Lap-by-Lap: Daytona

CHECKERED FLAG -- Jamie McMurray wins the Pepsi 400 by inches ahead of Kyle Busch at the line.

WHITE FLAG -- LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch edges to lead the final lap.

Lap 159 -- Two-by-two behind leader Jamie McMurray with Kyle Busch charging.

Lap 158 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jamie McMurray gets the lead thanks to a push from Jeff Gordon on the outside.

Lap 157 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch leads the lap by a nose ahead of Jamie McMurray as they battle side-by-side.

Lap 156 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jamie McMurray swoops down to take the lead.

Lap 155 -- It's two-by-two behind leader Jeff Gordon with Jamie McMurray battling Kyle Busch.

Lap 154 -- GREEN FLAG: Jeff Gordon gets the race going single-file.
1. Jeff Gordon
2. Casey Mears
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Jimmie Johnson

Lap 151 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: Joe Nemechek and Brian Vickers tangle and spin on the backstretch. Nemechek lost control and touchced Vickers in the turn, sending both spinning.

Lap 151 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jeff Gordon gets a nose in front of Casey Mears as cars begin crashing in the back of the pack.

Lap 149 -- Jimmie Johnson takes second position from Clint Bowyer.

Lap 148 -- LEAD CHANGE: Casey Mears gets help from Jimmie Johnson and passes Clint Bowyer on the outside for the lead.

Lap 148 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer gets the race back under way.
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Casey Mears
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Kyle Busch
5. Jeff Gordon

Lap 146 -- Martin Truex Jr. dives onto pit road to change inside tires. Several other cars near the back come in for tires.

Lap 145 -- David Gilliland is on pit road to repair the minor damage.

Lap 144 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: David Gilliland spins around while running in the middle of the field. No one else is involved in the crash. Gilliland lost it, touched Dave Blaney, then spun to the inside.

Lap 142 -- LEAD CHANGE: Clint Bowyer goes on the outside line and captures the lead as everyone is two- and three-wide jockeying for position.

Lap 140 -- Kasey Kahne gets out of the draft in the middle line and loses several positions. He was running second.

Lap 138 -- GREEN FLAG: Casey Mears gets the race going:
1. Casey Mears
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. David Gilliland
5. Clint Bowyer

Lap 135 -- Casey Mears stays out to lead, and Kasey Kahne does not pit.

Lap 134 -- The leaders head to pit road:
• Kurt Busch gets four tires and no adjustments in 14 seconds
• David Gilliland is out in 9.2 seconds with two tires
• Martin Truex Jr. gains three positions and is off first
• Matt Kenseth gets adjustments and four tires

Lap 132 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Spin near the back of the field involving John Andretti, Bobby Labonte and Juan Montoya. David Reutimann slapped the wall, Labonte tried to avoid it and Montoya had nowhere to go. Cars involved:
• David Reutimann
• Bobby Labonte
• Juan Montoya
• John Andretti
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 128 -- Martin Truex Jr. has moved to third position as the top three cars are single-file.

Lap 124 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch gets around his brother Kyle Busch to take the lead in a two-wide battle.

Lap 123 -- After leading laps, getting black-flagged and serving his penalty, Jamie McMurray has fought back to run in third position.

Lap 120 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch gets the race back under way. The top eight cars did not pit.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Kurt Busch
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. J.J. Yeley
5. Ryan Newman

Lap 117 -- Some of the lead-lap cars make another pit stop:
• David Stremme gets an air-pressure adjustment with his tires
• Jeff Gordon wants a loose racecar
• David Stremme gets clocked by Paul Menard when leaving his pit stall; he has front fender damage

Lap 116 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Sterling Marlin blew a tire and slams the wall. He touched Ricky Rudd before he lost control.

Lap 116 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch moves around Kurt Busch to take the lead.

Lap 113 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch inherits the lead after green-flag pit stops cycle through.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Kyle Busch
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. David Stremme
5. Carl Edwards

Lap 112 -- Bill Elliott locks his brakes getting onto pit road for his stop and skids to a stop in his stall.

Lap 111 -- LEAD CHANGE: Bill Elliott inherits the lead when Casey Mears makes his stop. David Gilliland is on pit road, as are Mark Martin and Ricky Rudd.

