Lap-by-Lap: Bristol

CHECKERED FLAG -- Carl Edwards wins the Sharpie 500 at Bristol and locks himself into a position in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

WHITE FLAG -- Carl Edwards approaches lapped traffic. Robby Gordon spins coming off Turn 4 but doesn't hit anything.

Lap 496 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. moves below Kurt Busch as well to take fifth.

Lap 495 -- It's all Carl Edwards as he has a comfortable lead on Kasey Kahne without traffic around him. Meanwhile, Tony Stewart moves below Kurt Busch for fourth position.

Lap 489 -- Carl Edwards continues to lead Kasey Kahne by just more than a second.

Lap 479 -- Kyle Busch and Bobby Labonte are battling side-by-side for eighth, while just ahead it's Ryan Newman fighting to hold off Tony Stewart in sixth.

Lap 469 -- GREEN FLAG: Carl Edwards tries to get the race going one more time.
1. Carl Edwards
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kurt Busch
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 465 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 9: Debris is on the track.

Lap 463 -- GREEN FLAG: Carl Edwards takes the green flag.
1. Carl Edwards
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kurt Busch
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 454 -- Matt Kenseth's night is over.

Lap 453 -- Under caution, Jeff Gordon has his rear bumper hanging off. Michael Waltrip pulls up and helps rip it off.

Lap 452 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: Big crash in Turn 1, as Jimmie Johnson and Ricky Rudd get collected with heavy damage. Rudd lost it going into the turn with a slight bump from Martin Truex Jr., slid up the track and got hit by Johnson. Matt Kenseth collected some right-front damage as well as the track was clogged. Cars involved:
• Ricky Rudd
• Jimmie Johnson
• Matt Kenseth
• Jeff Gordon
• David Gilliland

Lap 444 -- GREEN FLAG: Carl Edwards gets the race back under way.
1. Carl Edwards
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kurt Busch
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 438 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: Robby Gordon spins his car coming off of Turn 2. He has slight damage to the rear. He came down on Matt Kenseth, made contact and spun out.

Lap 434 -- Martin Truex Jr. and Bobby Labonte run side-by-side for two laps before Truex settles in for eighth position.

Lap 428 -- GREEN FLAG: Carl Edwards takes the green.
1. Carl Edwards
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kurt Busch
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 424 -- A handful of cars hit pit road for a top of fuel and fresh tires, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Robby Gordon.

Lap 421 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: David Ragan spins for a third time in Turn 1. He has some slight damage on the right-front.

Lap 403 -- GREEN FLAG: Carl Edwards gets the race going again.
1. Carl Edwards
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kurt Busch
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 398 -- A small group of cars head down pit road for service.

Lap 396 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: David Ragan spins again in Turn 4.

Lap 391 -- Jeff Gordon is now the first car one lap down, having gotten caught by the odd timing of the caution.

Lap 383 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets touched by Ryan Newman, gets loose and loses two spots. Earnhardt now runs seventh.

Lap 378 -- GREEN FLAG: Carl Edwards gets the race back under way.
1. Carl Edwards
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Kurt Busch
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 372 -- LEAD CHANGE: As Robby Gordon makes his pit stop, he gives up the lead to Carl Edwards.

Lap 371 -- Some of the drivers who had not pitted head to make their stops:
• Robby Gordon is in for tires adjustments as the tire changer has a helmet light
• Jimmie Johnson is in for tires and fuel
• Reed Sorenson makes his stop to get on the right cycle.

Lap 370 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: David Ragan spins coming off the corner. His shifter keeps coming out of gear. Pit strategy has the field jumbled.

Lap 369 -- LEAD CHANGE: Robby Gordon is the leader when Jeff Gordon pits.

Lap 367 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jeff Gordon is the leader now that Kyle Busch makes his pit stop. He gets tires and adjustments but has trouble getting onto pit road, slowing him a bit.

