 It’s
a beautiful day in Atlanta for 500 miles of Cup Series action Atlanta
Motor Speedway.
* Nascar SprintCup 2011
It’s currently 53 degrees under mostly sunny skies with
highs expected to race the mid-60s. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the
pole...
Greg
Biffle will start from the rear due to a practice crash forcing him to
a backup car. Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman will also go to the rear
with engine changes. Country
star Mark Wills performs the national anthem. David
Vaughn, VP of merchandising for Lowe’s, gives the command: ''Gentlemen,
start your engines!'' Kobalt
Tools 500 is under way...
Lap 332—YELLOW FLAG NO. 10/LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch takes the middle
line and passes Paul Menard but caution comes out as Jamie McMurray
gets loose and hits Clint Bowyer collecting Kyle Busch, Mark Martin,
Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.
Lap 331—GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer brings the field to the green. 1.
Clint Bowyer 2. Paul Menard 3. Jamie McMurray 4. Kurt Busch 5. Juan
Montoya
Lap 329—Numerous cars take advantage of the wave-around rule.
Lap 328—LEAD CHANGE: Clint Bowyer wins the race off pit road and takes
the lead.
Lap 327—All the lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Kasey Kahne with four tires and a track bar adjustment
• Kurt Busch with four tires and an air pressure adjustment
• Clint Bowyer with two tires
• Paul Menard with two tires
• Jamie McMurray with two tires
Lap 325—NASCAR has parked the No. 99 for the remainder of the race and
Carl Edwards has been called to the NASCAR hauler..
Lap 323—YELLOW FLAG NO. 9: Carl Edwards gets revenge on Brad Keselowski
for the earlier crash and sends Keselowski into the wall and airborne,
hard into the wall and onto his roof ending Keselowski’s top-six
run. (By Nascar.com)
Lap
322—Kurt Busch leads by just 0.5 seconds with three to go.
Lap 321—Juan Montoya continues to close on Kurt Busch as the lead is
now 0.7 seconds.
Lap 319—Juan Montoya has cut Kurt Busch’s lead to one second.
Lap 316—Great three-way battle between Matt Kenseth, A.J. Allmendinger
and Brad Keselowski for fourth.
Lap 314—Brad Keselowski passes Matt Kenseth for fourth.
Lap 313—Kevin Harvick has worked his way up to 11th.
Lap 310—With 15 to go, Kurt Busch leads by 1.5 seconds.
Lap 309—Kasey Kahne passes Matt Kenseth on the backstretch for third.
Lap 308—Juan Montoya has a great run in Turns 1 and 2 and passes Matt
Kenseth for second.
Lap 306—Tony Stewart on pit road with more possible tire problems.
Stewart was running 14th when he went to the pits.
Lap 303—Kurt Busch leads by 0.8 seconds.
Lap 300—The top-six have put some distance between them and the rest of
the field.
Lap 298—GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch brings the field to the green. 1. Kurt
Busch 2. Matt Kenseth 3. Juan Montoya 4. Kasey Kahne 5. Brad Keselowski
Lap 295—Jimmie Johnson and Marcos Ambrose back on pit road.
Lap 294—Jimmie Johnson in sixth the highest-running car to pit. Marcos
Ambrose, Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick the lead-lap cars to pit.
Lap 293—YELLOW FLAG NO. 9: Max Papis and Elliott Sadler get into the
wall and each other. Mark Martin gets the free pass and is back on the
lead lap.
Lap 292—GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch brings the field to the green. 1. Kurt
Busch 2. Kasey Kahne 3. Matt Kenseth 4. Brad Keselowski 5. Clint Bowyer
Lap 291—Twelve cars are going to take advantage of the wave-around
rule. Marcos Ambrose pitted outside his box and will start at the
tail-end of the field.
Lap 290—LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch wins the race off pit road and takes
the lead.
Lap 289—The lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Kasey Kahne wiht four tires
• Jimmie Johnson with four tires and loses three spots
• Kurt Busch with four tires and he wins the race off pit road
Lap 288—YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: The caution is out for Denny Hamlin and his
blown tire. David Gilliland gets the free pass and is back on the lead
lap.
Lap 287—Denny Hamlin has a problem as he slows on the backstretch.
Lap 286—Ryan Newman on pit road for a tire rub.
Lap 284—LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne cruises by Denny Hamlin and takes the
lead.
Lap 283—Kasey Kahne passes Kurt Busch for second and closes on Denny
Hamlin for the lead.
