Post by dalejrfan on Apr 22, 2006 22:52:46 GMT -5
Lap 312 -- CHECKERED FLAG: Kevin Harvick wins the Subway Fresh 500.
Lap 311 -- Mark Martin is out of fuel.
Lap 310 -- Greg Biffle gives up second place to hit pit road because he's out of fuel.
Lap 309 -- Kurt Busch is black-flagged for holding his window net up. Jamie McMurray hits pit road for fuel, as does David Stremme. Concerns that Mark Martin is out of gas.
Lap 308 -- Kevin Harvick's lead is 1.2 seconds, as all three Richard Childress Racing cars are in the top 12.
Lap 303 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kevin Harvick catches and goes by Greg Biffle with ease for the lead.
Lap 300 -- Kevin Harvick takes second place from Tony Stewart, and Greg Biffle's team tells him they're going to gamble on fuel.
Lap 295 -- Tony Stewart has cut Biffle's lead to a few car-lengths, and Kevin Harvick has cut what was a 4-second margin to just over a second to third.
Lap 285 -- Tony Stewart is .729 seconds behind leader Greg Biffle.
Lap 278 -- Fuel mileage begins to become a factor, as Clint Bowyer (eighth) may be able to go the distance. Nearly everyone else should have to make one more stop.
Lap 275 -- Four Roush Racing cars are in the top 10: Greg Biffle (first), Matt Kenseth (fifth), Carl Edwards (sixth) and Mark Martin (seventh).
Lap 270 -- Tony Stewart has cut Greg Biffle's lead down to 1.669, but Biffle has just cleared a group of lapped traffic while Stewart is in the middle of it.
Lap 250 -- Greg Biffle's lead over Tony Stewart is now 2.24 seconds. Meanwhile, after the damage, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fallen back to 18th position, the last car on the lead lap.
Lap 231 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle again heads the field to the line:
1. Greg Biffle
2. Tony Stewart
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Clint Bowyer
Lap 224 -- Pit stops for the leaders:
• Greg Biffle gets off pit road with the lead
• Tony Stewart is out second
• Kevin Harvick is out third
• Clint Bowyer was the big loser as he fell from second to fifth
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. spends extra time in the pits to repair the rear bumper
Lap 223 -- CAUTION FLAG: Big wreck coming out of Turn 4 as Dale Earnhardt Jr. spins Kyle Petty. The chain reaction caused Mark Martin to lift Earnhardt, and Ryan Newman was pinned into the wall.
• Martin gets through without damage
• Earnhardt has minimal damage to the rear bumper but takes blame for the wreck
• Newman's night is done
• Scott Wimmer, Scott Riggs and Jeff Burton each collect some damage
Lap 218 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart goes from worst to first and takes the lead from Clint Bowyer. He is the only driver to lead in all eight races this season.
Lap 217 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer leads the field into Turn 1 as the go three-wide through the turns:
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Tony Stewart
3. Greg Biffle
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jimmie Johnson
Lap 213 -- None of the top-10 drivers pit, but several drivers from 10th on back make a stop. Dale Jarrett had to pit twice to tighten loose lug nuts.
Lap 212 -- CAUTION FLAG: J.J. Yeley spins and Brent Sherman makes contact coming off Turn 4. Neither car gets much damage.
Lap 211 -- Scott Wimmer has a flat left-rear tire and scoots to the bottom of the track. He makes it to pit road without problems.
Lap 206 -- Stanton Barrett brushes the wall, but the race continues green. Reed Sorenson returns to the race after being in the Lap 100 wreck, leaving Michael Waltrip the only car not to return.
Lap 203 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer leads the field to green:
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Greg Biffle
3. Tony Stewart
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jimmie Johnson
Lap 200 -- Pit stops for the leaders:
• Clint Bowyer wins the race off pit road and takes the lead
• Greg Biffle is second
• Mark Martin gets out third but has to come back in because of a loose left-rear tire and falls to 16th (Note: the left-rear tire carrier is new this week)
• Tony Stewart's crew continues a great day and gets their driver out fourth
Lap 199 -- CAUTION FLAG: Debris in Turn 2 as Mark Martin threatens to put Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton a lap down.
