Busch Wins Wild Auto Club 400

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Last week, Denny Hamlin wrecked Joey Logano after Logano cut him off.  Logano vowed to get Hamlin back.  This week, Hamlin and Logano were racing for the lead when they got together coming out of the final corner, wrecking themselves and allowing Kyle Busch to take the victory.

Kyle Busch bows to the crowd after his victory (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin won the pole for the Auto Club 400, and he led the field to the green flag.  Hamlin chose to start on the outside, and he was passed going down the backstretch by Matt Kenseth for the lead.  On lap 11, Kyle Busch got around his teammate to take the lead.  Busch led his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates until the caution came out on lap 29 for a spin by David Stremme.  The leaders brought their cars down pit road, and Busch won the race off pit road.

Hamlin and Busch race for the lead on a restart. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

The race restarted on lap 34, and the field went four-wide.  Busch was able to stay ahead of Hamlin to take the lead.  On lap 37, Timmy Hill blew an engine, bringing out the second caution.  After he blew an engine, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, and Clint Bowyer got into the wall after driving through the oil.  All of them had to bring their cars down pit road to fix the damage.

The race restarted on lap 43, and Joey Logano pushed Busch into Turn 1.  Logano tried to get under Busch, but they stayed side-by-side for a lap before Logano was able to take the lead.  Logano hit pit road on lap 68, and that handed the lead to Kyle Busch.  Busch pitted one lap later.  Tony Stewart was the leader until he pitted on lap 76, and that handed the lead back to Kyle Busch.  During the pit stops, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick were caught speeding, and they had to serve pass-through penalties. 

The third caution of the day came out for debris on lap 90.  Busch brought the field down pit road, and this time Denny Hamlin won the race off pit road. 

The race restarted on lap 96, and Busch and Hamlin raced side-by-side, and Busch was able to take the lead coming out of Turn 4.  On lap 117, the fourth caution came out for Joe Nemechek, who hit the wall coming out of Turn 2.  Busch led the field down pit road again, and he was able to beat Hamlin out of the pits. 

Busch races with Logano for the lead (Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

The race restarted on lap 121, and he was able to beat Busch through the first turn to take the lead.  The fifth caution came out on lap 130, when Marcos Ambrose cut down a left-rear tire.  The field came down pit road, and Tony Stewart beat Clint Bowyer off pit road after they both took two tires. 

Stewart led the field back to the green flag on lap 136, and he was able to hold off Clint Bowyer for the lead.  Busch had to restart ninth, but within one lap he quickly worked his way up to third.  He and Kevin Harvick raced side-by-side for a few laps, allowing Stewart to pull out front.  Busch finally got around Harvick for second and set his sights on Stewart.

Busch finally passed Stewart on lap 145, and Harvick followed him to take second.  On lap 162, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin came down pit road to make their final green-flag pit stops.  Busch pitted with 34 laps to go, and he remained the leader after the stops had cycled around.  On lap 169, Marcos Ambrose blew another left-rear tire, bringing out the sixth caution. 

The race restarted on lap 174, and Busch was able to beat Harvick into Turn 1 after Harvick didn't get going on the restart.  On lap 176, the seventh caution came out for a spin by Mark Martin.  Martin broke a trackbar coming out of Turn 2, and he turned down in front of David Gilliland.  Under the caution, Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin brought their cars down pit road.

The race restarted on lap 180, and Busch was able to stay ahead of Logano and Stewart.  On lap 185 Clint Bowyer blew an engine and then spun in his own oil, bringing out the eighth caution.  Under the caution, Hamlin began complaining about his car overheating, with the water temperatures going above 300 degrees.
The race restarted with just 11 laps to go, and Busch was passed by the first few cars, but he was able to fight back and get around Logano for the lead.  Kurt Busch started fighting Logano for second, and then Carl Edwards and Hamlin also joined the fight.  Logano was able to get underneath Busch with seven laps to go, but Busch was able to hold him off.

Coming out of Turn 4, Hamlin got alongside Busch, but then Logano got into the back of Hamlin to take the lead.  With two laps to go, Hamlin gave Logano a bump coming out of Turn 4.  Hamlin and Logano raced side-by-side down the backstretch.  Going into Turn 3, Logano got loose and got into Hamlin.  They both got extremely loose, and that allowed Busch to get around to take the win.  Logano got into the wall, and Hamlin was sent flying into the inside wall.  Hamlin's car hit the inside wall hard, and once he got out of the car he was attended to by medical personnel.  Hamlin was put onto a spine board and loaded into an ambulance.

