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CHECKERED FLAG: Jimmie Johnson wins his seventh race of the season as he wins the Checker O'Reilly 500. Big crash involving 10 cars ends the race. Carl Edwards finished fourth meaning Johnson has to finish 36th or better at Homestead to lock up his third consecutive title.
Lap 312 -- WHITE FLAG: Jimmie Johnson takes the white flag as the top five remains the same.
Lap 311 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson brings the field to the green for the first time without lap-down cars in the way.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kurt Busch
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Carl Edwards
5. Denny Hamlin
Lap 305 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 10: Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth get around bringing out the caution. Robby Gordon and A.J. Allmendinger also involved.
Lap 304 -- Jimmie Johnson leads by more than a second and is in cruise control for the victory.
Lap 299 -- Jimmie Johnson leads by 0.8 seconds. Denny Hamlin is battling Dale Earnhardt Jr. for fifth.
Lap 297 -- Jimmie Johnson has a great restart and jumps out to the lead.
Lap 296 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson brings the field to the green.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kurt Busch
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Carl Edwards
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 293 -- A.J. Allmendinger in 11th is the first car to pit. Clint Bowyer also pits. As the caution flag came out, Tony Stewart gave Greg Biffle a nudge to express some displeasure.
Lap 292 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 9: Debris on the track brings out the caution. Mark Martin will get the free pass.
Lap 291 -- Jimmie Johnson already has a 0.6-second lead on Kurt Busch while Carl Edwards still has Mark Martin as a lap-down car to deal with.
Lap 288 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson brings the field to the green.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kurt Busch
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Carl Edwards
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 285 -- Greg Biffle in ninth is the first car to come in. Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer also pit.
Lap 284 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: Reed Sorenson has a tire go down and he slams into the wall after contact with Kyle Busch. Matt Kenseth gets the free pass.
Lap 282 -- Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick go three-wide for seventh.
Lap 280 -- Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch have pulled away from the field.
Lap 278 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson brings the field to the green.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kurt Busch
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Carl Edwards
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7:28 p.m. ET -- ABC has moved its coverage to ESPN2.
Lap 275 -- Kyle Busch in ninth is the highest car to pit. Jeff Burton also pits.
Lap 273 -- YELLOW FLAG: The cars are back rolling ending the second red flag of the day after 19 minutes.
7:17 p.m. -- For those in the Eastern and Central Time Zones, at 7:30 p.m. ET you will need to move to ESPN2 to watch the remainder of the race.
Lap 273 -- RED FLAG: The red is out to allow safety vehicles on the track.
Lap 273 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: Juan Montoya bumps Casey Mears causing him to spin and collecting a bunch of cars behind him. David Gilliland's car is resting on top of Scott Speed's. Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Petty, Michael Waltrip and Scott Riggs also involved.
Lap 271 -- Carl Edwards has cleared all the lap traffic and has just Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray between him and Jimmie Johnson.
Lap 269 -- Jeff Gordon's car is smoking heavily and his day is done as he takes the car to the garage.
Lap 267 -- Casey Mears gets loose and slides up the track but makes a great save and keeps it off the wall.
Lap 266 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson brings the field to the green.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kurt Busch
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Carl Edwards
5. Kevin Harvick
Lap 264 -- Carl Edwards has a great stop making up three spots after taking four tires. Edwards will restart fourth.
Lap 263 -- All the leaders hit pit road.
Kurt Busch with an air pressure and track bar adjustment
Carl Edwards with a track bar adjustment and four tires
Jimmie Johnson with a wedge adjustment and they win the race off pit road
Lap 261 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Debris in Turn 3 brings out the caution. Johnny Sauter will get the free pass and get back on the lead lap.
Lap 259 -- After seven laps of hard, side-by-side racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. passes Jamie McMurray for third.
Lap 252 -- Jamie McMurray continues to slide back as Dale Earnhardt Jr. has caught him and is challenging for third.
Lap 250 -- The way they run now, Jimmie Johnson has a 155-point lead on Carl Edwards.
Lap 247 -- Kurt Busch completes the pass of Jamie McMurray and moves into second.
Lap 246 -- Kurt Busch has caught Jamie McMurray and is challenging for second.
Lap 242 -- Carl Edwards continues to run in seventh, 0.7 seconds behind sixth-place Denny Hamlin.
