Lap-by-Lap: Phoenix

CHECKERED FLAG: Jimmie Johnson takes the checkered flag in the Checker Auto Parts 500 to win his fourth consecutive race, 10th on the season and stretches his points lead to 86 on Jeff Gordon.

Lap 311 -- WHITE FLAG: Jimmie Johnson is cruising.

Lap 309 -- If the positions remain the final three laps, Jimmie Johnson will be the points leader by 86 points on Jeff Gordon.

Lap 306 -- Greg Biffle passes Matt Kenseth for second.

Lap 302 -- Greg Biffle is running the fastest laps on the track and trails leader Jimmie Johnson by 1.3 seconds.

Lap 298 -- Tony Stewart up to fourth.

Lap 296 -- Greg Biffle up to third after passing Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 293 -- Jeff Gordon is up to 10th. Greg Biffle passes Tony Stewart for fourth.

Lap 289 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jimmie Johnson passes Martin Truex Jr. for the lead with 23 laps to go. Matt Kenseth will take second.

Lap 287 -- Jimmie Johnson is second. Jeff Gordon currently 11th.

Lap 283 -- Jimmie Johnson passes Matt Kenseth for second when Aric Almirola who is a lap down blocks Kenseth.

Lap 278 -- Matt Kenseth passes Jimmie Johnson for second.

Lap 277 -- Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman pass Johnny Sauter for fourth and fifth.

Lap 276 -- Jimmie Johnson up to second and Matt Kenseth up to third as both pass Johnny Sauter.

Lap 274 -- GREEN FLAG: Martin Truex Jr. brings the field to the green.
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Johnny Sauter
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Tony Stewart
5. Jimmie Johnson
12. Jeff Gordon

Lap 272 -- Denny Hamlin and Ricky Rudd busted for exiting pit road to fast.

Lap 270 -- LEAD CHANGE: Martin Truex Jr. takes the lead as Matt Kenseth pits. Johnny Sauter also stays out. Jeff Gordon takes four tires to fix that tire rub.

Lap 269 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 10: Debris in Turns 3 and 4 brings out the caution. Brian Vickers gets the free pass.

Lap 268 -- Jimmie Johnson is up to fifth.

Lap 263 -- Jeff Gordon has a tire rub caused by contact from Kevin Harvick when he completed the pass for eighth.

Lap 260 -- Kevin Harvick passes Jeff Gordon for eighth.

Lap 251 -- Martin Truex Jr. thinks he has a tire going down.

Lap 248 -- Tony Stewart passes Ryan Newman for second.

Lap 247 -- GREEN FLAG: Matt Kenseth brings the field to the green.
1. Matt Kenseth
2. Tony Stewart
3. Ryan Newman
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 244 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 9: Joe Nemechek spins and hits the wall. Robby Gordon gets the free pass.

Lap 243 -- Ryan Newman continues to fall as Tony Stewart passes him for second.

Lap 240 -- LEAD CHANGE: Matt Kenseth has a good restart and hits the line before Ryan Newman. The two are side-by-side.

Lap 239 -- GREEN FLAG: Ryan Newman brings the field to the green.
1. Ryan Newman
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Tony Stewart
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 238 -- Juan Montoya on pit road. Jeff Gordon with a lot of adjustments on pit road and he will restart eighth.

Lap 235 -- LEAD CHANGE: Ryan Newman wins the race off pit road and takes the lead for the first time today.

Lap 234 -- The leaders hit pit road for what could be the final stops of the day.
• Kevin Harvick with four tires and a minor adjustment
• Jeff Gordon with a wedge adjustment and four tires
• Jimmie Johnson with four tires and no changes
• Kyle Busch with four tires
• Clint Bowyer takes two tires
• Ryan Newman takes fuel only and wins the race off pit road.

Lap 233 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: Dave Blaney spins bringing out the caution. Reed Sorenson is the lucky dog.

Lap 229 -- David Ragan is out of the race with engine problems. Martin Truex Jr. passes Jeff Gordon for fourth.

Lap 227 -- Jimmie Johnson passes Greg Biffle for second and trails leader Matt Kenseth by more than eight seconds.

Lap 224 -- The top five after green flag stops:
1. Matt Kenseth
2. Greg Biffle
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 222 -- LEAD CHANGE: Matt Kenseth retakes the lead when Reed Sorenson hits pit road.

Lap 221 -- LEAD CHANGE: Reed Sorenson takes the lead when Martin Truex Jr. pits.

Lap 220 -- Martin Truex Jr. makes his stop losing the lead. Denny Hamlin with major adjustments on pit road.

Lap 219 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jimmie Johnson pits giving the lead to Martin Truex Jr. Johnson with an air pressure adjustment and four tires. Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon also pit.

Lap 216 -- Kurt Busch is on pit road and they make an adjustment and take four tires.

Lap 215 -- Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard are on pit road. Kyle Busch also making his stop.

Lap 211 -- Greg Biffle is challenging Jeff Gordon for 24th.

Lap 208 -- There may be debris on the track and NASCAR is investigating.

