Lap-by-Lap: Pocono

CHECKERED FLAG -- Kurt Busch wins the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono, his first victory in 51 races.

WHITE FLAG -- Kurt Busch has 2.5 miles to go with a 3.847-second lead. Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to hang on to second position.

Lap 198 -- Kurt Busch continues to cruise while drivers shuffle for position at the bottom of the top 10.

Lap 195 -- With five laps to go, Kurt Busch has a 2.554-second lead ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 190 -- Denny Hamlin is reeling in Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second position.

Lap 188 -- Kurt Busch is clocking the fastest lap times as the leader.

Lap 185 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch gets the race under way again.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Jimmie Johnson

Lap 183 -- Carl Edwards is on pit road to check for damage.

Lap 181 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: Big crash in Turn 3, involving David Gilliland, Reed Sorenson, Brian Vickers and Jamie McMurray. Carl Edwards touched Sorenson, sending him spinning and taking out three others in the chain reaction. McMurray got the most damage with a crunched hood. Cars involved:
• Carl Edwards
• Reed Sorenson
• David Gilliland
• Jamie McMurray
• Brian Vickers

Lap 179 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch gets the race back under way.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Tony Stewart

Lap 175 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch inherits the lead when Kyle Busch makes his pit stop.

Lap 173 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: David Ragan spins due to a flat tire. He spun coming out of Turn 1 directly in front of Kyle Busch.

Lap 173 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch leads the lap as pit stops cycle through.

Lap 172 -- Kurt Busch is in for his stop. Four tires and fuel, as well as an air-pressure adjustment in 14.2 seconds.

Lap 171 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives up second spot to get four fresh tires. He's tight and needs rear grip. No chassis adjustments. Jeff Gordon is also in, as well as Denny Hamlin.

Lap 170 -- Jimmie Johnson is on pit road for tires as crew chief Ron Malec serves as his rear tire carrier. Ryan Newman is in, as is Martin Truex Jr. and Matt Kenseth.

Lap 169 -- Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick are on pit road for their final stops of the day. Four tires for both drivers, but Harvick has a long stop. Kasey Kahne is in for tires and changes.

Lap 162 -- Kurt Busch has built a 2.289-second lead ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 154 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch runs down Dale Earnhardt Jr. and gets around him to take the lead once again.

Lap 146 -- Kurt Busch has made his way from ninth to second since the restart after passing Reed Sorenson.

Lap 145 -- LEAD CHANGE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. moves around Reed Sorenson to take the point after spinning earlier in the day.

Lap 144 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. charges to second position behind leader Reed Sorenson.

Lap 143 -- GREEN FLAG: Reed Sorenson leads the field to green. Kurt Busch will restart ninth after a lugnut problem on pit road.
1. Reed Sorenson
2. Greg Biffle
3. Casey Mears
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 142 -- Martin Truex Jr. is back on pit road, again trying to fix his front valence and the downforce problems it causes.

Lap 140 -- LEAD CHANGE: Reed Sorenson stays out to lead.

Lap 139 -- The leaders head to pit road:
• Tony Stewart gets four tires, fuel and a slight adjustment
• Kurt Busch gets a slight air-pressure adjustment and tires
• Matt Kenseth gets an air-pressure adjustment
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. gains 11 spots with a two-tire stop and comes out second
• Casey Mears beats everyone off pit road

Lap 138 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Greg Biffle gets loose in Turn 2 and spins his car without any damage.

Lap 134 -- Ryan Newman finally secured second position, but after the battle he now trails teammate Kurt Busch by 3.538 seconds.

Lap 131 -- Kurt Busch has driven away, but Jeff Gordon has his hands full with Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart in a heated battle for second.

Lap 129 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch gets the race going again.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Ryan Newman
4. Tony Stewart
5. Denny Hamlin

Lap 126 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. spends time on pit road to change the shock situation they had been dealing with. He does not lose a lap and will restart in 26th.

Lap 124 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on pit road for four new tires after his spin. He thought he had a tire going down before his spin.

Lap 123 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: Dale Earnhardt Jr. spins in Turn 3 and makes no contact.

Lap 122 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch cycles back around to lead the lap and get back in front after pit stops.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Reed Sorenson
4. Ryan Newman
5. Tony Stewart

Lap 121 -- Ryan Newman pits with what he calls a close-to-perfect racecar. Casey Mears is in.

Lap 121 -- Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson are in with tight racecars. Kevin Harvick needed new tires, saying his car didn't feel good.

Lap 120 -- LEAD CHANGE: Ryan Newman inherits the lead when Kurt Busch pits. Kasey Kahne is also on pit road, along with Tony Stewart.

Lap 119 -- Jeff Gordon gives up second position to make his scheduled pit stop. He is battling a loose car and makes an air-pressure adjustment. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on pit road as well.

Lap 111 -- Jeff Gordon moves into second position, but still trails Kurt Busch by 7.988 seconds.

Lap 104 -- Dale Jarrett is on pit road and the team has the hood up. The hood closes and the crew pushes the No. 44 Toyota to the garage with engine troubles.

Lap 98 -- Jeff Green makes his pit stop, completing green-flag stops.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Ryan Newman
5. Tony Stewart

Lap 96 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch runs down Jeff Green and passes him to take the lead again. Dave Blaney makes his pit stop.

Lap 93 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jeff Green gets the lead when Clint Bowyer makes his pit stop. Bowyer gets a chassis adjustment for a tight racecar. Tony Raines is on pit road.

Lap 92 -- LEAD CHANGE: Clint Bowyer gets the lead as Matt Kenseth is on pit road. Kevin Harvick is also in for an air-pressure adjustment.