Lap 237 -- Jimmie Johnson has locked up another five bonus points for leading the most laps today.
Lap 236 -- Jimmie Johnson has opened up a one-second lead on Jamie McMurray.
Lap 230 -- The top-five have cleared all the lap traffic. Carl Edwards is in seventh and still has two lap-down cars to get around.
Lap 227 -- With 85 laps to go, the only driver who can lead more laps than Jimmie Johnson is Kurt Busch, who led 60 earlier today.
Lap 225 -- Jimmie Johnson has some debris on his grill and no one in front of him to help get it off.
Lap 219 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jimmie Johnson has a great start and passes Jamie McMurray for the lead.
Lap 218 -- GREEN FLAG: Jamie McMurray brings the field to the green.
1. Jamie McMurray
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kurt Busch
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Casey Mears
Lap 212 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jamie McMurray wins the race off pit road and takes the lead.
Lap 211 -- All the leaders hit pit road.
Jimmie Johnson with four tires and they add tape
Carl Edwards with four tires and a track bar adjustment
Lap 210 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Debris in Turn 4 brings out the caution. Kasey Kahne gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap.
Lap 209 -- Carl Edwards has caught Kevin Harvick and passes him for seventh.
Lap 205 -- Carl Edwards has some debris on the front grill and he will need to try and get that taken off.
Lap 197 -- Denny Hamlin is closing in on Casey Mears for fifth.
Lap 195 -- Jimmie Johnson puts Jeff Gordon a lap down.
Lap 192 -- Jeff Gordon has fallen all the way down to 18th.
Lap 189 -- As they run right now, Jimmie Johnson has a 159-point lead on Carl Edwards.
Lap 185 -- Jamie McMurray has caught Dale Earnhardt Jr. and passed him for second.
Lap 179 -- Greg Biffle is challenging Kyle Busch for ninth.
Lap 174 -- Jeff Gordon is staying out trying to ride out the power issue but odds are his engine will expire before this race is over.
Lap 170 -- Jeff Gordon has fallen all the way to eighth and continues to fall back as he is struggling with power in the engine.
Lap 169 -- Jimmie Johnson is on his way to five more bonus points for leading the most laps. He has led 80 of the 169 laps run.
Lap 165 -- Jimmie Johnson has a 3.1-second lead on Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 163 -- Jamie McMurray passes Jeff Gordon for third.
Lap 161 -- Kasey Kahne gets into the wall as he tries to pass lap-down David Reutimann. Kahne saves it but bumps teammate A.J. Allmendinger.
Lap 158 -- A.J. Allmendinger gets loose as he races three-wide with Greg Biffle and Regan Smith.
Lap 154 -- All four Hendrick cars are currently running in the top six. Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon run 1-2-3 with Casey Mears sixth.
Lap 151 -- Kyle Busch passes Carl Edwards for ninth.
Lap 149 -- Jimmie Johnson has a great restart and pulls away from Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 148 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson brings the field to the green.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Jamie McMurray
5. Kurt Busch
Lap 141 -- All 19 lead-lap cars hit pit road.
Jeff Gordon with a track bar adjustment and four tires
Kurt Busch with an air pressure and track bar adjustment
Jamie McMurray with a chassis adjustment and four tires
Jimmie Johnson with a wedge and air pressure adjustment
Lap 140 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: Debris in Turn 2 brings out the caution. Juan Montoya gets the free pass.
Lap 138 -- There are 19 cars on the lead lap. David Ragan is the last car on the lead lap and Juan Montoya is the first car one lap down.
Lap 134 -- There's not a lot of racing on the track right now as the cars are spread out all around the mile track and for the most part running single file.
Lap 125 -- Jimmie Johnson has a 2.3-second lead on Jamie McMurray. Carl Edwards is up to ninth.
Lap 123 -- Jeff Gordon is reporting some power issues with the engine.
Lap 118 -- Jimmie Johnson puts Clint Bowyer a lap down. Ryan Newman is back in the race.
Lap 115 -- Carl Edwards is running 10th following green-flag stops.
Lap 113 -- The top five following green-flag stops:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Jamie McMurray
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Kurt Busch
Lap 111 -- Matt Kenseth is on pit road. Ryan Newman has taken his car to the garage.