Lap 207 -- Jamie McMurray is on pit road beginning the green flag stops for the rest of the field.

Lap 203 -- With the pit stops of some of the leaders, Tony Stewart is now up to third.

Lap 200 -- Now it's hold your breath time for Jeff Gordon as the rest of the leaders are about 18-20 laps from having to make their stops.

Lap 199 -- Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, David Stremme and Jeff Gordon are on pit road. Gordon says his car is loose, they will make a track bar adjustment and take four tires.

Lap 193 -- Tony Stewart is up to fifth and in the top five for the first time today. Carl Edwards is officially out of the race.

Lap 190 -- Martin Truex Jr. passes Jeff Gordon for second.

Lap 188 -- LEAD CHANGE: Matt Kenseth hits pit road and takes four tires giving the lead to Jimmie Johnson for the first time today and five important bonus points for the No. 48.

Lap 186 -- Ryan Newman passes Greg Biffle for fifth.

Lap 177 -- Martin Truex Jr. moves up to fourth passing Greg Biffle.

Lap 174 -- Matt Kenseth leads by 3.7 seconds.

Lap 173 -- Jimmie Johnson completes the pass of Jeff Gordon for second. Jacques Villeneuve and Kasey Kahne are officially out of the race.

Lap 172 -- Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are side-by-side for second.

Lap 169 -- Jimmie Johnson on fresher tires is catching Jeff Gordon for second.

Lap 165 -- Carl Edwards has returned to the garage.

Lap 160 -- Jimmie Johnson passes Greg Biffle for fourth and is closing on David Stremme for third.

Lap 159 -- Jimmie Johnson is up to fifth.

Lap 158 -- Jeff Gordon passes David Stremme for second.

Lap 155 -- At the halfway point of the race, Jeff Gordon runs third and Jimmie Johnson runs sixth. Gordon has cut Johnson's point lead in half and currently trails by 15 points.

Lap 154 -- GREEN FLAG: Matt Kenseth brings the field to the green.
1. Matt Kenseth
2. David Stremme
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Jeff Burton
5. Greg Biffle

Lap 153 -- Tony Raines is being held on pit road for a penalty.

Lap 147 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: Kasey Kahne has a tire go down and he hits the wall hard. After hitting the wall he bumps Tony Raines. David Gilliland will get the free pass.

Lap 144 -- Carl Edwards is back out on the track scored 37 laps down.

Lap 143 -- GREEN FLAG: Matt Kenseth brings the field to the green.
1. Matt Kenseth
2. David Stremme
3. Jeff Burton
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Greg Biffle

Lap 141 -- The top eight cars stayed out led by Matt Kenseth.

Lap 140 -- LEAD CHANGE: Matt Kenseth, who pitted earlier and stayed out, takes the lead for the first time today.

Lap 139 -- Some of the leaders hit pit road.
• Kurt Busch with a four tire change
• Jimmie Johnson with a minor adjustment and four tires
• Kyle Busch no adjustments and four tires

Lap 138 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Jacques Villeneuve hits the wall hard after getting into Kasey Kahne bringing out the caution. Elliott Sadler will get the free pass.

Lap 137 -- Martin Truex Jr. is in front by 1.1 seconds.

Lap 135 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is officially out of the race.

Lap 132 -- Kyle Busch is currently fifth as he tries to become the first driver to win all three races in a single weekend at the same track.

Lap 124 -- GREEN FLAG: Martin Truex Jr. brings the field to the green.
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Ryan Newman
4. Kurt Busch
5. Clint Bowyer

Lap 121 -- Denny Hamlin will start at the tail end of the longest line for speeding on pit road.

Lap 120 -- Only a few cars hit pit road.
• Jeff Gordon with four tires and an air pressure adjustment
• Jeff Burton also on pit road taking four tires

Lap 119 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets loose and hits the wall hard ending his day. Brian Vickers will get the free pass.

Lap 117 -- Kurt Busch completes the pass of Jeff Gordon for fourth. Clint Bowyer is on Gordon's bumper for fifth.

Lap 116 -- The gas man for the No. 31 who was hit by a tire is being taken to an off-site facility for further evaluation.

Lap 111 -- GREEN FLAG: Martin Truex Jr. brings the field to the green.
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Ryan Newman
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Kurt Busch

Lap 110 -- David Ragan will restart at the tail end of the longest line for pitting too soon.

Lap 109 -- Bobby Labonte and Dave Blaney are the only lead-lap cars to pit. Carl Edwards takes his car to the garage.

Lap 107 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: Debris on the back straightaway brings out the caution. Robby Gordon will get the free pass.

Lap 106 -- Carl Edwards is on pit road with an engine problem. The No. 99 car has the hood up.

Lap 103 -- Jeff Gordon has fallen two spots to sixth.

Lap 101 -- GREEN FLAG: Martin Truex Jr. brings the field to the green.
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Ryan Newman

Lap 100 -- Green flag was called off as a camera placed in the rumble strips has come up when David Ragan ran it over and needs to be removed.