Lap 110 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch locks his brakes heading to pit road. He gets wedge in the right-rear.
• Jimmie Johnson pits
• Kyle Busch is in
• Clint Bowyer is in
• Jeff Gordon stalls his car leaving pit road
• Most of the lead-lap cars pit
• Casey Mears leads the lap

Lap 109 -- Fourth-place Matt Kenseth locks up the brakes trying to get slowed down to hit pit road. He gets four tires and fuel. Roush Fenway teammates Carl Edwards and Jamie McMurray also pit.

Lap 108 -- Scott Riggs is off the pace and dives into an access road on the backstretch.

Lap 107 -- Sixth-place David Stremme hits pit road to begin green-flag stops. He gets four tires and fuel.

Lap 105 -- The top six cars are running single-file for the most part and have pulled away from the next pack by a full second.

Lap 98 -- Matt Kenseth moves to the bottom to pass second-place Jimmie Johnson, but with help from teammate Kyle Busch, Johnson holds the spot.

Lap 95 -- Matt Kenseth is on the move. After dropping back early in the race, Kenseth has gotten around Kyle Busch for third position.

Lap 87 -- The top seven cars include three Dodges, two Fords and two Chevrolets.

Lap 79 -- LEAD CHANGE: Clint Bowyer quickly falls off the pace and loses the lead to Kurt Busch. His primary ignition box went bad, so he switched to the backup after falling to 20th.

Lap 77 -- Denny Hamlin is back on the track, 61 laps down and running in 43rd. All 43 cars are on the track.

Lap 74 -- Cars are rolling single-file in the straightaway and get spread out in the corners. Clint Bowyer continues to lead.

Lap 64 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back on the track, 25 laps down and running in 38th.

Lap 62 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer leads the field to green. Kevin Harvick is sitting on pit road as his crew tries to fix right-side damage and is going a lap down.
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Kurt Busch
3. Kyle Busch
4. Ryan Newman
5. Casey Mears

Lap 61 -- LEAD CHANGE: Bobby Labonte makes his pit stop, giving the lead back to Clint Bowyer.

Lap 60 -- LEAD CHANGE: Bobby Labonte stays out to lead.

Lap 59 -- Leaders are on pit road:
• Kurt Busch makes wedge adjustments and gets four tires
• Jimmie Johnson gets changes on the track bar and air pressure
• Matt Kenseth is loose and has a slow stop
• Scott Riggs gets the free pass

Lap 58 -- Kevin Harvick is on pit road to change right-side tires and correct some of his car's damage.

Lap 57 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: The caution comes out for Kevin Harvick's smoking car. He has major damage to the right side and a cut front tire.

Lap 56 -- Juan Montoya gets loose and makes contact with Kevin Harvick coming off Turn 4. Harvick bounces off the wall and drops back with a smoking tire rub.

Lap 51 -- Tony Stewart is back on the track and running 34 laps down in 41st position.

Lap 50 -- Cars are now spread out and running different lines in the corners as Clint Bowyer continues to lead.

Lap 43 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes his No. 8 to the garage on the driver's suggestion.

Lap 41 -- LEAD CHANGE: Clint Bowyer gets a push from Carl Edwards and both go by Kyle Busch.

Lap 40 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has lost a second lap and been passed by the entire field. Jamie McMurray is trying to remain on the lead lap after he made his pass-through penalty.

Lap 33 -- LEAD CHANGE: Leader Jamie McMurray is being black-flagged for passing below the yellow line and must serve a pass-through penalty. He ducks onto pit road and gives up the lead to Kyle Busch. He will not get credit for leading the two laps.

Lap 31 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jamie McMurray drives around Clint Bowyer to take the lead thanks to help from Jeff Gordon in the draft.

Lap 30 -- Kevin Harvick falls out of the single-file line and drops several positions. The top six cars are single-file.

Lap 26 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer gets the race under way again.
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jeff Burton

Lap 23 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets the free pass. He is still one lap down.

Lap 22 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: Tony Raines slams the wall and spins into the grass to bring out the yellow. It appears he made contact with David Stremme.