Lap 185 -- The pit stops vaulted Greg Biffle from 13th to second after he was the first car on pit road. In contrast, J.J. Yeley was the last car to pit and went from leading the race to 30th position.
Lap 184 -- After the pit stops are complete, the top five looks like this under the dark skies:
1. Mark Martin
2. Greg Biffle
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Tony Stewart
Lap 178 -- Mark Martin reassumes the lead by passing hometown hero J.J. Yeley, who has not made his green-flag stop yet.
Lap 172 -- Kevin Harvick hesitates pulling out of his pit stall to avoid hitting Jeff Gordon, who enters his stall. During the stops, Clint Bowyer leads his first career laps in Nextel Cup racing.
Lap 170 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Kasey Kahne and leader Mark Martin all hit pit road for tires and adjustments.
Lap 169 -- Denny Hamlin takes his car to the garage to retire because of engine problems all day.
Lap 165 -- Greg Biffle is the first car on pit road for four tires and adjustments to begin green-flag pit stops. Jimmie Johnson follows and is out of fuel when he stops. He lost some time trying to get the car restarted.
Lap 160 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fallen back from fifth position on the restart to 14th.
Lap 151 -- Tony Stewart posts the fastest lap and has worked his way to seventh position, 9.2 seconds behind leader Mark Martin.
Lap 145 -- Kyle Busch is back on the track after being involved in the Lap 100 crash. He is promptly black-flagged for bumping into Casey Mears' car under the red flag after the accident. He is held on pit road for a five-lap penalty.
Lap 143 -- Carl Edwards, after early-race problems on pit road, has worked his way back to 10th, while Dave Blaney, who hit the wall on Lap 54, is back up to 19th.
Lap 132 -- The top five looks like this:
1. Mark Martin
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 124 -- Joe Nemechek is back on the track after being involved in the Lap 100 accident. Entering Phoenix, Nemechek had not had a DNF in 39 races.
Lap 122 -- Kasey Kahne reports a brake vibration and a loose-handling car after restarting fifth and falling back to 10th.
Lap 117 -- Robby Gordon heads to pit road with potential problems, as he's running much slower than the pit-road speed limit.
Lap 107 -- LEAD CHANGE: Mark Martin gets around Greg Biffle to take the lead.
Lap 105 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle leads the field back to green.
Lap 100 -- CAUTION FLAG: Cars begin rolling again under the yellow flag after the wreckage is cleaned up.
Lap 100 -- Kyle Petty says over his radio, "I just got into the back of Michael. That's all Kyle Petty's fault right there."
Lap 100 -- RED FLAG: Cars are ordered to stop where they are immediately, as the racetrack is completely blocked with wrecked cars. Kyle Busch limps his damaged car to smack the stopped car of Casey Mears. Busch and crew chief Alan Gustafson are summoned to the NASCAR trailer after the race.
Lap 100 -- CAUTION FLAG: Kyle Petty gets into the back of Michael Waltrip and causes a huge crash heading into the sunlight. Kyle Busch spins in a separate incident with Casey Mears. Cars involved are:
• Kyle Petty
• Michael Waltrip
• Elliott Sadler
• Joe Nemechek
• David Stremme
• Reed Sorenson
• Kyle Busch
• Casey Mears
Lap 93 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle leads as the top five is:
1. Greg Biffle
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Mark Martin
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Clint Bowyer
Lap 90 -- Pit stops for four tires and fuel:
• Greg Biffle wins the race off pit road to take the lead
• Jimmie Johnson comes off second
• Mark Martin makes a half-pound adjustment on the right-rear tire and comes out third
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. drops from fourth to seventh on pit road, likely because of trying to fix potential damage
• David Stremme and then Elliott Sadler stay out to lead a lap
• Kenny Wallace gets the Lucky Dog
Lap 88 -- CAUTION FLAG: Scott Riggs crashes on the back straightaway and suffers major nose damage.