Lap 91 -- LEAD CHANGE: Matt Kenseth inherits the lead after Kurt Busch's pit stop. Martin Truex Jr. is on pit road as the team continues to try and work on slight damage to the front valence.

Lap 90 -- Kurt Busch is on pit road for adjustments and tires. Jimmie Johnson is in, as is Ryan Newman, who is too loose.

Lap 89 -- Tony Stewart is on pit road. Teammate Denny Hamlin is in, as is Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 88 -- Jeff Gordon is on pit road to begin green-flag pit stops.

Lap 81 -- Ward Burton heads to pit road as his car is smoking. His crew changes tires. He may have had a flat left-front tire.

Lap 76 -- Kyle Busch is on pit road after brushing the wall. His crew changes right-side tires.

Lap 73 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team believes they have gone too aggressive with their shock package, resulting in a tight racecar and heavy use of brakes.

Lap 69 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch gets the race back under way.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Ryan Newman
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Jimmie Johnson

Lap 67 -- Kevin Harvick was among those few who chose to pit, getting two tires. Matt Kenseth also took right-side tires. The top 14 cars stayed out.

Lap 65 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: Jamie McMurray spins for the second time today, turning his car around coming out of Turn 3 after slight contact from David Stremme. He does not hit anything and drives down pit road.

Lap 59 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch leads the field to green.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Ryan Newman
5. Jimmie Johnson

Lap 58 -- Bobby Labonte pits, giving the lead back to Kurt Busch.

Lap 57 -- Bobby Labonte stays out to lead.

Lap 56 -- The field hits pit road for service:
• Kurt Busch has a quick stop and is out first with some wedge
• Denny Hamlin gains a spot and is out second
• Jeff Gordon loses three spots and comes out seventh
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. gains two positions to third
• Ryan Newman wants his car to be free

Lap 54 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Debris is in Turn 1.

Lap 52 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is complaining of a tight racecar. Earnhardt says on a scale of 1-10, his car is a 20 in terms of tightness.

Lap 42 -- Kurt Busch's lead is 7.696 seconds ahead of second-place Ryan Newman.

Lap 36 -- LEAD CHANGE: After all pit stops have cycled through, Kurt Busch is again the leader after Bill Elliott pulls in for service.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Ryan Newman
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 35 -- LEAD CHANGE: Martin Truex Jr. is on pit road for his stop. Clint Bowyer is in for his stop as well. Bill Elliott becomes the leader.

Lap 34 -- LEAD CHANGE: Martin Truex Jr. inherits the lead after green-flag stops. Truex is on a different pit cycle.
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Clint Bowyer
3. Bill Elliott
4. Dale Jarrett
5. Kurt Busch

Lap 33 -- Kurt Busch is one of the final cars to pit and almost stalls his machine. He gets four tires and a slight air-pressure adjustment.

Lap 32 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on pit road for his stop. He gets tires and fuel, but no chassis adjustments. Kevin Harvick is in for an air-pressure adjustment.

Lap 31 -- Greg Biffle is in for tires and fuel. Jimmie Johnson makes his stop, as well as Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton and other leaders.

Lap 30 -- Jeff Gordon is on pit road for his stop. He gets no adjustments, only tires and fuel in 14.8 seconds. Casey Mears is also in for his stop.

Lap 29 -- Kyle Busch is in for a pit stop and gets four tires and fuel. His stop is slightly earlier than scheduled.

Lap 23 -- Carl Edwards is being black-flagged by NASCAR for improper fueling during his stop. He must serve a pass-through penalty.

Lap 21 -- Carl Edwards is in for an unscheduled pit stop. The crew changes left-side tires only. Edwards felt the left-rear going down.

Lap 18 -- Kyle Busch, who started fourth, has fallen back to 12th.

Lap 8 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch gets the race going again.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Ryan Newman
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Kyle Busch
5. Denny Hamlin

Lap 6 -- A handful of cars hit pit road, including Martin Truex Jr., for adjustments and tires.

Lap 4 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: Jamie McMurray spins into the grass coming off of Turn 1 and has some minor damage.

Lap 1 -- Kurt Busch gets the advantage on the outside and leads the first lap. Ryan Newman follows in second.

2:23 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch get the Pennsylvania 500 under way.

2:14 p.m. -- Cars are on the racetrack for the warmup laps. Martin Truex Jr. (engine change), Clint Bowyer (engine change), Ward Burton (transmission change) and P.J. Jones (substitute driver) will start from the back.

2:10 p.m. -- Chris Tucker emphatically gives the command: "Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready? Get on your feet. Gentlemen, start your engines!"

2:04 p.m. -- Clarke Luis sings the national anthem.

2:03 p.m. -- Mike Salnicky delivers the invocation.

2:01 p.m. -- Moment of silence in honor of the fallen soldiers. Clarke Luis sings God Bless America.

1 p.m. -- ESPN's pre-race coverage is on the air.

WEEKEND HEADLINES FROM POCONO
• NASCAR parks R. Gordon for Cup race at Pocono
• Baldwin key to helping BDR solidify top-35 spot
• Notes: Johnson refocusing after recent trend of DNFs
• Dodge: Business deals won't affect race teams
• Johnson tops final practice at Pocono; Kenseth better
• Kahne may be King of Beer ... and babes
• Caraviello: The ugly underside of a NASCAR merger ... 'sellout'
• Bond for Busch, Tryson could be Chase-worthy
• Earnhardt waits out rain, steals pole from Busch
• Stewart still upset with ESPN's questions, criticism
• Notes: Practice carries over to quals for some drivers
• Drivers split on whether Cup should go outside U.S.
• Gordon won't mind if he gets lucky again at Pocono