Lap 110 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jimmie Johnson back out front after passing Greg Biffle on pit road.
Lap 109 -- Greg Biffle hits pit road for his green flag stop.
Lap 106 -- Travis Kvapil gives up second-place to make his pit stop.
Lap 102 -- LEAD CHANGE: Greg Biffle takes the lead as Kurt Busch hits pit road. Carl Edwards also on pit road. Mark Martin getting black-flagged for a lugnut issue.
Lap 101 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kurt Busch takes the lead as Jimmie Johnson makes his stop. Johnson with four tires and adjustments. Jeff Gordon makes his stop with four tires and major adjustments. Jamie McMurray with an air pressure and chassis adjustment.
Lap 100 -- Mark Martin on pit road for four tires and an air pressure adjustment.
Lap 99 -- Denny Hamlin and David Gilliland on pit road. Hamlin with a track-bar adjustment and four tires.
Lap 98 -- Jimmie Johnson has put Bill Elliott and Matt Kenseth a lap down.
Lap 95 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. passes Kurt Busch for third.
Lap 94 -- Jimmie Johnson currently has a 169-point lead in the point standings with green-flag stops coming shortly.
Lap 92 -- Greg Biffle has worked his way up to 15th.
Lap 89 -- Carl Edwards is up to 12th after passing Tony Stewart.
Lap 85 -- Sterling Marlin and Scott Speed are a lap down with Ryan Newman two laps down.
Lap 83 -- Jamie McMurray is side-by-side with Kurt Busch for second. Jimmie Johnson has caught the tail end of the field.
Lap 81 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jimmie Johnson completes the pass of Kurt Busch in Turn 3 and takes the lead for the first time today collecting five bonus points.
Lap 78 -- Jimmie Johnson has caught Kurt Busch and is challenging for the lead.
Lap 74 -- Ryan Newman will have to serve a pass-through penalty for leaving before the tires were out of the way.
Lap 72 -- Ryan Newman had a tire go down and he had to go to pit road losing the sixth position.
Lap 69 -- Kurt Busch leads by 0.8 seconds on Jimmie Johnson.
Lap 63 -- Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon are three-wide for fifth.
Lap 59 -- Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray have pulled away by two seconds on the rest of the field.
Lap 57 -- Juan Montoya passes Carl Edwards for 14th and Kevin Harvick is inside of Edwards for 15th.
Lap 56 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes it three-wide and passes Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin to move into third.
Lap 53 -- Denny Hamlin passes Dale Earnhardt Jr. for fifth. Kurt Busch leads by 0.7 seconds.
Lap 52 -- Jamie McMurray goes to the outside and passes Ryan Newman for third.
Lap 50 -- Jeff Gordon and Reed Sorenson are side-by-side for eighth.
Lap 48 -- Kyle Busch uses the high line to pass Reed Sorenson for seventh.
Lap 47 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Ryan Newman
4. Jamie McMurray
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 46 -- Matt Kenseth and Scott Speed stop to top off on fuel.
Lap 44 -- Pit road is closed but David Reutimann and Matt Kenseth come in anyway.
Lap 43 -- YELLOW FLAG: The caution is being displayed and the race is back under way. The red flag lasted for 26 minutes.
4:58 p.m. -- The engines have been fired up and the cars are rolling back on the track.
4:52 p.m. -- The drivers have been called to their cars and the race will get under way shortly.
4:38 p.m. -- Matt Kenseth has a flat tire as his car sits on pit road.
Lap 43 -- RED FLAG: The rain is increasing and the cars are on pit road due to the rain.
Lap 40 -- As they run right now, Jimmie Johnson has a 158-point lead on Carl Edwards.
Lap 38 -- Elliott Sadler and Sterling Marlin the only drivers to pit.
Lap 37 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: Rain is falling on the backstretch bringing the caution back out. No free pass is given.
Lap 36 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Ryan Newman
4. Jamie McMurray
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 35 -- Martin Truex Jr. says there was a clear bag on the nose of the car that drove the water temperature up causing his overheating problems and ending his day.
Lap 31 -- Greg Biffle, Scott Riggs and Travis Kvapil among the handful of cars to pit.
Lap 30 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Brian Vickers hard into the wall in Turn 3 after his right rear tire came apart. Elliott Sadler gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap. Martin Truex Jr. has taken his car to the garage.