Hamlin's car comes to a rest after a hard hit with the wall (Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Hamlin was taken to the infield care center, where he was evaluated by track physicians.  He was awake and alert, but they airlifted him to the nearest hospital as a precaution.

Kyle Busch won the race, and was followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is now the Sprint Cup Series points leader.  Joey Logano finished third, and was followed by Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, and Greg Biffle.  Matt Kenseth finished seventh.  Paul Menard finished eighth.  Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman rounded out the Top 10.  Jeff Gordon finished 11th, and Jimmie Johnson finished 12th.  Tony Stewart finished 22nd after running up front late in the race.  Brad Keselowski finished 23rd.  Denny Hamlin finished 25th after his accident, and Danica Patrick finished 26th.  Clint Bowyer finished 35th after blowing his engine late in the race.  Mark Martin returned to the track, and finished 37th.  Brian Vickers will be in the No. 55 car at Martinsville.

This week, Joey Logano once again showed everyone that he was not afraid to make waves.  After a questionable block on the final restart, Tony Stewart got into a fight with Logano on pit road after the race.  For the second week in a row, the winner was overshadowed by an on- and off-track altercation involving Joey Logano.  Kyle Busch won the Auto Club 400 after running very strong the past few weeks.  The next race will be in two weeks.  The STP Gas Booster 500 from Martinsville Speedway can be seen April 7th at 1:00 p.m. EST, only on FOX.

Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Kahne Dominates Food City 500

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Last week, Kasey Kahne had the best car of the weekend, but he was beaten by Matt Kenseth after Kenseth used pit strategy to gain an advantage.  Kahne came into Bristol looking to win after missing his chance last Sunday, and he was able to take the lead on a late restart and hold off the rest of the field to win his first race of 2013.

Kahne celebrates his Bristol win (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag, and he was able to clear Kasey Kahne for the lead heading into Turn 1.  On lap 8, Tony Stewart slowed, and got out of line.  The next lap, his left-rear tire went down and he spun in Turn 3 to bring out the first caution. 

The race restarted on lap 16, and Busch was able to get ahead of Kahne again.  By lap 35, Busch caught lapped traffic, and that allowed Kahne to catch up.  On lap 54, a bunch of cars got together, causing the field to stack up.  Jeff Burton ended up in the wall, and Carl Edwards and Marcos Ambrose also received damage.  The field came down pit road, and Kahne was able to beat Denny Hamlin out of the pits for the lead.  Busch was caught speeding, and had to restart at the end of the field.

The race restarted on lap 63, and Kahne was able to get the lead heading into Turn 1.  Hamlin was able to make the bottom line work, and he took the lead from Kahne on lap 64.  On lap 70, Jamie McMurray spun in Turn 4, and brought out the third caution of the race. 

The race restarted on lap 78, and Hamlin was able to get ahead of Kahne for the lead.  Kurt Busch got around Kahne for second, and set his sights on the leader.  On lap 143, Kahne, Busch, and Jeff Gordon caught Hamlin while he was fighting lapped traffic.  On lap 147, Kahne was able to work around Hamlin for the lead, and Gordon was able to get second.  David Gilliland got into the wall on lap 151, and he brought out the fourth caution of the day.  The field came down to make pit stops, and Hamlin was able to win the race off pit road, beating teammate Kyle Busch.

The race restarted on lap 159, and Hamlin was able to beat Busch into Turn 1 to take the lead.  One lap later, Bobby Labonte blew an engine, and he took his car to the garage.  Kahne was able to catch and pass Hamlin on lap 191. 

On lap 236, Landon Cassill hit the wall and brought out the caution.  The leaders came down pit road, and Matt Kenseth was able to beat Hamlin and Busch off pit road to take the lead.

The race restarted on lap 242, and Kenseth was able to clear Hamlin for the lead.  Johnson was also able to get around Hamlin for second.  Aric Almirola got into the wall on lap 245, but he was able to get to pit road without bringing out a caution.  Almirola pitted and went back out onto the track, and he spun in Turn 4 on lap 249, bringing out the sixth caution.

Hamlin leads Kenseth (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Hamlin spun his tires when the race restarted on lap 258, and that allowed Kenseth, Kahne, and Kevin Harvick to get around him.  The seventh caution came out on lap 320 for Dave Blaney, who hit the outside wall after blowing a right-front tire.  The field came down pit road, and Jeff Gordon won the race off pit road after taking two left-side tires.

