Nascar Rules

[the H team]

Lap 170 -- Marcos Ambrose made contact with the outside wall, but the race remains under green.
Lap 169 -- Jimmie Johnson didn't need much to get past Brad Keselowski and take over the lead. Tony Stewart is up to third.

[the H team]

Lap 187 -- Jimmie Johnson continues to check out on the field. He's up 3.6 seconds on second-place Tony Stewart and another 1.5 seconds on third-place Brad Keselowski.
Lap 184 -- Jeff Gordon is slowly making up room. He's up to 18th and is running between Regan Smith and Joey Logano. Denny Hamlin is still toiling back in 25th, the fourth car one lap down.
Lap 183 -- Carl Edwards has gotten past Clint Bowyer to reclaim 12th place.
Lap 182 -- Brad Keselowski is continuing to slide, now 4.1 seconds off the lead.
Lap 180 -- Jimmie Johnson's lead has grownt o more than three seconds. Tony Stewart has taken over second place from Brad Keselowski. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch are battling for seventh.
Lap 178 -- Kyle Busch gets past Kevin Harvick for seventh. He's climbing steadily. The next car for him? Kurt Busch, his older brother.
Lap 177 -- Brad Keselowski is still in second after staying out of the pits, but he's lost 2.5 seconds to leader Jimmie Johnson.
Lap 176 -- Kyle Busch gets past Menard for the eighth spot.
Lap 175 -- Kyle Busch is up to ninth, leaving Paul Menard as the lone non-Chase driver in the top 10.

[the H team]

Lap 200 -- It's Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick running in the top seven spots. Carl Edwards has climbed back into the top 10.
Lap 198 -- Jimmie Johnson's lead is down to 2.9 seconds over Tony Stewart.
Lap 197 -- Brad Keselowski heads to the pits.
Lap 196 -- That puts all four RCR cars in the top 14. Kevin Harvick is sixth, Paul Menard 12th, Clint Bowyer 13th and Jeff Burton 14th.
Lap 195 -- Jeff Burton passes Dale Earnhardt Jr. for that 14th spot.
Lap 194 -- Brad Keselowski is saying he's a "7 or 8" in terms of looseness coming off the turns. He's still running third, but is obviously shorter than the rest of the leaders on fuel.
Lap 193 -- Kevin Harvick has gotten around Kurt Busch for sixth.
Lap 192 -- Chad Knaus said it gets tougher every year. Yeah, it really looks like Jimmie Johnson is struggling. This all feels so ... familiar.
Lap 191 -- Carl Edwards picked up another spot and is up to 11th.
Lap 188 -- Ryan Newman is running fifth, about a half-second ahead of former teammate Kurt Busch.

[the H team]

Lap 213 -- YELLOW NO. 6: The cautions flies for debris in Turn 1. Kasey Kahne gets the free pass.
Lap 212 -- The top five cars are Chasers, then positions 9-13 are all Chasers. In between are Martin Truex Jr., Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer.
Lap 211 -- It's an SHR party up front again, with Tony Stewart in the lead and Ryan Newman running second. Kurt Busch drops to eighth, with Paul Menard moving to seventh.
Lap 210 -- Martin Truex Jr. is up to sixth, the top non-Chase driver.
Lap 209 -- Matt Kenseth bobbles and Tony Stewart grabs the lead.
Lap 208 -- GREEN : Matt Kenseth is back in front of the field after starting on the pole. Kyle Busch lost five spots on that stop, another poor effort for the No. 18 crew.
Lap 205 -- The leaders are on pit road. It's four tires for all of them. Matt Kenseth takes the lead off pit road.
Lap 204 -- YELLOW NO. 5: J.J. Yeley brings out the caution after getting into the wall. Marcos Ambrose should pick up the free pass.
Lap 203 -- Brad Keselowski is running 21st, the second car one lap down. Jeff Gordon is up to 14th.
Lap 201 -- Tony Stewart continues to close the gap steadily, and he's got time enough not to rush it.

[the H team]

Lap 223 -- The race remains green, but Denny Hamlin is on pit road after blowing a left front tire. That puts him two laps off the pace.
Lap 222 -- Sorry for doubting you, Martin Truex Jr. He continues to lead.
Lap 221 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. passes Jeff Gordon for 13th. Jimmie Johnson is closing on Tony Stewart for third.
Lap 220 -- Martin Truex Jr. is back to the lead. He's about two-tenths of a second ahead of Matt Kenseth.
Lap 219 -- Matt Kenseth takes the lead just before the .
Lap 218 -- Martin Truex Jr. is trying to hold off Matt Kenseth for the lead, but the decision to stay out might not have been the best.
Lap 217 -- GREEN : Martin Truex Jr. leads the field to green, the lone non-Chase driver in the top five. There are only three of the non-Chasers in the top 14, including Mark Martin.
Lap 214 -- The leaders hit pit road for what should be their final stop. Martin Truex Jr., who was running sixth, stayed out. Jimmie Johnson took fuel only, as did Tony Stewart. Ryan Newman takes fuel, and Matt Kenseth too. Matt Kenseth picked up three spots on pit road and beat Tony Stewart on the exit.

