Lap-by-Lap: Bristol

[dalejrfan]

CHECKERED FLAG: Richard Childress Racing finishes 1-2-3 as Jeff Burton wins the Food City 500 with Kevin Harvick second and Clint Bowyer third. It's the first win for Chevrolet in the 2008 season.



Lap 505 -- WHITE FLAG LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin has problems and Jeff Burton takes the lead.



Lap 504 -- GREEN FLAG: Denny Hamlin brings the field to the green for a green-white-checkered finish.
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Jeff Burton
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.



Lap 498 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 10: Kevin Harvick spins Tony Stewart as he passes him for second sending Stewart into the wall.



Lap 496 -- LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin passes Tony Stewart for the lead.



Lap 495 -- GREEN FLAG: Tony Stewart brings the field to the green for a five-lap shootout.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Greg Biffle



Lap 490 -- Kevin Harvick gives up second and pits. The only three lead-lap cars to stay out were Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.



Lap 489 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 9: Brian Vickers is in the wall after he blows a right front tire. Martin Truex Jr. gets the free pass.



Lap 482 -- Denny Hamlin has passed all the lap down cars and now there is no one between him and second-place Kevin Harvick.



Lap 479 -- There are two cars left for Tony Stewart to pass before he has some open track.



Lap 476 -- There are about five cars between third-place Denny Hamlin and second-place Kevin Harvick. Harvick is on the bumper of leader Tony Stewart.



Lap 469 -- Tony Stewart has caught lap traffic allowing Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin to close the gap.



Lap 463 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. passes Jeff Burton for fourth.



Lap 459 -- Kevin Harvick has caught Tony Stewart and is challenging for the lead with 40 laps to go.



Lap 453 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in the top five as he passes Clint Bowyer for fifth.



Lap 446 -- Jimmie Johnson continues to fade as Greg Biffle passes him for seventh and Carl Edwards is getting ready to pass him for eighth.



Lap 443 -- Sixth-place Greg Biffle says his car is really loose and his splitter is hitting the track. Denny Hamlin passes Jeff Burton for third and is closing quick.



Lap 436 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the move as he is up to sixth after passing Jimmie Johnson. Johnson says he is having handling issues.



Lap 433 -- Tony Stewart has opened up a one-second lead on Kevin Harvick.



Lap 420 -- Denny Hamlin has caught Clint Bowyer and is challenging him for fourth. Bowyer tells Gil Martin, his crew chief, "if we get out front, no one can catch us."



Lap 414 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart passes Kevin Harvick to reclaim the lead.



Lap 411 -- Tony Stewart has caught Kevin Harvick and is challenging for the lead. Denny Hamlin passes Jimmie Johnson for fifth.



Lap 407 -- Denny Hamlin on the move as he passes Greg Biffle for sixth.



Lap 402 -- The leaders are reporting they should have enough fuel to make it to the end.



Lap 398 -- Denny Hamlin passes Carl Edwards for seventh.



Lap 394 -- Casey Mears is back on the track putting all 43 cars back in the race.



Lap 389 -- Clint Bowyer passes Greg Biffle for fifth putting all three RCR cars in the top five.



Lap 388 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kevin Harvick passes Tony Stewart when the No. 20 goes hard into the corner, opening a hole for the No. 29

Lap 381 -- GREEN FLAG: Tony Stewart brings the field to the green.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Jeff Burton
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Greg Biffle



Lap 378 -- All the lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Clint Bowyer with an air pressure adjustment
• Jeff Burton makes minor changes
• Greg Biffle likes his car, they just take tires
• Tony Stewart with four tires
• Kevin Harvick wants more rear grip
• Jimmie Johnson gains two spots on pit road



Lap 376 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: Jimmie Johnson bumped Jeff Burton when lap car Robby Gordon slowed causing Johnson to spin. Martin Truex Jr. gets the free pass.



Lap 369 -- Jeff Burton passes Jimmie Johnson for third.



Lap 360 -- Sixteen cars are currently on the lead lap with Kasey Kahne in the 16th position.



Lap 355 -- Dale Jarrett almost had his final race come to an early end when Jimmie Johnson bumped him and pushed him up to the wall. Jarrett was able to hold on though.



Lap 351 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart passes Kevin Harvick and retakes the lead. Mike Skinner is back on the track.



Lap 346 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kevin Harvick passes Tony Stewart to lead for the first time today. Jimmie Johnson passes Jeff Burton for third.



Lap 343 -- Kevin Harvick has caught the bumper of Tony Stewart and is challenging for the lead.



Lap 332 -- Tony Stewart has run into slower traffic allowing Kevin Harvick to close the gap.



Lap 322 -- Tony Stewart has a one-second lead on second-place Kevin Harvick.



Lap 312 -- Casey Mears has taken his car to the garage.



Lap 311 -- Casey Mears is back on pit road to make more repairs.