Gordon led the field back to the green flag on lap 328, and he was able to clear Kahne to take the lead.  Joey Logano was fighting with Gordon for the lead on lap 337, and allowed Hamlin to catch them.  Logano cut Hamlin off coming off the corner, so Hamlin spun Logano on lap 347, bringing out another caution.

The restart came on lap 354, and Hamlin was able to stay alongside Gordon through the corner.  Coming out of the corner, Hamlin got extremely loose and he quickly dropped back to sixth.  On lap 390, Gordon drove off into the corner and blew a right-front tire.  Kenseth was running in the high line, and he drove right into Gordon's car.  The leaders came down pit road, and Kahne made a two-tire stop to win the race off pit road.

Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard stayed out under caution, and they led the field back to the green flag on lap 403.  Keselowski was able to clear Menard heading into Turn 1 to take the lead.  With 74 laps to go, Kahne had caught Keselowski, and he was running right on the bumper of Keselowski.  Kahne raced alongside Keselowski for the lead for over 10 laps, and that allowed Hamlin to catch the leaders. 

On lap 446, Kahne was able to get around Keselowski for the lead, but Keselowski got the lead back two laps later when Kahne got caught up with lapped traffic.  On lap 454, Jimmie Johnson brought out the 10th caution of the day when he blew a right-front tire and hit the wall. 

Kahne races with Kyle Busch (John Harrelson/Getty Images)

Brad Keselowski led the field to the green flag on lap 460, and he spun the tires and was run into by Hamlin.  Kahne was able to take the lead, but Kyle Busch began racing him for the lead.  Keselowski was able to get under Busch and they began fighting for second.  Busch and Keselowski fought side-by-side for second place, and Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch were able to get close to them. 

Kurt Busch was able to get under Bowyer for third with 10 laps to go.  With eight laps to go, Hamlin pounded the outside wall, and it bent the suspension.  Hamlin's car would no longer turn and he was just bouncing it off the wall to stay in the race. 

Kyle Busch was able to separate himself from Keselowski and Kurt Busch, but he didn't have a good enough car to catch Kasey Kahne.  Kahne was able to win the Food City 500, the 15th win of his career.  Kyle Busch finished second, and he was followed by Brad Keselowski in third.  Kurt Busch had a strong run and finished fourth, and Clint Bowyer finished fifth.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished sixth, and Ryan Newman finished seventh.  Brian Vickers finished eighth driving the No. 55 Toyota.  Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray rounded out the Top 10.  Greg Biffle finished 11th, and Martin Truex Jr. finished 12th.  Kevin Harvick finished 14th, and Carl Edwards was 18th, the first car one lap down.  Jimmie Johnson finished 22nd, and Denny Hamlin limped around the track and finished 23rd.  Danica Patrick finished 28th, five laps down.  After his wreck at the beginning of the race, Tony Stewart finished 31st, 36 laps down.  Jeff Gordon finished 34th and Matt Kenseth was 35th after their wreck on lap 390.

Kasey Kahne sent a message to the rest of the field at Bristol.  He had the best car two weeks in a row, and he was finally able to pick up a victory.  He should be strong next week, when the Sprint Cup Series rolls into California.  And with speeds around 210 mph, the new Gen 6 cars will be pushed to their limits.  The Auto Club 400 can be seen next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, only on FOX.

John Harrelson/Getty Images

Kenseth Hits the Jackpot

 Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Matt Kenseth had never driven for a team other than Roush-Fenway Racing before 2013.  But Kenseth moved over to Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2013 season, and he quickly showed that he was going to have a strong season.  After working great pit strategy, Kenseth was able to hold off Kasey Kahne to win the Kobalt Tools 400 in Las Vegas.

Kenseth celebrates his Las Vegas victory (Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Qualifying was rained out on Friday, so the starting lineup was set by 2012 Sprint Cup Owner's points.  Brad Keselowski led the field to the green flag, and Keselowski was able to pull away from Clint Bowyer, who started second.  On lap three, Bowyer got alongside Keselowski in Turn 3, but he got extremely loose, and he fell back and was passed by Kasey Kahne.  On lap seven, Kahne caught Keselowski, but Kahne could not complete the pass for the lead.  On lap 11, Kahne was able to make his car stick in Turns 1 and 2, and he was able to take the lead. 

By lap 12, Bowyer had fallen to 20th, and was complaining about his car being extremely loose.  That led Bowyer to pit on lap 16, because he believed he had a tire going down.  He quickly fell two laps down.  Kyle Busch caught Keselowski on lap 35, and was looking to pick up second place after starting the race 13th. 

