Lap-by-Lap: Bristol

CHECKERED FLAG: Carl Edwards wins his sixth race of the season as he wins the Sharpie 500 at Bristol, his second victory at the bullring. After the checkered, Busch ran into Edwards and forced him into the wall. Edwards than retaliated and spun Busch. NASCAR called Busch and crew chief Steve Addington to the hauler.

Lap 499 -- WHITE FLAG: Carl Edwards is a half-mile away from victory.

Lap 495 -- Carl Edwards now leads by more than two seconds.

Lap 490 -- Kyle Busch led 415 laps tonight and looks like he will not visit Victory Lane.

Lap 488 -- Carl Edwards is driving away from Kyle Busch with 12 laps to go.

Lap 482 -- Carl Edwards has a 1.5 second lead on Kyle Busch.

Lap 479 -- Kyle Busch passes Denny Hamlin for second. Kevin Harvick passes Jeff Gordon for fourth.

Lap 470 -- Denny Hamlin is able to pass Kyle Busch for the second spot.

Lap 469 -- LEAD CHANGE: Carl Edwards bumps Kyle Busch, getting the No. 18 loose and takes the lead.

Lap 467 -- Kyle Busch gets loose opening up an opportunity for Carl Edwards.

Lap 466 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Kevin Harvick

Lap 463 -- Kurt Busch is the only car to make a pitstop.

Lap 461 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: Debris in the backstretch brings out the caution. Kurt Busch gets the free pass.

Lap 459 -- Kyle Busch with a good restart and able to pull away from Carl Edwards a little.

Lap 458 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green for the final 42 laps.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Kevin Harvick

Lap 452 -- All the leaders hit pitroad for the final time tonight.
• Clint Bowyer with an air pressure adjustment and four tires
• Matt Kenseth with four tires and no adjustments
• Denny Hamlin with four tires
• Kyle Busch with a wedge adjustment and air pressure adjustment
• Carl Edwards with a wedge adjustment

Lap 451 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: Debris on the backstraightaway brings out the caution. Regan Smith gets the free pass.

Lap 449 -- Kyle Busch puts Dale Earnhardt Jr. two laps down.

Lap 441 -- Reed Sorenson is back on the track scored 36th, 117 laps down.

Lap 434 -- Kyle Busch has a two-second lead and has led 380 laps tonight.

Lap 430 -- Kyle Busch put his brother Kurt a lap down.

Lap 427 -- Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer pass Aric Almirola for seventh and eighth.

Lap 422 -- Denny Hamlin passes Jeff Gordon for third. Kyle Busch puts Paul Menard a lap down.

Lap 415 -- The leaders will have to make one more stop and strategy is now being discussed.

Lap 412 -- Robby Gordon is too slow on the track, meaning he is now out of the race.

Lap 400 -- Greg Biffle has fallen to 13th as all his teammates pass him.

Lap 398 -- Aric Almirola passes Tony Stewart for seventh.

Lap 390 -- Robby Gordon is back in the race scored 39th 174 laps down.

Lap 385 -- Sam Hornish Jr. is back in the race scored 38th, 170 laps down.

Lap 383 -- Kyle Busch again held off the challenges of Carl Edwards and has pulled away to maintain the lead.

Lap 377 -- Aric Almirola and Greg Biffle pass Clint Bowyer for eighth and ninth thanks to the fresh tires.

Lap 371 -- Once again Carl Edwards is trying to pass Kyle Busch early in the restart but Busch is able to hold him off.

Lap 369 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kevin Harvick

Lap 365 -- Most of the leaders stay out. David Ragan, Matt Kenseth, Aric Almirola, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Regan Smith and Kurt Busch are the lead lap cars to pit. The top-eight stay out.

Lap 364 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Debris in Turn 2 brings out the caution. Paul Menard gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap.

Lap 357 -- Carl Edwards continues to put pressure on Kyle Busch, trying to pass him on both the inside and the outside.

Lap 355 -- Carl Edwards is challenging Kyle Busch for the lead.

Lap 348 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kevin Harvick

Lap 344 -- All the leaders hit pit road.
• Clint Bowyer with an air pressure adjustment and four tires
• Jeff Gordon with a chassis adjustment and four tires
• Kyle Busch with a wedge adjustment
• Carl Edwards with an air pressure adjustment

Lap 343 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Debris on the track from the No. 44 of David Reutimann brings out the caution. Regan Smith gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap.

Lap 337 -- Kyle Busch has a 2.3 second lead on Carl Edwards.

Lap 334 -- Regan Smith and Paul Menard are now a lap down leaving 14 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 331 -- Reed Sorenson is back in the race and scored in 37th position, 113 laps down.

Lap 326 -- David Reutimann and Tony Raines are both a lap down and racing each other hard as they both bump each other the last couple laps.

Lap 316 -- Kyle Busch has opened up a one-second lead on Carl Edwards.

Lap 312 -- David Ragan passes Kurt Busch for 11th.

Lap 304 -- Jamie McMurray started 41st and is up to 10th having a great run.