Lap 81 -- After starting at the rear of the field, Tony Stewart is now inside the top 10.
Lap 69 -- Denny Hamlin's early engine problems are now fixed, but he's four laps down in 43rd position.
Lap 66 -- LEAD CHANGE: Mark Martin slips past his teammate Greg Biffle to take the lead, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. now battles Biffle for second.
Lap 61 -- Kurt Busch's car gets loose coming off the corner and he touches the wall. There could be some front fender damage.
Lap 58 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle leads the field to green, as the top five is:
1. Greg Biffle
2. Mark Martin
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Kurt Busch
5. Jimmie Johnson
Lap 55 -- All cars hit pit road:
• Kyle Busch wins the race off pit road but was speeding as he exited and will be sent to the back of the field in 39th
• Greg Biffle is out second after changing tire pressure
• Carl Edwards crunches his left front coming out of the pits and has to come back in because of damage
• Tony Stewart gained two positions on pit road to get to 14th
Lap 54 -- CAUTION FLAG: Dave Blaney blows a right-front tire and brushes the wall to flatten the side of his racecar.
Lap 49 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch moves past Greg Biffle in Turn 3 to claim the lead.
Lap 43 -- Matt Kenseth is complaining of a tight racecar and continues to fall back, dropping outside the top 10.
Lap 29 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle leads the field to green, as the top five is:
1. Greg Biffle
2. Kurt Busch
3. Kyle Busch
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Carl Edwards
Lap 27 -- All 41 cars on the lead lap hit pit road for four tires:
• Greg Biffle beats everyone off pit road
• Kurt Busch is next
• Kyle Busch follows his brother in third
• Jamie McMurray almost overshoots his pit box and loses several positions
• Tony Stewart gains eight positions on pit road and restarts in the top 25
Lap 26 -- CAUTION FLAG: Debris on the frontstretch.
Lap 23 -- Denny Hamlin has dropped from sixth to 25th and could have engine problems.
Lap 14 -- Tony Stewart has moved up 10 spots since the race began, moving from 43rd to 33rd, while Mark Martin has improved from 18th to 11th.
Lap 4 -- Kurt Busch, who started fifth, has already moved to second past his brother, Kyle Busch.
Lap 1 -- LEAD CHANGE: Greg Biffle muscles past Kyle Busch on the outside to lead the first lap.
8:36 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch leads the field strong into Turn 1 at a sunny and windy Phoenix.
8:34 p.m. -- Tony Stewart to the back of the field for not starting the race on the same tires on which he qualified. Questions surrounding what happened to his old tires.
8:30 p.m. -- Cars roll onto the track in preparation for 312 laps under the lights.
8:28 p.m. -- Sen. John McCain: "Gentlemen, start your engines."
8:20 p.m. -- Josh Kelley sings the national anthem.
8:19 p.m. -- Invocation.
8:14 p.m. -- Kurt Busch takes Darrell Waltrip for a ride around Phoenix and lets go of the wheel down the straightaway. Looks like DW is scared.
8:10 p.m. -- Chris Myers said the Busch brothers aren't really popular in the garage.
8:05 p.m. -- Chris Myers signs off from the interview with Kasey Kahne by saying, "Good night, and good luck." Did he see that movie?
8:01 p.m. -- FOX recaps the season's highlights ... or lowlights ... depending on who you are, then cuts to a shot of the drivers sitting on pit road's paved surface.
8 p.m. -- FOX's prime-time coverage of the Subway Fresh 500 from Phoenix International Raceway begins under steamy 90-degree weather.