Lap 306 -- The top-six have separated themselves from the lap down cars. Tony Stewart warned by officials if he restarts the way he just did again, he will be penalized.



Lap 304 -- GREEN FLAG: Tony Stewart brings the field to the green.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Jeff Burton
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Clint Bowyer



Lap 297 -- Pit road is back open but not too many takers. Kyle Busch has made numerous stops to repair damage due to his loss of power steering but he is only a lap down.



Lap 293 -- Pit road is currently closed.



Lap 291 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: Leader Kyle Busch spins when his steering gets stuck bringing out the caution. Mike Skinner has fire pouring out his car and the fire trucks put it out on pit road. Kasey Kahne gets the free pass.



Lap 290 -- The top-four of Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick are by the lap-down cars.



Lap 287 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Tony Stewart
3. Jeff Burton
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jimmie Johnson



Lap 282 -- Michael Waltrip penalized for being too fast exiting pit road. Casey Mears back on pit road fixing damage.



Lap 281 -- LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin back on pit road dealing with damage, Kyle Busch now gets the lead for the first time today. David Reutimann penalized for pitting outside his box.



Lap 280 -- All the lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Clint Bowyer with an air pressure and wedge adjustment
• Jeff Burton with a quick stop
• Kyle Busch with a minor adjustment and four tires
• Denny Hamlin's damage not too bad and they take four tires



Lap 278 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Paul Menard bumped Dario Franchitti sending him into the wall. Casey Mears ran into Denny Hamlin when all that was going on. Juan Montoya will get the free pass.

Lap 272 -- Denny Hamlin passes Casey Mears in 17th, putting him a lap down.



Lap 269 -- Clint Bowyer passes Jimmie Johnson for sixth.



Lap 264 -- Kevin Harvick passes Tony Stewart for second. Kyle Busch gets around Jeff Burton for fourth.



Lap 251 -- Denny Hamlin leads at the halfway point as the Food City 500 is now official.



Lap 249 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the move as he passes Jeff Gordon for 12th.



Lap 246 -- Kurt Busch is in the top 10 as he passes Matt Kenseth for 10th.



Lap 240 -- Eighteen cars are on the lead lap but Denny Hamlin has caught J.J. Yeley and will put him a lap down soon.



Lap 233 -- Dario Franchitti has a tire rub and might have to pit.



Lap 229 -- Ken Schrader doesn't like what he has as he goes back to the garage.



Lap 225 -- Ken Schrader is out of the garage and back on the track scored 36 laps down.



Lap 221 -- Denny Hamlin has a 1.4-second lead on second-place Clint Bowyer.



Lap 215 -- Ryan Newman gets the black flag due to damage from his earlier crash.



Lap 211 -- Jimmie Johnson goes up the track and Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick pass him for third, fourth and fifth.



Lap 209 -- Denny Hamlin has a 1.5-second lead on Clint Bowyer in second.



Lap 207 -- Clint Bowyer is challenging Jimmie Johnson for second.



Lap 199 -- Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer pass Tony Stewart for second and third.



Lap 198 -- LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin passes Tony Stewart for the lead.



Lap 197 -- GREEN FLAG: Tony Stewart brings the field to the green.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Jeff Burton



Lap 194 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart wins the race off pit road and reclaims the lead.



Lap 193 -- LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin takes the lead on pit road due to where his pit stall is.



Lap 192 -- All the leaders hit pit road.
• Clint Bowyer with his first adjustment of the day, wedge and air pressure
• Jeff Burton with an adjustment
• Kyle Busch having problems turning, makes an air pressure and track bar adjustment
• Denny Hamlin wants an air pressure and chassis adjustment
• Tony Stewart with a wedge adjustment



Lap 189 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Ken Schrader and Dario Franchitti all get together in Turn 2 bringing out the caution. J.J. Yeley gets the free pass and will be back on the lead lap.



Lap 182 -- Tony Stewart puts Martin Truex Jr. a lap down. Reed Sorenson and J.J. Yeley are the next two that could go a lap down.



Lap 174 -- Denny Hamlin gets around Jimmie Johnson for second.



Lap 170 -- Denny Hamlin has caught Jimmie Johnson and is challenging for second.



Lap 165 -- Twenty-six cars are on the lead lap with David Reutimann and Dale Earnhardt Jr. the next cars to go a lap down.



Lap 158 -- Tony Stewart has caught Evernham teammates Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler but the two are making it hard for the No. 20 to put them a lap down.



Lap 151 -- Jimmie Johnson is having trouble passing lap down cars and Tony Stewart has re-opened a one-second lead.



Lap 148 -- Tony Stewart has caught the tail end of the field allowing Jimmie Johnson to catch him.



Lap 141 -- The top 10 is single file but from Casey Mears in 11th on back are all double file, including the lap cars.



Lap 130 -- Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field.



Lap 124 -- GREEN FLAG: Tony Stewart brings the field to the green.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Clint Bowyer

[dalejrfan]

Lap 120 -- Most of the lead-lap cars stayed out. Jeff Gordon was the highest car to pit. The top 14 stayed out.