Lap 300 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is currently the first car one lap down in 17th.

Lap 294 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kevin Harvick

Lap 288 -- All the leaders hit pit road.
• Clint Bowyer with four tires and an air pressure adjustment
• Denny Hamlin with a chassis adjustment and an air pressure adjustment
• Kyle Busch with a wedge and air pressure adjustment
• Carl Edwards with an air pressure adjustment
• Tony Stewart with a slow stop losing three spots

Lap 283 -- Pit road is still closed.

Lap 280 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: Dave Blaney spins in Turn 2 and slams into the interior wall bringing out the caution. Paul Menard gets the free pass and will return to the lead lap.

Lap 270 -- Clint Bowyer passes David Ragan for 11th, and that moves Bowyer into the 12th spot in the points, three points in front of Ragan.

Lap 264 -- Bill Elliott and David Reutimann have gone a lap down.

Lap 254 -- The crash has pushed Kasey Kahne to 14th in points, with David Ragan currently 12th.

Lap 249 -- Quietly, Aric Almirola has run an outstanding race and is scored in eighth.

Lap 241 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. has done his job, after getting black-flagged at the start and falling a lap down, he's running 21st and is the second car a lap down.

Lap 233 -- NASCAR gives a warning to Tony Stewart for aggressive driving after he bumps Jeff Gordon twice.

Lap 231 -- Denny Hamlin bumps Jeff Gordon and passes him for third. Gordon is able to save it and falls to fifth.

Lap 226 -- For the first time tonight Kyle Busch hasn't run away on a restart as Carl Edwards stays on his back bumper.

Lap 222 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Tony Stewart

Lap 221 -- Jeff Burton is officially out of the race and scored in 40th.

Lap 218 -- Pit road is open and all the leaders stay out. Dave Blaney in 11th is the highest-running car to pit.

Lap 216 -- YELLOW FLAG: The cars are being restarted and back under caution.

Lap 216 -- RED FLAG: The track is blocked and the race has been red flagged.

Lap 216 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: Big crash involving Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson, Robby Gordon, Casey Mears, Michael Waltrip and Sam Hornish Jr. brings out the caution. Matt Kenseth will get the free pass and return to the lead lap.

Lap 213 -- Martin Truex Jr. is back on the track scored 100 laps down. Jeff Burton's crew is trying hard to repair the No. 31 to get him back on the track.

Lap 208 -- Carl Edwards passes Ryan Newman for second. A.J. Allmendinger is back on the track 98 laps down.

Lap 206 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch continues to lead and brings the field to the green.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Ryan Newman
3. Carl Edwards
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Denny Hamlin

Lap 203 -- Kurt Busch too fast entering pit road and will start at the tail end of the longest line.

Lap 201 -- All the lead lap cars hit pit road.
• Clint Bowyer with an air pressure adjustment and four tires
• Dave Blaney with a wedge adjustment and four tires
• Jeff Gordon with four tires and an adjustment
• Ryan Newman with a track bar adjustment and they add tape
• Kyle Busch with an air pressure adjustment and four tires

Lap 197 -- Jeff Burton's No. 31 is still on the track causing pit road to remain closed. Burton has left his car and it doesn't appear that he will return to the race due to heavy damage.

Lap 195 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Joe Nemechek, Jeff Burton and Sterling Marlin get together after Marlin bumped the rear of Sam Hornish Jr. causing Marlin to spin bringing out the caution. Kurt Busch gets the free pass and returns to the lead lap.

Lap 194 -- Denny Hamlin is on the move, up to sixth and the highest he has been all race.

Lap 191 -- Ryan Newman is up to second as he passes Carl Edwards.

Lap 188 -- Twenty cars are on the lead lap with Kurt Busch scored in the 20th position.

Lap 183 -- Clint Bowyer up to ninth as he passes Kasey Kahne.

Lap 179 -- Kyle Busch is in the process of putting David Gilliland and Matt Kenseth a lap down.

Lap 175 -- Denny Hamlin is up to seventh, Kevin Harvick is down to eighth.

Lap 168 -- Exciting race for second as Ryan Newman passes Jeff Gordon for third and both drivers battling Carl Edwards for second.

Lap 166 -- Casey Mears is now one lap down leaving just 23 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 160 -- Ken Schrader and Tony Raines are a lap down.

Lap 157 -- Jeff Burton, running eighth, is complaining he has no grip in his racecar.

Lap 156 -- Tony Stewart passes Kasey Kahne for sixth.

Lap 152 -- Jeff Gordon is happy with his car and currently running third.

Lap 144 -- Brian Vickers is now a lap down. Ken Schrader in 26th is the next in line on Kyle Busch's radar.

Lap 140 -- Lap traffic has allowed Jeff Gordon to catch the bumper of Carl Edwards for second.

Lap 138 -- Tony Stewart passes Jeff Burton for seventh.

Lap 135 -- Travis Kvapil is now a lap down. Brian Vickers will be the next to go one-lap down.