6:10 p.m. -- It's 86 degrees and sunny in Phoenix, as the countdown to the green flag for the season's first night race is at two hours.
Lap 311 -- Mark Martin is out of fuel.
Lap 310 -- Greg Biffle gives up second place to hit pit road because he's out of fuel.
Lap 309 -- Kurt Busch is black-flagged for holding his window net up. Jamie McMurray hits pit road for fuel, as does David Stremme. Concerns that Mark Martin is out of gas.
Lap 308 -- Kevin Harvick's lead is 1.2 seconds, as all three Richard Childress Racing cars are in the top 12.
Lap 303 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kevin Harvick catches and goes by Greg Biffle with ease for the lead.
Lap 300 -- Kevin Harvick takes second place from Tony Stewart, and Greg Biffle's team tells him they're going to gamble on fuel.
Lap 295 -- Tony Stewart has cut Biffle's lead to a few car-lengths, and Kevin Harvick has cut what was a 4-second margin to just over a second to third.
Lap 285 -- Tony Stewart is .729 seconds behind leader Greg Biffle.
Lap 278 -- Fuel mileage begins to become a factor, as Clint Bowyer (eighth) may be able to go the distance. Nearly everyone else should have to make one more stop.
Lap 275 -- Four Roush Racing cars are in the top 10: Greg Biffle (first), Matt Kenseth (fifth), Carl Edwards (sixth) and Mark Martin (seventh).
Lap 270 -- Tony Stewart has cut Greg Biffle's lead down to 1.669, but Biffle has just cleared a group of lapped traffic while Stewart is in the middle of it.
Lap 250 -- Greg Biffle's lead over Tony Stewart is now 2.24 seconds. Meanwhile, after the damage, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fallen back to 18th position, the last car on the lead lap.
Lap 231 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle again heads the field to the line:
1. Greg Biffle
2. Tony Stewart
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Clint Bowyer
Lap 224 -- Pit stops for the leaders:
• Greg Biffle gets off pit road with the lead
• Tony Stewart is out second
• Kevin Harvick is out third
• Clint Bowyer was the big loser as he fell from second to fifth
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. spends extra time in the pits to repair the rear bumper
Lap 223 -- CAUTION FLAG: Big wreck coming out of Turn 4 as Dale Earnhardt Jr. spins Kyle Petty. The chain reaction caused Mark Martin to lift Earnhardt, and Ryan Newman was pinned into the wall.
• Martin gets through without damage
• Earnhardt has minimal damage to the rear bumper but takes blame for the wreck
• Newman's night is done
• Scott Wimmer, Scott Riggs and Jeff Burton each collect some damage
Lap 218 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart goes from worst to first and takes the lead from Clint Bowyer. He is the only driver to lead in all eight races this season.
Lap 217 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer leads the field into Turn 1 as the go three-wide through the turns:
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Tony Stewart
3. Greg Biffle
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jimmie Johnson
Lap 213 -- None of the top-10 drivers pit, but several drivers from 10th on back make a stop. Dale Jarrett had to pit twice to tighten loose lug nuts.
Lap 212 -- CAUTION FLAG: J.J. Yeley spins and Brent Sherman makes contact coming off Turn 4. Neither car gets much damage.
Lap 211 -- Scott Wimmer has a flat left-rear tire and scoots to the bottom of the track. He makes it to pit road without problems.
Lap 206 -- Stanton Barrett brushes the wall, but the race continues green. Reed Sorenson returns to the race after being in the Lap 100 wreck, leaving Michael Waltrip the only car not to return.
Lap 203 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer leads the field to green:
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Greg Biffle
3. Tony Stewart
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jimmie Johnson
Lap 200 -- Pit stops for the leaders:
• Clint Bowyer wins the race off pit road and takes the lead
• Greg Biffle is second
• Mark Martin gets out third but has to come back in because of a loose left-rear tire and falls to 16th (Note: the left-rear tire carrier is new this week)
• Tony Stewart's crew continues a great day and gets their driver out fourth
Lap 199 -- CAUTION FLAG: Debris in Turn 2 as Mark Martin threatens to put Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton a lap down.