On lap 38, Greg Biffle brought his car to pit road, about ten laps before everyone would have had to pit.  His team needed to make a big swing at the car, after he was running very loose at the beginning of the race.  On lap 44, Kahne brought his car down pit road to make his green-flag pit stop.  That gave the lead to Kyle Busch, and he pitted on lap 46.  Busch was penalized for being too fast entering pit road, and he had to come down for a pass-through penalty.

Kasey Kahne leads at Vegas (Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

By lap 49, pit stops had cycled through, and Kahne was once again the leader.  Kahne was about to put Kyle Busch a lap down when the caution came out on lap 65 for debris on the backstretch.  Kahne brought the leaders down pit road on lap 67, and everyone made two-tire stops.  Keselowski was able to beat Kahne off pit road.  Greg Biffle was penalized for an uncontrolled tire, and he had to restart in the back of the pack.

The race restarted on lap 70, and Kahne was able to pull ahead of Keselowski for the lead.  On lap 74, Jimmie Johnson caught Kahne, and he pulled up alongside him for the lead coming to the start/finish line.  Kahne held with him until they went into Turn 3 on lap 75 when Johnson pulled away from him for the lead.

On lap 111, Keselowski pitted before everyone else because he had a tire going down.  On lap 115, the leaders began to make another round of green-flag pit stops.  Johnson gave up the lead on lap 118 to make his pit stop.  During pit stops, Denny Hamlin was penalized for being too fast entering pit road, and he had to make a pass-through penalty. 

After the stops had cycled around by lap 122, Johnson was once again the leader.  Keselowski was in third place after stops because he was able to make up a lot of time after getting four fresh tires before everyone else.

On lap 138, Kahne was able to get around Johnson heading into Turn 3 to take the lead.  Within eight laps, Kahne had pulled two seconds ahead of Johnson. 

Kahne was leading when the caution came out on lap 130.  Marcos Ambrose went into a four-wheel slide trying to get to pit road, but he was able to save it before it went around.  The leaders came down pit road, and Johnson was able to beat Kahne off pit road to take the lead.  Keselowski had a lug nut fall off during his stop, and it dropped him all the way to 13th.

Johnson led the field back to green on lap 265, and Kyle Busch went three-wide under Kahne and Johnson to take the lead.  With 96 laps to go, Kahne was able to get around Johnson for second place, but they were still over a second behind Busch.  On lap 180, Kahne was able to catch Busch and pass him for the lead.

On lap 187, Busch was caught by Johnson for second, after Busch began complaining of how loose his car had gotten.  Busch was able to stay ahead of Johnson, and on lap 194 the third caution of the day came out for a spin by Bobby Labonte.  The field came down for pit stops, and most of the teams only took two tires.  Kahne was able to beat Busch and Johnson off pit road to keep the lead.

Kahne was able to hold off Hamlin and Busch to take the lead when the race went back green with 69 laps to go.  Coming through Turn 4, Busch pulled around Kahne to take the lead.  On lap 208, Kahne was able to reel in Busch to take the lead once again.   

Busch leads Kahne across the line (Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

On lap 233, Travis Kvapil blew an engine, bringing out the fourth caution.  The caution was ill-timed for Hamlin, who had just pitted after staying out under the last caution.  Kahne led the field down pit road, and Matt Kenseth and Keselowski won the race off pit road after opting not to take tires. 

The race restarted on lap 230, and Kenseth was able to clear Keselowski for the lead.  With 33 laps to go, Ryan Newman blew an engine, bringing out another caution.  The leaders didn't pit when the pits opened, but Biffle and Hamlin, who were running in the back, made pit stops. 

The race restarted on lap 241, and Kenseth was once again able to clear Keselowski.  Kahne was able to get around Keselowski for second, and he quickly pulled up to Kenseth's bumper. 