Lap 127 -- Eight of the top-10 drivers are currently Chase drivers. Ryan Newman and David Reutimann are the only non-Chase drivers in the top 10.

Lap 124 -- Tony Stewart has worked his way up to eighth. Kyle Busch out front by 1.3 seconds.

Lap 121 -- Elliott Sadler was too fast exiting pit road and is serving a pass-through penalty that will put him eight laps down.

Lap 116 -- Elliott Sadler is on pit road due to a loose seatbelt. He has lost at least six laps.

Lap 113 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. might have a left front tire going down after contact with Clint Bowyer.

Lap 105 -- Elliott Sadler had a horrible stop due to his positioning in his pit box and restarted 29th, the last car on the lead lap.

Lap 103 -- GREEN FLAG: Kyle Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kyle Busch
2. Carl Edwards
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Ryan Newman
5. Kevin Harvick

Lap 98 -- All the lead lap cars hit pit road.
• Regan Smith with four tires and no changes
• Jeff Burton with four tires and a fan under his seat that needs to be turned off
• Jeff Gordon with an air pressure and track bar adjustment
• Kyle Busch with an air pressure adjustment and wins the race off pit road

Lap 97 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: Martin Truex Jr. and A.J. Allmendinger get together and both hit the wall. Travis Kvapil gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap.

Lap 93 -- Tony Stewart started 28th and is currently scored 13th.

Lap 90 -- Ryan Newman is up to fourth. Jeff Burton has moved into ninth.

Lap 84 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is running lap times even with the leaders but his mistake on the start may have cost him the race. He's scored 38th with 31 cars on the lead lap as Michael Waltrip and Bobby Labonte go a lap down.

Lap 81 -- Mike Skinner is now a lap down. Thirty-three cars are on the lead lap.

Lap 75 -- Ryan Newman has moved up to sixth. Kyle Busch leads but Jeff Gordon is closing.

Lap 68 -- Sam Hornish Jr. is now a lap down.

Lap 65 -- Kyle Busch has opened up a 1.7 second lead on Jeff Gordon.

Lap 62 -- After starting 43rd, David Ragan is up to 26th.

Lap 58 -- Jeff Gordon passes Carl Edwards for second.

Lap 55 -- LEAD CHANGE: Carl Edwards and Juan Montoya bump allowing Kyle Busch to pass Edwards for the lead.

Lap 50 -- LEAD CHANGE: Carl Edwards is back out front. This drama with Juan Montoya and the leaders has allowed Kyle Busch to catch Edwards and Jeff Gordon.

Lap 49 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jeff Gordon inched ahead of Carl Edwards at the line to lead a lap and get five bonus points.

Lap 46 -- Juan Montoya is holding up leader Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon is trying to take advantage of it.

Lap 43 -- Kyle Busch is up to fourth and challenging Regan Smith for third. Jeff Gordon has caught the bumper of leader Carl Edwards.

Lap 41 -- Jimmie Johnson is off pit road, back on the track and scored 13 laps down.

Lap 40 -- Jimmie Johnson still on pit road getting his front end repaired.

Lap 37 -- Scott Riggs and Kyle Petty are now a lap down.

Lap 34 -- Jimmie Johnson is back on pit road.

Lap 32 -- Jimmie Johnson is finally off of pit road and scored six laps down.

Lap 27 -- Jimmie Johnson and Sterling Marlin get together and Johnson has a flat tire and some damage on the front. Johnson is on pit road and is multiple laps down as the crew works on the damage.

Lap 26 -- Sterling Marlin and Jimmie Johnson are now a lap down.

Lap 23 -- Kyle Busch passes A.J. Allmendinger for seventh. Joe Nemechek has gone a lap down.

Lap 16 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. better hope for a caution soon, leader Carl Edwards is closing in on the rear of the field and will start lapping cars.

Lap 12 -- Regan Smith passes David Reutimann for third. Kevin Harvick has pulled away from the field in fifth.

Lap 5 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is being black-flagged because he passed before the start-finish line on the start, he is making a pass-through penalty and will go at least one lap down.

Lap 4 -- The top-four of Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, David Reutimann and Regan Smith have distanced themselves from the rest of the field.

Lap 1 -- Carl Edwards gets a great start and leads the first lap.

8:21 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Carl Edwards brings the field to the green and the Sharpie 500 is under way.

8:15 p.m. -- The cars are rolling off pit road and we are a few warmup laps away from 500 laps of Sharpie 500 excitement at Bristol Motor Speedway.

8:12 p.m. -- Sharpie 500 grand marshal Linda Hodgins delivers the command: "Gentlemen, start your engines!"

8:11 p.m. -- The 168,000 fans at Bristol have set the new record for largest wave.

8:07 p.m. -- David Ragan will start the race at the rear of the field due to him going to a backup car after crashing in qualifying.

8:03 p.m. -- Children from the drivers and crews from Motor Racing Outreach sing the national anthem.

8:02 p.m. -- Dr. David Wadsworth delivers the Invocation.

7 p.m. -- ESPN's coverage of the Sharpie 500 is under way.

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