Lap 185 -- The pit stops vaulted Greg Biffle from 13th to second after he was the first car on pit road. In contrast, J.J. Yeley was the last car to pit and went from leading the race to 30th position.
Lap 184 -- After the pit stops are complete, the top five looks like this under the dark skies:
1. Mark Martin
2. Greg Biffle
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Tony Stewart
Lap 178 -- Mark Martin reassumes the lead by passing hometown hero J.J. Yeley, who has not made his green-flag stop yet.
Lap 172 -- Kevin Harvick hesitates pulling out of his pit stall to avoid hitting Jeff Gordon, who enters his stall. During the stops, Clint Bowyer leads his first career laps in Nextel Cup racing.
Lap 170 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Kasey Kahne and leader Mark Martin all hit pit road for tires and adjustments.
Lap 169 -- Denny Hamlin takes his car to the garage to retire because of engine problems all day.
Lap 165 -- Greg Biffle is the first car on pit road for four tires and adjustments to begin green-flag pit stops. Jimmie Johnson follows and is out of fuel when he stops. He lost some time trying to get the car restarted.
Lap 160 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fallen back from fifth position on the restart to 14th.
Lap 151 -- Tony Stewart posts the fastest lap and has worked his way to seventh position, 9.2 seconds behind leader Mark Martin.
Lap 145 -- Kyle Busch is back on the track after being involved in the Lap 100 crash. He is promptly black-flagged for bumping into Casey Mears' car under the red flag after the accident. He is held on pit road for a five-lap penalty.
Lap 143 -- Carl Edwards, after early-race problems on pit road, has worked his way back to 10th, while Dave Blaney, who hit the wall on Lap 54, is back up to 19th.
Lap 132 -- The top five looks like this:
1. Mark Martin
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 124 -- Joe Nemechek is back on the track after being involved in the Lap 100 accident. Entering Phoenix, Nemechek had not had a DNF in 39 races.
Lap 122 -- Kasey Kahne reports a brake vibration and a loose-handling car after restarting fifth and falling back to 10th.
Lap 117 -- Robby Gordon heads to pit road with potential problems, as he's running much slower than the pit-road speed limit.
Lap 107 -- LEAD CHANGE: Mark Martin gets around Greg Biffle to take the lead.
Lap 105 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle leads the field back to green.
Lap 100 -- CAUTION FLAG: Cars begin rolling again under the yellow flag after the wreckage is cleaned up.
Lap 100 -- Kyle Petty says over his radio, "I just got into the back of Michael. That's all Kyle Petty's fault right there."
Lap 100 -- RED FLAG: Cars are ordered to stop where they are immediately, as the racetrack is completely blocked with wrecked cars. Kyle Busch limps his damaged car to smack the stopped car of Casey Mears. Busch and crew chief Alan Gustafson are summoned to the NASCAR trailer after the race.
Lap 100 -- CAUTION FLAG: Kyle Petty gets into the back of Michael Waltrip and causes a huge crash heading into the sunlight. Kyle Busch spins in a separate incident with Casey Mears. Cars involved are:
• Kyle Petty
• Michael Waltrip
• Elliott Sadler
• Joe Nemechek
• David Stremme
• Reed Sorenson
• Kyle Busch
• Casey Mears
Lap 93 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle leads as the top five is:
1. Greg Biffle
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Mark Martin
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Clint Bowyer
Lap 90 -- Pit stops for four tires and fuel:
• Greg Biffle wins the race off pit road to take the lead
• Jimmie Johnson comes off second
• Mark Martin makes a half-pound adjustment on the right-rear tire and comes out third
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. drops from fourth to seventh on pit road, likely because of trying to fix potential damage
• David Stremme and then Elliott Sadler stay out to lead a lap
• Kenny Wallace gets the Lucky Dog
Lap 88 -- CAUTION FLAG: Scott Riggs crashes on the back straightaway and suffers major nose damage.