Kenseth began to pull away from Kahne, but Kahne quickly cut the deficit to .2 seconds.  Kahne was running behind Kenseth, but Kahne couldn't find a way around the No. 20.  While Kenseth was working his way through lapped traffic, Kahne was able to pull alongside him in Turn 4 with five laps to go.  But Kahne drove it into the corner too hard, and he couldn't make it stick.  Kenseth was able to hold him off to win his first race for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kasey Kahne led 114 laps -- the most of any driver -- but he couldn't get past Kenseth and he finished second.  Brad Keselowski finished third, and was followed by Kyle Busch.  Last week's winner, Carl Edwards, finished fifth.  Jimmie Johnson finished sixth, and was followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. in seventh.  Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Paul Menard rounded out the Top 10.  Tony Stewart finished 11th.  Mark Martin finished 14th.  Next week, Brian Vickers will be in the car, and Martin's next race will be in two weeks at California.  Denny Hamlin tried to work his pit strategy to get a win, but it backfired and he finished 15th.  Greg Biffle, a favorite before the race, struggled with his car's handling and finished 17th.  Jeff Gordon struggled throughout the race and finished 25th.  Clint Bowyer was strong on Thursday, but once the race started he struggled with handling issues.  he finished two laps down in 27th.  Danica Patrick finished 33rd, six laps down.

Kenseth made a statement at Las Vegas, showing everyone that he hasn't lost a step in his move from Roush-Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing.  This weekend was also the first real test of the new Gen 6 car, which ran on a 1.5 mile track for the first time this season.  Next week, the Sprint Cup Series will race on the half-mile short track at Bristol Motor Speedway.  The Food City 500 can be seen next Sunday at 1 p.m., only on FOX.

Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

Edwards Snaps 70-Race Winless Streak

 Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Carl Edwards' last victory came at Las Vegas in March 2011.  That year, he almost won the championship, losing a tie-breaker to Tony Stewart at Homestead.  In 2012, Edwards' team fell off the rails, finishing inside the Top 5 only three times.  At Phoenix, Edwards and new Crew Chief Jimmy Fennig worked their pit strategy the right way, and Edwards was able to win his first race in almost two years.

Carl Edwards does his signature flip after winning the Subway Fresh Fit 500 (Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

Mark Martin won the pole for the 56th time in his career, and he led the field to the green flag for the Subway Fresh Fit 500.  Martin was able to pull ahead of Kasey Kahne heading through Turns 1 and 2 and was able to lead lap one.  Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin had to start in the back of the pack after engine changes before the race.  By lap 10, both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers had cracked the Top 30. 

The caution came out on lap 21 for Scott Riggs, who cut down a right-front tire in Turn 3 and hit the wall.  Some of the drivers in the back of the pack pitted, but the leaders stayed out under the caution. 

The race restarted on lap 28, and Martin was able to keep the lead after clearing Kahne.  Jimmie Johnson restarted third, and he was able to work his way past his Hendrick Motorsports teammate for second place.  On lap 36, Kurt Busch cracked the Top 10.  Busch wrecked his primary car in qualifying and had to start in the back after he switched to a back-up car. 

Martin leads Kahne at Phoenix (Jonathan Ferry/Getty Images)

On lap 48, Kyle Busch spun through Turn 2 after getting loose, bringing out the second caution of the day.  Busch's team brought the car down pit road, and Busch lost a lap while they worked to get his car repaired.  Busch made contact with the outside wall when he spun, and it caused his splitter to drag.  The leaders came down pit road, and Kasey Kahne was able to beat Mark Martin off pit road after taking two tires.  While on pit road, Clint Bowyer made contact with Travis Kvapil trying to exit his pit stall.  Bowyer had to come back in to make repairs, and he would restart in 35th.

The race was about to go back to green, but Martin Truex Jr.'s car suddenly slowed, and he coasted down pit road with a broken rear-wheel axle.  The race finally restarted on lap 56, and Juan Pablo Montoya restarted first after not pitting.  He picked the inside line, and Greg Biffle was able to hang with him on the outside until he made the pass for the lead on lap 57.  When Montoya was passed, Aric Almirola almost made contact when he tried to look under Montoya. 

Biffle had pulled away from Montoya, but by lap 63 Montoya had caught up to him.  On lap 64, Martin hit pit road for an unscheduled stop, and his crew changed right-side tires.  Martin had radioed in that he had a vibration.  On lap 65, Montoya was able to complete the pass for the lead. 

The caution came out again on lap 66 for Dave Blaney, who was spun by David Stremme in Turn 1.  Under the caution, Martin hit pit road again because he was complaining of having a possible loose wheel.  Martin would restart 36th.

The race restarted on lap 70, and Montoya was once again the leader on the restart.  Biffle was able to beat him coming out of Turn 2, and Almirola was trying to pas him as well.  Kevin Harvick tried to work his way past Montoya, but he was able to pull ahead to keep his position.  On lap 79, Kahne was able to get around Montoya for fourth, and he set his sights on the leaders. 