Lap 364 -- LEAD CHANGE: Ryan Newman pits for tires and adjustments. Tony Stewart has a tight car and is struggling. Kyle Busch becomes the leader.

Lap 362 -- LEAD CHANGE: Ryan Newman is scored the leader when Kurt Busch pits. Air pressure changes for him.

Lap 360 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch is the leader when Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne pit.

Lap 359 -- LEAD CHANGE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. inherits the lead when Carl Edwards pits.

Lap 357 -- J.J. Yeley begins green-flag pit stops after giving up the ninth position. He gets four tires in 16.1 seconds.

Lap 336 -- LEAD CHANGE: Carl Edwards goes below Kasey Kahne to take the lead as the battle to get around Michael Waltrip continues. Dale Earnhardt Jr. moves by Kahne, too.

Lap 332 -- Kasey Kahne is stuck behind Michael Waltrip and cannot put him three laps down. That moves Carl Edwards and Dale Earnhardt Jr. directly behind Kahne for the lead.

Lap 325 -- Carl Edwards moves into second position around Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 318 -- Two drivers have run every lap inside the top 10: leader Kasey Kahne and third-place Carl Edwards.

Lap 302 -- Leader Kasey Kahne puts Jimmie Johnson a lap down. Johnson is running in 21st.

Lap 294 -- Working through lapped traffic has allowed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to pull up to Kasey Kahne's bumper.

Lap 279 -- Kasey Kahne has now led 250 laps.

Lap 273 -- J.J. Yeley is having a good night. He started 40th but is now running in 11th.

Lap 260 -- Kurt Busch is up to third position at the track in which he has five victories.

Lap 250 -- At the halfway point, Kasey Kahne continues to set the pace while Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a clear track between him and the leader.

Lap 238 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes below Jeff Gordon to take second spot. Gordon is unhappy with the changes his team made to the car.

Lap 233 -- GREEN FLAG: Kasey Kahne leads the field to green.
1. Kasey Kahne
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Carl Edwards
5. Kurt Busch

Lap 231 -- Jimmie Johnson hits pit road to make major adjustments and get new tires.

Lap 226 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: A.J. Allmendinger and Aric Almirola collide and go spinning up the track. Both cars have damage to the rear. Jimmie Johnson bumped Almirola, and Almirola spun Allmendinger.

Lap 220 -- GREEN FLAG: Kasey Kahne gets the grid up to speed.
1. Kasey Kahne
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Carl Edwards
5. Kurt Busch

Lap 214 -- The leaders head to pit road:
• Bobby Labonte gets track-bar and air-pressure adjustments
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets little adjustments and four tires
• Jeff Gordon gets four and a major chassis adjustment
• Kasey Kahne gets a quick stop and maintains his lead

Lap 211 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Denny Hamlin spins in the corner with fire under his hood. He comes to a stop and quickly jumps out of the car as the fire is extinguished. The valve spring may have broken in the motor. Hamlin is locked into the Chase.

Lap 200 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. moves into third position by passing Bobby Labonte on the outside.

Lap 190 -- Kasey Kahne continues to lead, with teammate Scott Riggs (a lap down) between him and second-place Jeff Gordon.

Lap 174 -- Denny Hamlin is still hanging on in 12th position. No word if the problem is getting worse.

Lap 163 -- Denny Hamlin is slowing and is reporting a problem. He says it could be the battery, but he thinks the engine may be blowing up. Hamlin changed an engine prior to the race.

Lap 149 -- Juan Montoya is hanging on in 10th position and having a good night at the short track.

Lap 139 -- After charging to battle for the lead, Bobby Labonte falls back and loses second place to Jeff Gordon.

Lap 135 -- GREEN FLAG: Kasey Kahne gets the race back under way.
1. Kasey Kahne
2. Bobby Labonte
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Ryan Newman
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 130 -- Martin Truex Jr. is penalized for not getting all the lug nuts tight. He returns to pit road for the penalty and will restart 26th.

