit road, putting him a lap down. Edwards comes to his box, the jack drops and he leaves and has to back in his stall as his team may have missed a lug nut. Edwards falls back a few more positions. 

GREEN FLAG lap 60 as Johnson and Stewart get the drivers up to speed again.

YELLOW FLAG lap 64 as Mike Skinner and Kenny Schrader crash in turn 2 after Waltrip clipped the grass before turn one, making contact with Skinner. Reed Sorenson is the lucky dog. 

GREEN FLAG lap 71 as Johnson and Stewart get us going once again. Edwards is in the pits as his car is dead and not turning over. Lap 75 your top 10 drivers are Johnson, Stewart, Biffle, Kyle Busch, Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Martin, Ragan and Kahne. 

Lap 77 Edwards team is tearing everything apart, pulling out the ignition boxes 10 laps down. Lap 78 Stewart hops in the lead again. Lap 80 The drivers we are keeping an eye on, Menard, is running 21^st still holding on and Waltrip, who has moved to 19^th.

Lap 82 Stewart is like a rocket in the front. He is up to a 2.3 second lead over the field. Lap 86 Stewart is now up to 3.3 seconds over Johnson. Edwards is back on the track, 16 laps down. Lap 90 Stewart is now 4.6 seconds in front.  

Lap 91 other drivers on the move are Sadler from 22^nd to 14^th, David Reutimann from 26^th to 15^th. Some of the drivers who have fallen back are Harvick from 6^th back to 26^th, Kenseth 9^th to 28^th and Edwards, who we have been talking about for a bit now is back to 39^th from the outside pole, 16 laps down. 

Lap 97 Bill Elliott has gone a lap down to join Casey Mears, Tony Raines, Sam Hornish Jr. and Dave Blaney who is a lap down with Chad McCumbee 2 laps down, Edwards 16 and Schrader, Skinner, Allmendinger and Nemechek in the garage.  

Lap 100 (234 to go) your top 20 drivers are – Stewart, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Biffle, Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Ragan, Brian Vickers, Martin, Truex Jr., Kahne, Kurt Busch, Reutimann, Sadler, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Hamlin, Juan Pablo Montoya and Travis Kvapil. So far we have seen 5 lead changes among 3 leaders and 3 cautions for 15 laps. 29 drivers are on the lead lap. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 104 as Earnhardt Jr. slams the exit of turn two outside wall, after blowing his right front tire. Stewart leads the field in. Stewart barely wins the race out of pit road followed by Kyle Busch, Johnson, Burton and Bowyer. Robby Gordon is the lucky dog. 

GREEN FLAG lap 108 as Stewart and Kyle Busch lead us back to racing. Stewart let Kyle Busch get 5 points for leading a lap. Lap 109 Stewart regains the lead. Lap 111 Busch is back in front. It looks like Stewart takes a few laps to get his car running good. 

Lap 112 as Johnson takes over 2^nd place from Stewart. Lap 114 where are the two drivers we have been keeping an eye on? Menard is up to 17^th. He hasn’t been gaining too much on the track. His pit crew got him one position. Waltrip’s team had an issue on the last pit stop as the team let a tire roll out of his pit stall which placed him back to 27^th. 

Lap 117 Stewart is falling back in positions, back to 7^th. Lap 120 Kyle Busch leads by 2.2 seconds over Johnson.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 121 as Mike Wallace spins in turn two after blowing a right rear tire. David Gilliland is the lucky dog this time. Most of the teams take two tires when the drivers come onto pit road. It looks like Johnson got fuel only, so he will come back out first followed by Burton, Kyle Busch, Bowyer and Vickers. The rest of the top ten are Ragan, Stewart, Kurt Busch and Biffle. Ryan Newman stays out. 

GREEN FLAG lap 126 as Newman and Johnson get the drivers back up to speed. Lap 131 Vickers is on the move as he gets Kyle Busch loose in turn three to take over 3^rd place. Newman runs a few car lengths in front of Johnson for the lead. 

Lap 133 Johnson takes the lead followed by Vickers who takes over 2^nd place. Lap 134 Vickers pushes way high. Lap 135 Vickers on the inside of Johnson to challenge for the lead coming out of turn 4. Vickers takes the lead on lap 136. Newman slips back to 4^th after Kyle Busch takes the position. 