Lap 97 -- Joe Nemechek and Patrick Carpentier are on pit road. This will be a quickie yellow meaning all cars can pit.

Lap 96 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: Joe Nemechek spins in Turn 3 after getting hit in the rear by Tony Stewart bringing out the caution. Aric Almirola will get the free pass.

Lap 93 -- It took three laps for Martin Truex Jr. to open a one-second lead on Carl Edwards, who is battling lap cars.

Lap 90 -- GREEN FLAG: Martin Truex Jr. brings the field to the green.
1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Ryan Newman

Lap 88 -- LEAD CHANGE: Martin Truex Jr. wins the race off pit road and takes the lead.

Lap 87 -- All the lead lap cars hit pit road.
• Kurt Busch with a track bar adjustment and four tires
• Track bar and air pressure adjustments for Jeff Gordon
• Jimmie Johnson with four tires and no adjustments
• Carl Edwards with an air pressure adjustment and four tires
• Martin Truex Jr. wins the race off pit road with a great stop

Lap 86 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Debris in Turns 1 and 2 brings out the caution. Kyle Petty gets the free pass.

Lap 84 -- Carl Edwards continues to lap cars as just 28 are currently on the lead lap.

Lap 71 -- It's been all Carl Edwards as he has led all 71 laps but that could change as Martin Truex Jr. has caught the rear bumper of the No. 99.

Lap 68 -- All 12 Chase drivers are in the top 16 with 11 in the top 13. Kevin Harvick is 16th.

Lap 65 -- Seven drivers are a lap down with Jeremy Mayfield the latest to get passed by leader Carl Edwards.

Lap 61 -- The top three of Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson have opened up a three-second lead on fourth-place Jeff Gordon.

Lap 56 -- Jeff Gordon passes Ryan Newman for fourth.

Lap 49 -- Carl Edwards and his two tires are holding the lead as Martin Truex Jr. can't close the gap of 0.4 seconds.

Lap 36 -- Bad news for Jeff Burton's crew. Their gas man was hit by a tire on their pit stop buckling his knee. He is being taken to the infield care center.

Lap 34 -- Jeff Gordon passes Clint Bowyer for fifth. Jimmie Johnson is up to third after passing Ryan Newman.

Lap 31 -- Four-tire cars are starting to pass the two-tire guys as Martin Truex Jr. passes Ryan Newman for second and Jimmie Johnson passes Clint Bowyer for fourth.

Lap 28 -- GREEN FLAG: Carl Edwards brings the field to the green.
1. Carl Edwards
2. Ryan Newman
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Jimmie Johnson

Lap 27 -- Robby Gordon will restart on the tail end of the longest line with a pit road penalty.

Lap 26 -- All the leaders hit pit road.
• Jeff Gordon with a chassis adjustment and four tires
• Jimmie Johnson with an adjustment and four tires
• Carl Edwards takes two tires
• Ryan Newman takes two tires and gains 11 spots
• Clint Bowyer takes two tires and gains 13 spots

Lap 25 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: David Gilliland spins bringing out the caution. There is no free pass.

Lap 21 -- Sterling Marlin has smoke coming from his car and he has lost 20 positions in two laps.

Lap 20 -- Jimmie Johnson completes the pass of Jeff Gordon for third.

Lap 19 -- Jimmie Johnson has caught up to Jeff Gordon and is challenging him for third.

Lap 14 -- Carl Edwards has opened up a 1.5-second lead on second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 6 -- The racing is in the middle of the pack as the top-10 cars are single file while behind them it's two- and three-wide racing.

Lap 5 -- Jimmie Johnson passes J.J. Yeley for fourth.

Lap 1 -- Carl Edwards leads the first lap as the top five fall into a single-file line.

3:51 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Carl Edwards brings the field to speed as the Checker Auto Parts 500 is under way.

3:47 p.m. -- The cars are rolling off pit road.

3:43 p.m. -- Grand Marshal Larry Mondry gives the command: "Gentlemen, start your engines!"

3:36 p.m -- Dr. Jesse McGuire Sr. performs the national anthem on his trumpet.

3:35 p.m. -- Ken Bowers, the track Chaplain delivers the Invocation.

3:21 p.m. -- Brian Vickers will move to the rear of the field due to an engine change.

3 p.m. -- NASCAR Countdown is under way on ABC.

2:30 p.m. -- We are less than 90 minutes from the green dropping in Phoenix for the Checker Auto Parts 500, the 35th race of the season. It's a perfect 74 degrees at the track under sunny skies. Green is scheduled for 3:50 p.m. ET.

PHOENIX HEADLINES
Penske stands strong with Hornish as he starts over
Johnson, Gordon queue up for Sunday showdown
Petty: '07 Chase would be better with different duel
Transition period needed for open-wheelers to Cup
Yeley excited about move to HOF, Toyota in 2008
France pleased with Chase format after '07 changes
Phoenix race will be day of firsts for open-wheelers
Bowyer has another goal as title hopes all but gone