[the H team]

Lap 230 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets past Kurt Busch for a spot in the top 10. Busch is not a happy camper.
Lap 229 -- Tony Stewart also gets past Martin Truex Jr., and Jimmie Johnson is closing.
Lap 228 -- Matt Kenseth gets around Martin Truex Jr. to regain the lead.
Lap 227 -- Here comes Dale Earnhardt Jr. He's up to 12th.
Lap 226 -- Martin Truex Jr.'s lead is around three-tenths of a second.
Lap 225 -- Tony Stewart is battling Matt Kenseth for second place after getting away from Jimmie Johnson.

[the H team]

Lap 242 -- Matt Kenseth has fallen nearly a second behind Tony Stewart. As of right now, Kevin Harvick would hold the points lead by two over Matt Kenseth.
Lap 240 -- Kevin Harvick is running fifth, with fellow Chasers Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards behind him. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has taken over ninth from Kyle Busch.
Lap 239 -- Tony Stewart's lead is more than a half-second.
Lap 237 -- Tony Stewart achieved his goal and moved to the lead. Matt Kenseth lets him go to save some of his fuel.
Lap 236 -- Tony Stewart is running the inside line and tracking down Matt Kenseth. Kurt Busch is up to 11th and Brad Keselowski is up to 12th.
Lap 234 -- Kurt Busch has dropped to 12th. Brad Keselowski is back up to 14th.
Lap 232 -- Kyle Busch is trying to hold on to ninth against Dale Earnhardt Jr. while Tony Stewart is making a charge for the lead.

[the H team]

Lap 254 -- The top six with 12 laps to go: Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 253 -- Tony Stewart regains the lead as Martin Truex Jr. hits pit road for fuel and two tires.
Lap 252 -- Martin Truex Jr. is going to pit the next time around.
Lap 251 -- Martin Truex Jr. is back to the lead, but fuel is still a question mark for him. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is running seventh.
Lap 250 -- Tony Stewart isn't sure how hard he wants to race Martin Truex Jr., who's second but not in the Chase.
Lap 248 -- Martin Truex Jr. might not have the fuel to make it to the end of the race, but he's closing on Tony Stewart.
Lap 247 -- Brad Keselowski is running 11th.
Lap 246 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has moved past Paul Meanrd for eighth.
Lap 245 -- Martin Truex Jr. is back up to second, .7 seconds behind Tony Stewart.

[the H team]

Lap 262 -- Kevin Harvick takes over second from Jimmie Johnson and is 2.3 seconds behind Tony Stewart with five laps to go.
Lap 261 -- Tony Stewart still leads by 2.3 seconds over Jimmie Johnson. Kevin Harvick has moved up to third, and is now battling for second.
Lap 260 -- Kevin Harvick is running fourth, one spot ahead of Ryan Newman. Harvick said he's hoping he's saved enough fuel.
Lap 259 -- Jimmie Johnson is running side-by-side with Matt Kenseth, but then makes the move on the inside and takes over second.
Lap 258 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is confident he can make it to the end.
Lap 257 -- Tony Stewart's lead is 3.4 seconds over Matt Kenseth. Jimmie Johnson is hovering in third.
Lap 256 -- Jimmie Johnson is closing on Matt Kenseth for the second spot.
Lap 255 -- Matt Kenseth is going into full-on fuel conservation mode.

[the H team]

CHECKERED : Tony Stewart wins his first race of the season at the perfect time. Cars are running out of fuel everywhere. Kevin Harvick finished second with Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming home third.
Lap 266 -- WHITE : Kyle Busch runs out of fuel as Tony Stewart leads.
Lap 265 -- Tony Stewart continues to lead.
Lap 264 -- Tony Stewart's lead is down to 1.7 seconds with three laps to go.
Lap 263 -- Carl Edwards is running in ninth as 10 of the top 11 are Chase drivers.

[the H team]

tony wins his 1st race of the season.

[Tweets77]

Ah man! I have to have a talk with Carl.....

[the H team]

tony stewart
kevin harvick
dale jr
carl edwards
brad keselowski
kurt busch
clint bowyer
ryan newman
mark martin
jimmie johnson

the top 10.

[the H team]

starting with some smoke.

[the H team]

the standings after the 1st race

1 +1Kevin Harvick 2054
+7Tony Stewart 2047
+2Carl Edwards 2044
+3Kurt Busch 2043
+5Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2041
+5Brad Keselowski 2040
+1Ryan Newman 2040
-2Jimmie Johnson 2038
-8Kyle Busch 2035
-6Matt Kenseth 2030
-8Jeff Gordon 2029
--Denny Hamlin 2013