Lap 139 Vickers leads the field by 1.1 seconds. Lap 140, drivers who have been on the move since the start of the race are Newman from 16^th to 6^th, Kurt Busch from 19^th to 9^th, Reutimann from 26^th to 11^th and our spot light driver Menard from 27^th to 17^th. 

Lap 146 Vickers is now up to a 2.5 second lead. Skinner and Schrader are back in the race. Skinner is 78 laps down, Schrader is 76 down. Lap 149 Earnhardt Jr. is back on track, 45 laps down. 

Lap 150 your top 20 drivers are Vickers, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Ragan, Biffle, Newman, Burton, Bowyer, Stewart, Kurt Busch, Reutimann, Martin, Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, McMurray, Truex Jr., Bobby Labonte, Menard, Harvick and Montoya. 

Lap 155 drivers who have fallen back in the pack, since the start of the race are Jeff Gordon from 8^th back to 15^th, Harvick from 6^th to 19^th, Kenseth from 9^th to 20^th, Kahne from 15^th to 25^th, Edwards from 2^nd to 38^th and Earnhardt from 10^th to 39^th. Lap 159 Montoya is in early for a pit stop. 

Lap 162 Newman is on pit road as he stayed out on the last round of pit stops. We should see most of the field pit in about 10 to 15 laps. Lap 163 Biffle takes over 4^th from Ragan. Lap 164 Vickers leads Johnson by 7.6 seconds. 

Lap 165 who’s the Chase race looking at the moment? Johnson is the points leader with 5898 running 2^nd, Biffle 5806 running 3^rd, Burton 5765 in 7^th, Bowyer 5708 in 8^th, Edwards 5695 in 38^th, Stewart 5670 in 6^th, Harvick 5653 in 19^th, Jeff Gordon 5604 in 15^th, Kenseth 5581 in 20^th, Kyle Busch 5552 in 4^th, Earnhardt Jr. 5515 in 39^th and Hamlin 5513 in 11^th. 

Lap 170 we have seen several pit stops by the drivers in the mid pack. Vickers is up to a 8.5 second lead over Biffle. Lap 175 your top 10 drivers are – Vickers, Biffle, Stewart, Johnson, Burton, Kyle Busch, Ragan, Bowyer, Reutimann 44 and Kurt Busch. Lap 176 Burton takes his car to pit road along with Kurt Busch. 

Lap 177 we see Kenseth, Harvick, Biffle, Bowyer, Johnson, Truex, and 10 other s come into pit road. Lap 178 Stewart is on pit road as well as Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Vickers is still on track. Lap 178 into 179 Vickers is in. 

Ragan is busted for speeding as well as Regan Smith. Lap 183 after the round of pit stops, Vickers is back in the lead with almost no time lost as he is 7.6 seconds in front of Biffle.

Lap 187 our spotlight drivers Menard is back in 18^th and Waltrip 23^rd, one lap down.

YELLOW FLAG lap 186 for debris. Kahne should be the lucky dog.  

GREEN FLAG lap 192 as Vickers and Biffle lead two rows of drivers back up to speed. Lap 193 Biffle tried for the lead, but did not get it.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 195 as Menard bumps into the side of Elliott who tags Raines, spinning him around in the tri-oval outside wall. Behind them Kenseth is hit by Kvapil, shooting Kenseth into the outside wall by the start finish line after they plow through the grass. McCumbee is caught up in the action as we see his splitter break off and bury itself in the grass. We see it sticking straight up in the air a few feet.  

Lap 200 (134 left) the leaders head into pit road. The race back to the track is Burton, Biffle, Stewart, Johnson and Kyle Busch. Your top 20 drivers at the moment are Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Martin, Burton, Biffle, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Stewart, Vickers, Reutimann, Bowyer, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, McMurray, Labonte, Newman, Kahne, Harvick, Menard and Kahne. So far we have seen 14 lead changes among 9 leaders and 7 cautions and at the end of this caution it will be for 36 laps. 

GREEN FLAG lap 203 as Truex Jr. and Jeff Gordon lead us back to racing. Ragan and Robby Gordon did not pit, so they start in front of the leaders. Lap 204 Jeff Gordon on the inside of Truex Jr. for the lead. Lap 205 Gordon takes it. Martin follows Gordon past Truex Jr. to take 2^nd place. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 206 as Johnson is slideways out of turn 4. Behind them, Waltrip broke loose hitting Labonte from the inside line. Waltrip spins out, Labonte heads for the wall after spinning through the grass after the contact. Waltrip forces Mears through the grass. Ragan and Robby Gordon kept themselves in front of the leaders so they are on the lead lap again.