Lap 20 -- GREEN FLAG: Clint Bowyer leads the field to green.
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jeff Burton

Lap 19 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kenny Wallace pits, giving the lead to Clint Bowyer, who pitted for two tires.

Lap 18 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kenny Wallace stays out to lead.

Lap 17 -- Leaders are on pit road:
• Jeff Burton gets four tires but has to dive onto the grass to avoid contact
• Kevin Harvick makes no adjustments
• Jimmie Johnson gets wedge and tires
• Martin Truex Jr. gains five spots coming off pit road

Lap 16 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on pit road to work on the right-rear of the car. Tony Stewart is also on pit road and has some major damage.

Lap 15 -- LEAD CHANGE: After Denny Hamlin crashes, Kevin Harvick is the new leader.

Lap 14 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Denny Hamlin gets together with teammate Tony Stewart in front of the pack and the two ride the wall. Stewart had a good run on Hamlin and touched him in the back. Reed Sorenson spins avoiding the crash. Dale Earnhardt Jr. spins into the grass. The majority of the field dives onto pit road to avoid the accident. Cars involved:
• Tony Stewart
• Denny Hamlin
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Reed Sorenson
• Greg Biffle
• Matt Kenseth
• Bobby Labonte

Lap 10 -- LEAD CHANGE: After leading about 50 feet, Jeff Gordon gets passed again by Denny Hamlin in the draft.

Lap 10 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jeff Gordon edges ahead of Denny Hamlin to lead as they cross the line.

Lap 9 -- GREEN FLAG: Denny Hamlin gets the race back under way with a single-file restart.

Lap 7 -- Dale Jarrett makes a pit stop for several adjustments, followed by a handful of other go-or-go-home drivers who started the race with a qualifying setup.

Lap 5 -- Kasey Kahne is on pit road to try and repair the right-side damage. He also has a huge dent in the left-front fender. Jeff Green goes to the garage.

Lap 4 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: Jeff Green and Kasey Kahne get together in the tri-oval and crash. Green has the most damage. Kahne brushed the wall and has some nose damage.

Lap 3 -- LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin gets out front by himself, followed by Tony Stewart.

Lap 1 -- Jeff Gordon inches ahead of Denny Hamlin to lead the first lap as everyone is two-by-two in the draft. Elliott Sadler drops back for the start.

8:23 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin get the Pepsi 400 under way from Daytona International Speedway. Elliott Sadler begins the race without first or second gear.

8:15 p.m. -- To honor Bill France Jr., a 44th car is on the track leading the pace laps. It's all white and driven by seven-time Cup champion Richard Petty, a tribute to France from the King.

8:13 p.m. -- Cars are rolling onto the racetrack. Ricky Rudd will start at the rear of the field for adjustments to his car on an impound weekend.

8:08 p.m. -- Kevin James from the new movie I now pronounce you Chuck & Larry: "I've just got three things to say: God bless our troops. God bless America. And GENTLEMEN, START YOUR ENGINES!"

8:01 p.m. -- America's Got Talent winner Bianca Ryan sings the national anthem.

8 p.m. -- Moment of silence in memory of Bill France Jr. Tim Mann delivers the invocation

6:30 p.m. -- TNT's pre-race coverage is on the air.

6:20 p.m. -- No rain is at Daytona, but the cars are covered as pre-race ceremonies for Saturday night's Pepsi 400 loom.

WEEKEND HEADLINES FROM DAYTONA
• DEI: Junior's replacement may be in place by late July
• NASCAR's premier series renamed Sprint Cup for '08
• DEI/RCR engine to make its debut in Daytona race
• Caraviello: For crew chiefs, gray area no limited to cars
• Gordon to start from pole after rain washes out quals
• Notebook: Earnhardt adds adidas to sponsor list
• At the center of penalties, Darby remains steadfast
• Notebook: Practices see different drivers at the top
• Officials put crew chiefs on guard for further sanctions
• Former 500 winners gather for special Daytona reunion
• Good finishes for Truex keep team morale at peak
• Edwards' team working to improve pit stops, finishes
• Busch would welcome help from unlikely source at DIS
• Marlin looking to cut back, but never short on stories