The caution came out again on lap 98 for Ryan Newman, who blew a right-front tire in Turn 4.  The leaders came down pit road under the caution, and Carl Edwards won the race off pit road. 

Under the caution, Mark Martin stayed out and he was the leader when the race went back green on lap 104.  Martin was able to clear Edwards heading through Turn 1.  Brad Keselowski was able to clear Edwards as well, and he moved up to second. 

On lap 127, Keselowski was able to get to the back bumper of Martin, and Martin let him underneath him.  On lap 141, Ryan Newman pounded the outside wall in Turn 2, again for a right-front tire.  The caution was good news for Martin, who was going to have to pit before everyone else because he didn't pit under the last caution.  The field came down pit road, and Carl Edwards led the field off pit road, again only taking two tires. 

The green flag came back out on lap 147, and Edwards was able to clear Jimmie Johnson heading into Turn 1.  Edwards began to complain of his car overheating on lap 162, and his team saw that he had a sandwich wrapper stuck to his grille.  Edwards was able to use the lapped car of Joe Nemechek to get the wrapper off his car and get more air to his engine. 

On lap 185, Danica Patrick blew a right-front tire coming out of Turn 4, and she headed straight to the outside wall.  After hitting the wall, she came back down across the track and hit David Ragan, ending both of their days and bringing out the sixth caution of the day.

Danica Patrick's wrecked car is taken to the garage (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

The wreck left a lot of debris all along the frontstretch, and the pace car took the field down pit road to avoid cutting down anyone's tires.  When the pits finally opened, most of the drivers only took two tires, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. got off pit road first. 

The race restarted on lap 194, and Earnhardt was able to clear Edwards for the lead.  Johnson got around Edwards for second, and was looking to get the lead from his Hendrick teammate.  Johnson stayed on Earnhardt's bumper until around lap 215, when Earnhardt began catching lapped traffic and pulled away from Johnson by a few tenths of a second. 

Matt Kenseth started to catch Johnson with less than 80 laps to go, but he wasn't able to get around him because the caution came out again on lap 237.  David Gilliland cut down a right-front tire coming out of Turn 2, and slammed into the outside wall.  The field came down pit road for what would be their final pit stops of the race.  Edwards once again came off pit road first, and was followed by Earnhardt and Johnson.

The race went back to green on lap 242, and Earnhardt spun his tires, allowing Edwards to shoot away into Turn 1.  Johnson also got around his teammate to move up to second.  With 65 laps to go, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch slowed.  Kurt got loose and hit the wall, and Kyle slid up the track while trying to avoid hitting his brother. 

With 36 laps to go, Brad Keselowski was able to get around Earnhardt for third, and set his sights on Johnson in second.  With 30 laps to go, Johnson began catching Edwards for the lead, but many believed that Edwards was backing off to save fuel to make it to the end.  While that was happening, Keselowski was able to knock off a lot of time between he and Johnson. 

With ten laps to go, Keselowski caught Johnson, and began fighting for second place.  With four laps to go, Joey Logano slowed on the track, and took his car to the pits. 

With three laps to go, Ken Schrader hit the outside wall, and brought out the caution.  Most of the leaders were told to shut off their cars, as most of them were very close on fuel.  Pit road was open, and only a few drivers took the opportunity to pit, including Mark Martin.

Edwards led the field to the first green-white-checkered.  Edwards was able to get ahead of Johnson with a shove from Keselowski.  Johnson got alongside Keselowski, and was working on the high side.  Hamlin caught up to the duo, and dove onto the apron going along the backstretch to take second place on the final lap.  Edwards was able to save enough fuel and win his first race of the season.

Jimmie Johnson finished second, beating Denny Hamlin to the line by inches.  Brad Keselowski finished fourth, and was followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Clint Bowyer finished sixth, and Matt Kenseth was seventh.  Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Jeff Burton rounded out the Top Ten.  Kasey Kahne finished 19th, and Mark Martin finished 21st after pitting under the final caution.  Kyle Busch finished 23rd after spending most of the day one lap down.  Danica Patrick finished 39th after her hard wreck on lap 184.

Carl Edwards' first victory in almost two years came down to the final laps, in a nail-biting fuel mileage finish.  But Edwards was able to hold off the five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and defending champion Brad Keselowski for the win.  Next week, Edwards will return to the site of his last win when the Sprint Cup Series heads to Las Vegas for the Kobalt Tools 400.  The race can be seen next Sunday at 2:30 p.m., only on FOX.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images