It looks like Labonte missed the wall. Sorenson is the lucky dog. Menard is on pit road for an issue as the crew lifts the hood. 

GREEN FLAG lap 212 as Jeff Gordon and Martin lead the field racing into turns one and two. Out of turn four Martin works for the lead out of turn four. Martin almost hits Gordon, but they hang on. 

Lap 214 Martin was loose again, which force him to slow down, allowing Gordon to pull away by almost 1 second. Lap 215 Biffle takes 2^nd from Martin. Lap 220 Biffle starts to reel in Jeff Gordon. Martin, in 3^rd runs 2.5 seconds behind. 

Lap 224 Stewart takes over 8^th from Johnson. Lap 225 your top 10 drivers are Jeff Gordon, Biffle, Martin, Burton, Kyle Busch, Truex Jr., Vickers, Stewart, Johnson and Reutimann. Lap 226 Gordon runs 1.5 seconds in front of Biffle. 

Lap 230 Jeff Gordon leads Biffle by 2 seconds and 3^rd place Burton by 6 seconds. Lap 231 24 drivers remain on the lead lap. Lap 233 Hamlin smacks the outside wall of turn 3 after making some contact with Bowyer. 

Lap 234 (100 to go) Smith is a lap down along with Hornish Jr., Gilliland, Montoya, and Waltrip. Blaney and Mears are two laps down, Mears and Elliott are three laps down, Mike Wallace 7 laps, Edwards 16 laps, McCumbee 38 and Earnhardt Jr. 44, Nemechek 54, Schrader 78 and Skinner 80. In the garage is Kenseth, Kvapil, Raines and Allmendinger. 

Lap 246 the leaders are spread out on the field. The distance from leader Jeff Gordon to 10^th place Bowyer is 15.2 seconds. Pit stops should begin soon for a few drivers. Truex Jr. has performed his.  

Lap 250 your top 20 drivers are – Jeff Gordon, Biffle, Burton, Martin, Kyle Busch, Stewart, Reutimann, Vickers, Bowyer, Kurt Busch, McMurray, Ragan, Kahne, Hamlin, Newman, Harvick, Riggs, Robby Gordon and Menard. Lap 251 Gordon comes in for his stop. Biffle leads for the first time tonight.  

Lap 253 Vickers hit the turn two wall, it looks clear from metal on the track. Vickers hit the turn three wall as well, but still no metal, so we stay green. Menard has the rear bumper tore away and NASCAR black flags him to fix the damage. Vickers had a blown tire.

Lap 256 pit stops begin as Biffle pits. Lap 257 Harvick is in and out on pit road, along with Burton, Johnson, McMurray, Newman, Kyle Busch and others. Lap 258 Stewart is on pit road along with Hamlin, Edwards, Bowyer and a few more. Lap 259 Reutimann spins out on pit road entrance, but no yellow as he is able to keep going. Kyle Busch is busted for speeding and Stewart is nailed for speed as well. 

Lap 264 Robby Gordon blows a tire coming out of turn two scattering tire pieces on the back of the track. Sorenson had not pitted yet as he was the leader. This leaves 11 drivers on the lead lap of Biffle, Burton, Martin, Johnson, Bowyer, McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Sorenson, Kahne, Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch. Ragan is the lucky dog to make 12 drivers on the lead lap. 

Lap 268 Harvick, Newman, Hamlin and Kyle Busch stay out on the track, so they will start in front of the leaders. Robby Gordon is held on pit road for a lap. Stewart is t he first driver a lap down in the mix of the leaders. 

GREEN FLAG lap 269 as Biffle and Burton get the show going again. Stewart jumps in front of Biffle to be tail end of the lead lap. Lap 272 Burton challenges Biffle for the lead. 

Lap 274 (60 to go) Biffle is challenged by Burton, but holds him off. Lap 277 Burton takes the lead from Biffle in turn two. Biffle does not let go. Lap 278 Burton now has the lead. Your top ten drivers are – Burton, Biffle, Bowyer, Johnson, McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Kahne, Sorenson, Kurt Busch and Ragan. 