Lap 81 -- After starting at the rear of the field, Tony Stewart is now inside the top 10.
Lap 69 -- Denny Hamlin's early engine problems are now fixed, but he's four laps down in 43rd position.
Lap 66 -- LEAD CHANGE: Mark Martin slips past his teammate Greg Biffle to take the lead, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. now battles Biffle for second.
Lap 61 -- Kurt Busch's car gets loose coming off the corner and he touches the wall. There could be some front fender damage.
Lap 58 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle leads the field to green, as the top five is:
1. Greg Biffle
2. Mark Martin
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Kurt Busch
5. Jimmie Johnson
Lap 55 -- All cars hit pit road:
• Kyle Busch wins the race off pit road but was speeding as he exited and will be sent to the back of the field in 39th
• Greg Biffle is out second after changing tire pressure
• Carl Edwards crunches his left front coming out of the pits and has to come back in because of damage
• Tony Stewart gained two positions on pit road to get to 14th
Lap 54 -- CAUTION FLAG: Dave Blaney blows a right-front tire and brushes the wall to flatten the side of his racecar.
Lap 49 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch moves past Greg Biffle in Turn 3 to claim the lead.
Lap 43 -- Matt Kenseth is complaining of a tight racecar and continues to fall back, dropping outside the top 10.
Lap 29 -- GREEN FLAG: Greg Biffle leads the field to green, as the top five is:
1. Greg Biffle
2. Kurt Busch
3. Kyle Busch
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Carl Edwards
Lap 27 -- All 41 cars on the lead lap hit pit road for four tires:
• Greg Biffle beats everyone off pit road
• Kurt Busch is next
• Kyle Busch follows his brother in third
• Jamie McMurray almost overshoots his pit box and loses several positions
• Tony Stewart gains eight positions on pit road and restarts in the top 25
Lap 26 -- CAUTION FLAG: Debris on the frontstretch.
Lap 23 -- Denny Hamlin has dropped from sixth to 25th and could have engine problems.
Lap 14 -- Tony Stewart has moved up 10 spots since the race began, moving from 43rd to 33rd, while Mark Martin has improved from 18th to 11th.
Lap 4 -- Kurt Busch, who started fifth, has already moved to second past his brother, Kyle Busch.
Lap 1 -- LEAD CHANGE: Greg Biffle muscles past Kyle Busch on the outside to lead the first lap.
8:36 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch leads the field strong into Turn 1 at a sunny and windy Phoenix.
8:34 p.m. -- Tony Stewart to the back of the field for not starting the race on the same tires on which he qualified. Questions surrounding what happened to his old tires.
8:30 p.m. -- Cars roll onto the track in preparation for 312 laps under the lights.
8:28 p.m. -- Sen. John McCain: "Gentlemen, start your engines."
8:20 p.m. -- Josh Kelley sings the national anthem.
8:19 p.m. -- Invocation.
8:14 p.m. -- Kurt Busch takes Darrell Waltrip for a ride around Phoenix and lets go of the wheel down the straightaway. Looks like DW is scared.
8:10 p.m. -- Chris Myers said the Busch brothers aren't really popular in the garage.
8:05 p.m. -- Chris Myers signs off from the interview with Kasey Kahne by saying, "Good night, and good luck." Did he see that movie?
8:01 p.m. -- FOX recaps the season's highlights ... or lowlights ... depending on who you are, then cuts to a shot of the drivers sitting on pit road's paved surface.
8 p.m. -- FOX's prime-time coverage of the Subway Fresh 500 from Phoenix International Raceway begins under steamy 90-degree weather.
6:10 p.m. -- It's 86 degrees and sunny in Phoenix, as the countdown to the green flag for the season's first night race is at two hours.