Lap 282—Sam Hornish Jr. back on pit road.
Lap 281—Kurt Busch challenging Denny Hamlin for the lead.
Lap 279—Jeff Burton and Bill Elliott both penalized during pit stops.
Lap 278—LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin inherits the lead during green-flag
stops.
Lap 277—LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard pit. Menard’s pit box
is past the start/finish line so he leads the lap.
Lap 276—Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Martin Truex Jr. and A.J.
Allmendinger pit.
Lap 275—Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Juan Montoya and Greg Biffle on pit
road.
Lap 274—Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch all on pit road.
Lap 273—Marcos Ambrose on pit road for four tires and a wedge
adjustment.
Lap 272—Elliott Sadler and Bill Elliott on pit road.
Lap 271—Tony Stewart gives up ninth and pits. Stewart with four tires
and a chassis adjustment.
Lap 269—Travid Kvapil and Kevin Conway on pit road.
Lap 266—Denny Hamlin gives up fourth and pits due to a tire problem.
Lap 264—Twenty cars are on the lead lap with Bill Elliott currently in
20th. Everyone will have to make one more stop.
Lap 262—Sam Hornish Jr. goes a lap down as he continues to struggle
with a power problem.
Lap 260—Jimmie Johnson is challenging Kurt Busch for second.
Lap 258—All four manufacturers are currently running in the top four.
Lap 257—Tony Stewart has survived his tire issue and has worked his way
up to ninth.
Lap 256—Ryan Newman is on pit road.
Lap 253—Max Papis on pit road.
Lap 251—Kasey Kahne has opened up a 1.7-second lead on Kurt Busch.
Lap 249—Sam Hornish Jr. down to 20th after being in the top 10. Hornish
complaining of a power problem and the crew has a battery on stand-by
in the pits.
Lap 244—LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne finally gets in front of Kurt Busch
and is back out front.
Lap 243—Kyle Busch on the move as he climbs to 14th. Clint Bowyer
currently 13th after being a lap down twice.
Lap 241—Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne still side-by-side for the lead.
Lap 239—Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne are side-by-side for the lead.
Lap 235—Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman are all
a lap down. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are two laps down.
Lap 232—Kurt Busch has laready opened up a one-second lead.
Lap 230—LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch passes Kasey Kahne on the restart and
takes the lead.
Lap 229—GREEN FLAG: Kasey Kahne brings the field to the green. 1. Kasey
Kahne 2. Kurt Busch 3. Jimmie Johnson 4. Denny Hamlin 5. Brad Keselowski
Lap 228—Ryan Newman, Bill Elliott, Max Papis, Travis Kvapil and Kevin
Conway the wave-around cars. Elliott the only one to get back on the
lead lap.
Lap 227—Mark Martin on pit road for a second time.
Lap 226—The lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Kasey Kahne with no changes
• Jimmie Johnson with a track bar adjustment
• Brad Keselowski wiht a chassis adjustment
• Kurt Busch with an air pressure adjustment
Lap 224—YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: Debris on the frontstretch brings out the
caution. Jamie McMurray gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap.
Lap 223—Kasey Kahne’s lead is up to 7.8 seconds.
Lap 221—Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman all two laps
down.
Lap 219—The top five after green-flag stops: 1. Kasey Kahne 2. Jimmie
Johnson 3. Kurt Busch 4. Tony Stewart 5. Brad Keselowski
Lap 216—LEAD CHANGE: Bill Elliott pits giving the lead to Kasey Kahne
as green-flag stops cycle through. Jeff Burton was too fast entering
pits and he will serve a pass-through penalty.
Lap 215—LEAD CHANGE: Jeff Burton pits giving the lead to Bill Elliott.
Burton with four tires and fuel.
Lap 214—LEAD CHANGE: Jeff Burton inherits the lead during green-flag
stops.
Lap 213—Denny Hamlin on pit road for four tires.
Lap 212—LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne pits giving the lead to Denny Hamlin.
Kyle Busch also pits.
Lap 211—Brain Vickers, Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. on pit road.
Lap 210—Greg Biffle and Paul Menard on pit road.
Lap 209—Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr. and Juan Montoya pit.
Lap 208—Kevin harvick, Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray and Elliott Sadler
on pit road for green-flag stops.
Lap 206—Mark Martin on pit road for four tires.