Lap 281 where is the points chase now? Edwards has 5888 running 4^th, Biffle 5816 in 2^nd, Burton 5809 in 1^st, Bowyer 5731 in 3^rd, Edwards 5707 in 34^th, Harvick 5665 in 15^th, Jeff Gordon 5641 in 6^th, Stewart 5641 in 14^th, Earnhardt Jr. 5524 in 36^th, Kenseth 5518 in 41^st, Kyle Busch 5516 in 13^th and Hamlin 5495 in 17^th. 

Lap 287 McMurray challenges Johnson for 4^th place. Lap 288 McMurray takes the position. Burton leads the field by 2.5 seconds.  

40 to go Burton leads Bowyer by 2.6 seconds. Burton is also 11 seconds in front of 10^th place Truex Jr. 15 drivers remain on the lead lap.  

YELLOW FLAG with 37 to go as Montoya and Kurt Busch bang through the tri-oval. Montoya slams the turn two wall after the tire lets go. This allows Kyle Busch, Stewart and Harvick to get back on the lead lap. Hamlin is the lucky dog. 

The drivers head to pit road for the last time. Burton is in for gas only. He is followed back to the track by Johnson, Kahne, Kurt Busch, Biffle and Kyle Busch. 

Lap 300 (34 to go) your top 20 drivers are Burton, Johnson, Kahne, Kurt Busch, Biffle, McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Bowyer, Ragan, Kyle Busch, Truex Jr., Martin, Sorenson, Stewart and Hamlin on the lead lap followed by Bobby Labonte, Riggs, Newman and Vickers one lap down. So far we have seen 24 lead changes among 16 leaders and 10 cautions for 49 laps. 16 drivers will be on the lead lap. 

GREEN FLAG with 33 to go as Burton and Johnson get the show underway once again. Out of turn two Johnson ducks under Burton for the lead. At the line it’s a drag race. 32 to go the drag race is still on. 31 to go McMurray under Biffle for 5^th. 

30 to go the drag race continues until the back stretch where Johnson backs off for a moment. 29 to go Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon battle for 7^th with McMurray and Biffle still battling for 5^th. 

27 to go Johnson is getting great runs up to this lap. He lost time out of turn two, which allows Kurt Busch and Kahne to make a threat to take 2^nd place.  

25 to go Burton pulls away from Johnson to almost a 1 second lead. 23 to go Kahne runs the high line working on Kurt Busch for 3^rd place. 22 to go, Kahne takes it. Kyle Busch challenges McMurray for 5^th after they pass Biffle. 

20 to go Burton leads Johnson by 8/10^ths of a second. 19 to go Stewart closes in on Ragan for 10^th. 18 to go both Ragan and Stewart close in on Martin for 9^th. Kyle Busch took over 5^th from McMurray. 

17 to go Stewart falls off from Ragan who closes in on Martin for 9^th. 16 to go Burton is up to a 1.2 second lead over Johnson. 

15 to go Kahne closes in on Johnson as he runs the outside line through turns three and four. 14 to go Kahne has the position. 13 to go Burton by 1.8 seconds. 12 to go Kurt Busch closes in on Johnson for 3^rd. 11 to go Burton ahead of Kahne by 1.6 seconds and Johnson by 2.7 seconds. 

10 to go Kurt Busch taps the left rear corner of Johnson to move him out of the way to take 3^rd place. 9 to go Kahne reduces the lead by Burton to 1.1 seconds. 

8 to go Burton starts to encounter slower drivers. Johnson is challenged by Kyle Busch with 7 to go on the inside line. Kyle Busch takes 4^th from Johnson. 

6 to go Kahne continues to close in on Burton. 

5 to go Burton ahead by more than a half second. Johnson falls back to 6^th as McMurray passes him. 

4 to go Burton keeps the separation to the same. 

3 to go Burton by the same. Burton looks good into the corner, Kahne on the exit. 

2 to go the distance remains the same.

WHITE FLAG for Burton Kahne does not close in. Out of turn four…

CHECKERED FLAG for Burton. The rest of the top ten are Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, McMurray, Johnson, Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Martin and Ragan. 

The race lasted for 3 hours and 45 minutes. We saw 24 lead changes among 16 drivers and 10 cautions for 48 laps. 16 drivers finished on the lead lap. 

Burton led 60 laps. Johnson led the most with 67 laps, Vickers 64, Jeff Gordon 47, Stewart 42, Biffle 16, Kyle Busch 14, Newman 10, Sorenson 6, Truex Jr. 4 and several others 1.