Lap 29 -- Jimmie Johnson passes Ryan Newman for second.
Lap 28 -- Martin Truex Jr. back on pit road with overheating issues.
Lap 26 -- Jamie McMurray up to fifth and Denny Hamlin to sixth as both pass Reed Sorenson.
Lap 25 -- Jimmie Johnson passes Reed Sorenson for third. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also gets around Sorenson for fourth.
Lap 24 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch brings the field to the green.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Ryan Newman
3. Reed Sorenson
4. Mark Martin
5. Jimmie Johnson
Lap 23 -- LEAD CHANGE: Scott Speed pits giving the lead to Kurt Busch who won the race off pit road with a two-tire stop. Martin Truex Jr. on pit road with overheating issues.
Lap 21 -- LEAD CHANGE: Scott Speed stays out and collects five bonus points.
Jeff Gordon with four tires and adjustments
Kurt Busch with a track bar adjustment and two tires
Jamie McMurray with a chassis adjustment and four tires
Jimmie Johnson with a track bar adjustment and four tires
Lap 19 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: Sam Hornish Jr. gets loose and spins collecting Elliott Sadler. No free pass is given as no one is a lap down.
Lap 17 -- Greg Biffle is up to 38th after starting at the rear of the field.
Lap 15 -- Kevin Harvick scrapes the wall hard but his car appears to be fine.
Lap 14 -- Jamie McMurray now leads Jimmie Johnson by one second.
Lap 10 -- Carl Edwards has only gained one spot so far, up to 14th.
Lap 9 -- David Reutimann gets out of the groove and falls to eighth. Jamie McMurray leads by 0.7 seconds.
Lap 6 -- Jeff Gordon and David Reutimann both pass Ryan Newman for fifth and sixth.
Lap 5 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. passes Ryan Newman for fourth and skims the wall in Turn 2.
Lap 3 -- Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch have pulled away from the field.
Lap 1 -- LEAD CHANGE: Jamie McMurray leads the first lap collecting five bonus points.
4:01 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson brings the field to the green and the Checker O'Reilly 500 is under way.
3:56 p.m. -- The cars are rolling off pit road.
3:53 p.m. -- Area manager for Brakemaster, Huy Nguyen, gives the command: "Drivers, start your engines!"
3:47 p.m. -- Kevin Martin, lead singer of the rock group Candlebox, performs the national anthem.
3:46 p.m. -- PIR chaplain Ken Bowers delivers the Invocation.
3:45 p.m. -- PIR holds a moment of silence to remember our veterans.
3:30 p.m. -- Greg Biffle will start at the tail end of the field due to a transmission change.
3 p.m. ET -- ABC's coverage of the Checker O'Reilly 500 from Phoenix International Raceway is under way.
PHOENIX HEADLINES
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Phoenix brings renewed confidence for Johnson
Automaker's economic woes continue downward
Twenty years later at PIR the memories keep coming
Johnson puts pressure on with first Phoenix pole
Hendrick trio set the mark among the Chase drivers
Despite struggles, Hornish has no plans of leaving
| POPULAR ALERTS | ||||
|
| Pos. | Driver | Make |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet |
| 2. | Kurt Busch | Dodge |
| 3. | Jamie McMurray | Ford |
| 4. | Carl Edwards | Ford |
| 5. | Denny Hamlin | Toyota |
| 6. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet |
| 7. | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet |
| 8. | Kyle Busch | Toyota |
| 9. | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet |
| 10. | David Ragan | Ford |
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Jimmie Johnson | 6561 | Leader |
| 2. | -- | Carl Edwards | 6420 | -141 |
| 3. | -- | Greg Biffle | 6358 | -203 |
| 4. | -- | Jeff Burton | 6292 | -269 |
| 5. | +2 | Kevin Harvick | 6233 | -328 |
| 6. | -- | Clint Bowyer | 6226 | -335 |
| 7. | -2 | Jeff Gordon | 6151 | -410 |
| 8. | -- | Matt Kenseth | 6091 | -470 |
| 9. | +3 | Denny Hamlin | 6090 | -471 |
| 10. | +1 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 6087 | -474 |
| 11. | -1 | Kyle Busch | 6080 | -481 |
| 12. | -3 | Tony Stewart | 6059 | -502 |
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