Lap 204—Brad Keselowski on pit road, giving up sixth. Jeff Gordon two
laps down with a possible tire issue is back on pit road.
Lap 203—Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on pit road again with a possible tire
issue.
Lap 201—The vibration has put Jimmie Johnson on pit road for four tires
and a track bar adjustment.
Lap 200—Sam Hornish Jr. up to sixth. Paul Menard currently running
11th. Mark Martin has worked his way up to 15th after an earlier spin.
Lap 195—Jimmie Johnson says he might have a vibration. It’s been a bad
day for Hendrick teams and tires as Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon,
Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman have all pitted early due to
tire problems.
Lap 193—Kasey Kahne out front by 1.8 seconds.
Lap 190—Tony Stewart on pit road with what he thinks is a left tire
going down. He was in sixth when he pitted. Carl Edwards back in the
race scored 149 laps down.
Lap 186—Brad Keselowski has scraped the wall a couple times but has
worked his way up to seventh. Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr. also in
the top 10 running eighth.
Lap 181—In the battle for the free pass, Jeff Gordon currently the
first car one lap down with Ryan Newman second Dale Earnhardt Jr. third.
Lap 177—The crew of the No. 88 is confused as to why Dale Earnhardt Jr.
keeps feeling a vibration. They have ruled out the tires and the rear
axle but are unable to pinpoint the problem.
Lap 175—Juan Montoya’s lead is short-lived as Kasey Kahne drives past
him in Turn 3 for the lead.
Lap 172—LEAD CHANGE: Juan Montoya has a ton of speed and Denny Hamlin
moves over to give Montoya the lead.
Lap 171—Juan Montoya with an aggressive move to move into second in
front of Kurt Busch.
Lap 170—David Reutimann has to take his No. 00 to the garage.
Lap 169—The top five are in a great battle for the lead.
Lap 168—David Reutimann gives up seventh and pits as he has smoke
coming out fo the tailpipes and engine.
Lap 164—GREEN FLAG: Denny Hamlin brings the field to the green on the
inside. 1. Denny Hamlin 2. Kurt Busch 3. Juan Montoya 4. Matt Kenseth
5. Kasey Kahne
Lap 163—David Ragan back in the race scored 128 laps down.
Lap 162—Bobby Labonte on pit road a second time.
Lap 161—LEAD CHANGE: Mike Bliss pits giving the lead to Denny Hamlin.
Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman the wave-around cars.
All three are now scored one lap down.
Lap 160—LEAD CHANGE: Mike Bliss stays out to lead a lap and collect
five bonus points.
Lap 159—The lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Kasey Kahne with a spring-rubber adjustment
• Denny Hamlin with four tires
• Kurt Busch with an air pressure and wedge adjustment
Lap 158—YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Joey Logano has a tire go down that tears up
his race car bringing out the caution. Regan Smith gets the free pass
and is back on the lead lap.
Lap 157—Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are both two laps down.
Lap 155—Jeff Gordon back on pit road for a pass-through penalty for
speeding on pit road.
Lap 154—Ryan Newman on pit road as green flag stops appear to be
starting.
Lap 152—Dale Earnhardt Jr. on pit road for an unexpected pit stop. Jeff
Gordon also pits with the handling of his car very loose.
Lap 148—LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin finally completes the pass of Kurt
Busch for the lead. Juan Montoya closing in on the two in third.
Lap 147—Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin are side-by-side for the lead.
Lap 145—Joe Nemechek back in the garage for the third time today.
Lap 142—Denny Hamlin has caught Kurt Busch and is challenging for the
lead.
Lap 141—Matt Kenseth is closing on Kasey Kahne for fourth.
Lap 139—Kevin Harvick in 21st says the car is getting better, but it’s
not there yet.
Lap 137—Tony Stewart says he’s “lost his forward bite” as he runs 11th.
Lap 133—Jeff Gordon down to eighth and in danger of falling out of the
top 10.
Lap 132—Kurt Busch not able to drive away this time. Denny Hamlin
trails by 0.9 seconds.
Lap 130—Jimmie Johnson passes Jeff Gordon for sixth.
Lap 127—Martin Truex Jr. currently 15th, Paul Menard running 17th and
Scott Speed currently 18th.
Lap 126—Marcos Ambrose having a good, quiet day running 14th.
Lap 124—Joe Nemechek back in the race scored 31 laps down.
Lap 122—A.J. Allmendinger works his way to 10th and is in the top 10
for the first time today.