Lap 128 -- Everyone hits pit road:
• Bobby Labonte is tight, so he gets adjustments in a quick stop
• Martin Truex Jr. gets a chassis adjustment and four tires
• Kasey Kahne gets no changes although he has a loose car

Lap 126 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: Johnny Sauter slows at the top of the track, bringing out the caution. Kasey Kahne nearly slammed into Sauter because he didn't see the No. 70 stopped.

Lap 125 -- Dave Blaney hits pit road to begin green-flag pit stops. He gets four and fuel in 15.2 seconds.

Lap 120 -- Bobby Labonte started 22nd, but now he's running in seventh place.

Lap 113 -- Martin Truex Jr. is now in fourth after passing teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., and now he's working on Jeff Gordon.

Lap 95 -- Martin Truex Jr. is on the move. He started 25th but is now running in sixth. Kurt Busch is also moving fast, and is up to 10th after starting 19th.

Lap 85 -- After making an early charge, Jeff Burton has fallen back to 15th position.

Lap 74 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. passes Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon to take third.

Lap 71 -- Jeff Gordon continues his move forward, getting by Carl Edwards for third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is behind Edwards in fifth.

Lap 66 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne takes command by keeping the high line and passing Carl Edwards as they continue to work through slow cars. Ryan Newman gets around Carl Edwards as well.

Lap 64 -- Jeff Gordon moves below Juan Montoya for fourth place.

Lap 61 -- The leaders are bunched up behind Paul Menard and Kenny Wallace, bringing Ryan Newman beside Kasey Kahne for second.

Lap 56 -- Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who started 18th and 19th respectively, are now running fifth and seventh.

Lap 46 -- Ryan Newman dips underneath Juan Montoya to take third position and sets his sights on Kasey Kahne.

Lap 37 -- LEAD CHANGE: Carl Edwards gets under Kasey Kahne as they navigate lapped traffic.

Lap 35 -- Kasey Kahne is lapping cars, but they are running two-wide and blocking his high groove, allowing Carl Edwards to nose below Kahne.

Lap 25 -- Carl Edwards is now running second after getting around Juan Montoya.

Lap 20 -- John Andretti is back on the track after his ignition trouble during the warmup laps.

Lap 15 -- Jeff Burton has moved from his 10th starting position and now runs sixth.

Lap 5 -- Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson race three-wide around what used to be a single-file track.

Lap 1 -- Kasey Kahne pulls ahead to lead the first lap in side-by-side racing.

8:20 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Kasey Kahne and Juan Montoya get the Sharpie 500 under way at Bristol.

8:17 p.m. -- Green flag is called off because John Andretti's No. 49 has stalled in Turn 2 at the top of the track. He has a problem with the ignition panel and heads to pit road.

8:13 p.m. -- Cars are rolling onto the track. Denny Hamlin will start at the rear for an engine change.

8:08 p.m. -- Grand marshal Penny Burton delivers the command: "Drivers, start your engines!"

8:01 p.m. -- The children of drivers and crewmembers from Motor Racing Outreach sing the national anthem as the entire bowl of grandstands flip a card trick to display the United States flag.

8 p.m. -- Bernard Grunstra delivers the invocation.

7 p.m. -- ESPN's pre-race coverage from Bristol is on the air.

6:22 p.m. -- It's less than two hours from the green flag for the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Clear skies. New surface. Same Bristol.

WEEKEND HEADLINES FROM BRISTOL
• Cup drivers try to figure out 'new' Bristol layout
• Notes: Roush Fenway catches up to others in COT
• Villeneuve to join BDR, race in 2008 Cup season
• Earnhardt Jr. to reporters: Back off with Teresa slurs
• Kahne to start on pole at Bristol; Montoya second
• Number a driver's identity but change is imminent
• Bonus points battle heats up with return to Bristol
• Martin, Almirola may split No. 8 in 2008, says Siegel