Lap 119 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: Dave Blaney spins bringing out the caution. Travis Kvapil gets the free pass and will be back on the lead lap.



Lap 118 -- Tony Stewart leads Jimmie Johnson by 1.2 seconds but the No. 20 is catching the back of the field.



Lap 114 -- Denny Hamlin passes Kevin Harvick for third.



Lap 109 -- Kyle Busch passes Michael Waltrip for fifth as the No. 55 is stuck on the outside.



Lap 102 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart passes Michael Waltrip for the lead.



Lap 100 -- GREEN FLAG: Michael Waltrip brings the field to the green.
1. Michael Waltrip
2. Tony Stewart
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Denny Hamlin



Lap 98 -- Kasey Kahne and Bobby Labonte with pit road violations and will start at the tail end of the longest line.



Lap 97 -- LEAD CHANGE: Michael Waltrip stayed out to lead a lap and collect five bonus points.



Lap 96 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart takes the lead on pit road due to where his pit stall is.



Lap 95 -- All the leaders hit pit road.
• Clint Bowyer with no adjustments and four tires but loses four spots
• Jeff Burton with four tires
• Kyle Busch with and air pressure adjustment
• Tony Stewart with minor adjustments
• Kevin Harvick small air pressure adjustment



Lap 93 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: Debris on the racetrack. David Gilliland will get the free pass and return to the lead lap.



Lap 90 -- The lapped cars has allowed Tony Stewart to catch Clint Bowyer as the No. 20 trails the leader by just 0.3 seconds.



Lap 86 -- Leader Clint Bowyer has caught the tail of the field and has begun lapping cars.



Lap 83 -- Clint Bowyer has opened up a 1.7-second lead on Tony Stewart. Kyle Busch is up to seventh.



Lap 79 -- Kevin Harvick has caught Jimmie Johnson and is challenging him for third.



Lap 75 -- Tony Stewart passes Jimmie Johnson for second.



Lap 72 -- Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick have cleared all the lap traffic and are pulling away from the field.



Lap 68 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer brings the field to the green.
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Tony Stewart
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Casey Mears



Lap 65 -- Jamie McMurray has made multiple pit stops this caution period.



Lap 59 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Robby Gordon spins but doesn't hit anything. Joe Nemechek gets the free pass and will be back on the lead lap.



Lap 56 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer brings the field to the green.
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Tony Stewart
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Casey Mears



Lap 55 -- Ken Schrader with a commitment line violation and he had to make a pass-through penalty.



Lap 53 -- All the lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Clint Bowyer with no changes and four tires
• Jeff Gordon with some adjustments and four tires
• Matt Kenseth drops the track bar
• Jimmie Johnson with some adjustments
• Tony Stewart with some adjustments



Lap 51 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: Competition caution is out. Travis Kvapil will receive the free pass.

Lap 39 -- Kyle Busch bumps Kyle Petty but both cars are able to continue.



Lap 28 -- The battle on the track is for sixth as Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton are battling.



Lap 25 -- Dave Blaney and Kyle Petty are the first cars a lap down.



Lap 23 -- Tony Stewart has found some speed now that there is some rubber on the track as he moves up to fifth.



Lap 20 -- Clint Bowyer has opened up a 1.1-second lead on second-place Jimmie Johnson.



Lap 18 -- Dave Blaney, Mike Skinner and Jeremy Mayfield are close to going one lap down.



Lap 12 -- LEAD CHANGE: Clint Bowyer passes Jimmie Johnson easily to take the lead.



Lap 9 -- Clint Bowyer is on the move as he passes Jeff Gordon for second.



Lap 6 -- Tony Stewart is being forced to the outside and losing spots on the track.



Lap 3 -- Matt Kenseth is on the outside and has moved up to third.



Lap 1 -- Jimmie Johnson leads the first lap and earns five bonus points.



2:16 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Ned Jarrett waves the green flag as Jimmie Johnson gets the Food City 500 under way.



2:15 p.m. -- Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield will start in the rear of the field due to engine changes. There will also be a competition caution at Lap 50.



2:11 p.m. -- The cars are off pit road and on the track.



2:09 p.m. -- John Compton, CEO of PepsiCo gives the command: "Gentlemen, start your engines!"



2:07 p.m. -- Cup champion Dale Jarrett climbs into his car for the final time in a points race. You will be missed Dale, thanks for the memories!



2:02 p.m. -- Country star Danielle Peck performs the national anthem.



2:01 p.m. -- Mike Rife of Vansant Church of Christ in Vansant, Va., delivers the Invocation.



1:30 p.m. -- FOX's pre-race coverage has started.



12:30 p.m. -- Rain altered track activities all weekend at Bristol, including shortening the Nationwide race Saturday afternoon. All that is in the past though, as the sun is shining under partly sunny skies with the temperature in the 50s.