Lap 119—GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch brings the field to the green. 1. Kurt
Busch 2. Juan Montoya 3. Denny Hamlin 4. Kasey Kahne 5. Jimmie Johnson
Lap 118—LEAD CHANGE: David Gilliland pits giving the lead to Kurt
Busch. Dale Earnhardt Jr. the wave-around car and he returns to the
lead lap.
Lap 117—LEAD CHANGE: David Gilliland stays out and leads for the first
time collecting five bonus points.
Lap 116—The lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Kasey Kahne with an air pressure adjustment
• Juan Montoya with four tires
• Denny Hamlin with a track bar adjustment
• Kurt Busch with an air pressure adjustment
Lap 114—YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Mark Martin has a rear-tire go down and he
spins on the frontstretch bringing out the caution. Bobby Labonte gets
the free pass and is back on the lead lap.
Lap 112—Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives up sixth and pits due to a loose
wheel. The No. 88 will also make a chassis adjustment as he goes a lap
down.
Lap 111—Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Tony
Stewart are seperated by one second in a four-way battle for sixth.
Lap 110—Kasey Kahne passes Jeff Gordon for third.
Lap 109—Joe Nemechek takes his No. 87 back to the garage.
Lap 104—Juan Montoya has cut Kurt Busch’s lead to less than a second.
Lap 103—Points leader Kevin Harvick is 24th with a tight race car.
Lap 100—Jeff Gordon in third and Kasey Kahne in fourth are with Juan
Montoya and closing on Kurt Busch.
Lap 98—Juan Montoya has cut Kurt Busch’s lead to 1.5 seconds.
Lap 94—Matt Kenseth up to seventh as he finds himself in the top 10 for
the first time today.
Lap 93—Juan Montoya is closing the gap between him and leader Kurt
Busch.
Lap 91—Dale Earnhardt Jr. drops to fourth as Jeff Gordon passes him.
Lap 90—Juan Montoya passes Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second.
Lap 89—Kasey Kahne up to fifth after passing Tony Stewart.
Lap 87—Denny Hamlin down to seventh. Kyle Busch up to 27th.
Lap 86—Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a great restart and jumps to second. Juan
Montoya and Tony Stewart battling for third.
Lap 85—Kurt Busch checks out and is already out front by 1.5 seconds.
Lap 83—GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch brings the field to the green. 1. Kurt
Busch 2. Denny Hamlin 3. Jeff Gordon 4. Tony Stewart 5. Greg Biffle
Lap 82—LEAD CHANGE: Elliott Sadler pits giving the lead to Kurt Busch,
who won the race off pit road. Kasey Kahne lost six spots on pit road
and will restart seventh. Kyle Busch the wave-around car and he will
return to the lead lap.
Lap 81—LEAD CHANGE: Elliott Sadler stays out and leads to collect five
bonus points.
Lap 80—LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin passes Kasey Kahne on pit road to take
lead. All the lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Kasey Kahne with an air pressure adjustment
• Juan Montoya with a chassis adjustment
• Denny Hamlin with an air presure adjustment
• Kurt Busch with an air pressure adjustment
Lap 78—YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: Debris in Turn 2 brings out the caution.
Clint Bowyer gets the free pass and is back on pit road. Joe Nemechek
is back in the race scored 17 laps down.
Lap 76—Kyle Busch on pit road and will go a lap down.
Lap 75—Kasey Kahne leads by 6.7 seconds on Denny Hamlin.
Lap 73—Kyle Busch going backward as he drops to 10th after Jimmie
Johnson passes him. Greg Biffle also closing on Busch.
Lap 72—Joey Logano back on pit road.
Lap 71—Tony Stewart passes Kyle Busch for seventh. Kurt Busch and Denny
Hamlin side-by-side for second.
Lap 68—Kasey Kahne puts Travis Kvapil a lap down.
Lap 66—Kurt Busch drives away from Jeff Gordon for third.
Lap 65—The sun is coming back out as the clouds burn off affecting the
handling on some of the cars.
Lap 64—Denny Hamlin passes Kyle Busch for fifth.
Lap 62—Joe Nemechek takes the No. 87 to the garage.
Lap 61—Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch in a good battle for
third.
Lap 59—Kasey Kahne has opened up a 3.1-second lead on Juan Montoya.
Lap 57—Joey Logano back on the track scored seven laps down.
Lap 56—Greg Biffle has worked his way to 13th. Ryan Newman right behind
Biffle in 14th.
Lap 55—After moving to the rear, Tony Stewart up to ninth.
Lap 51—Juan Montoya passes Kyle Busch for second.
Lap 50—Joey Logano and Dave Blaney on pit road. Blaney takes his car to
the garage. Logano on pit road with the hood up.
Lap 48—LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne back out front after he passes Kyle
Busch.
Lap 47—Michael McDowell takes his car to the garage.
Lap 45—Juan Montoya passes Dale Earnahardt Jr. for third. Jeff Gordon
and Kurt Busch side-by-side for fifth.
Lap 44—Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne side-by-side for second.
Lap 43—GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green on the
inside. 1. Kyle Busch 2. Kasey Kahne 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4. Juan
Montoya 5. Denny Hamlin
Lap 42—Carl Edwards is taking his No. 99 to the garage.
Lap 41—LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch was leading when the caution came out.
Joey Logano remains on the lead lap while Carl Edwards stays on pit
road for repairs and goes a lap down. Bill Elliott also pits.
Lap 40—YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: Carl Edwards gets tapped by Brad Keselowski
on the restart sending Edwards up the track and into Joey Logano.
Edwards and Logano both into the wall. Clint Bowyer gets the free pass
and is back on the lead lap.
Lap 39—GREEN FLAG: Kasey Kahne brings the field to the green. 1. Kasey
Kahne 2. Kyle Busch 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4. Juan Montoya 5. Jeff Gordon
Lap 38—LEAD CHANGE: Joe Nemechek and Dave Blaney pit giving the lead to
Kasey Kahne, who won the race off pit road. Michael McDowell the only
wave-around car.
Lap 37—LEAD CHANGE: Joe Nemechek stays out to lead a lap and get five
bonus points. Dave Blaney also stays out.
Lap 36—LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin passes Kasey kahne on pit road to get
five bonus points. All the lead-lap cars hit pit road.
• Kasey Kahne with four tires and no changes
• Juan Montoya with four tires
• Kyle Busch with four tires
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. with four tires and an air pressure adjustment
• Jimmie Johnson with a long stop after being blocked by Travis Kvapil
Lap 34—YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: David Ragan has his right-front tire go down
after that collision with the wall. Max Papis gets the free pass.
Lap 32—David Ragan slides along the wall but continues on.
Lap 31—Denny Hamlin passes Dale Earnhardt Jr. for fifth.
Lap 30—Kasey Kahne puts Kevin Conway a lap down.
Lap 28—Denny Hamlin putting some pressure on Jimmie Johnson for sixth.
Lap 24—Denny Hamlin aays his car is “sexy” as he currently runs eighth.
Lap 23—Kasey Kahne out front by 2.3 seconds.
Lap 19—Juan Montoya passes Kyle Busch for second. Mark Martin
struggling with the handling on his car and he has dropped to 31st
after starting fourth.
Lap 18—Clint Bowyer on pit road for an unexpected pit stop. Bowyer has
a flat right-rear tire.
Lap 16 — Greg Biffle up to 26th. Marcos Ambrose strong after the
restart running 13th.
Lap 14—LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne with a strong run off Turn 3 and 4 and
passes Kyle Busch for the lead.
Lap 13—Juan Montoya passes Dale Earnhardt Jr. for third. Earnhardt
complaining of a tight race car.
Lap 11—Jamie McMurray up to 18th after restarting in the rear due to
his pit stop.
Lap 10—Kasey Kahne with a good start on the outside and jumps to second.
Lap 9—Jimmie Johnson up to sixth on the restart.
Lap 8—GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green on the
outside. 1. Kyle Busch 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3. Juan Montoya 4. Kasey
Kahne 5. Mark Martin
Lap 7—Kevin Conway and Boris Said on pit road.
Lap 5—Jamie McMurray in 22nd the highest-running car to pit. Joey
Logano, Scott Speed, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman and Tony
Stewart also pit. Twelve cars in all hit pit road.
Lap 4—YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: Robby Gordon hard into the wall in Turn 2
after his tire comes apart bringing out the caution. No free pass is
given.
Lap 3—Jimmie Johnson up to 11th after starting 16th. Kasey Kahne passes
Mark Martin for fourth.
Lap 1—LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch has a great start on the outside and
leads the first lap.
1:16 p.m.—GREEN FLAG: Dale Earnhardt Jr. brings the field to the green
for the first of 325 laps in the Kobalt Tools 500..
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