Pepsi 500

11 October, 2009, 7:26 PM ET

CHECKERED FLAG - JIMMIE JOHNSON WINS!

WHITE FLAG - Lap 249: Montoya up to second.

Lap 248: Johnson opens up a lead up front.

GREEN FLAG - Lap 247: Johnson leads with three laps remaining!

Lap 245: Jimmie Johnson leads, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya and David Ragan round out the top five. Tony Stewart, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards are the rest of the top 10.

RED FLAG RESCINDED - 7:19 p.m. ET.

Radio chatter during red flag: Earl Barban, Jimmie Johnson's spotter: "Are you thinking about a big shiny trophy?" Johnson: "Not yet."

RED FLAG - 6:57 p.m. ET.

Caution 8 - Lap 244: Big crash going into Turn 1. Elliott Sadler got into Dale Earnhardt Jr. to trigger the big accident. Others who get damage include Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, AJ Allmendinger, Reed Sorenson, Jeff Burton and Brian Vickers.

Lap 244: Jimmie Johnson grabs the lead! They are three- and four-wide behind him

GREEN FLAG - Lap 243: Jeff Gordon restarts as the leader. Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman round out the top five. Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, David Ragan, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart complete the top 10.

CAUTION 7 - Lap 239: Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne take a spin through the infield grass

Lap 239: Jeff Gordon grabs the lead!

GREEN FLAG - Lap 238: Jimmie Johnson leads, teammate Jeff Gordon is alongside.

Lap 237: Several cars pit, but none of the leaders.

Caution 6 - Lap 234: Debris on the backstretch.

Lap 234: Tony Stewart pits, Johnson the leader again.

Lap 227: Kurt Busch pits from the lead.

Lap 227: Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya in the pits.

Lap 227: Jeff Gordon pits from third. Others coming with him

Lap 224: Jeff Gordon gets alongside Montoya for 2nd.

Lap 221: Denny Hamlin goes back to the garage for good.

Lap 214: Denny Hamlin back out on the track, 24 laps down.

Lap 209: Montoya: "Sideways on the gas, getting loose getting into (Turn 3) as well."

Lap 207: Marcos Ambrose breaks into the top 10.

Lap 195: Jimmie Johnson went high in Turn 4 and just blazed past Montoya to grab the lead.

Green Flag - Lap 194: Montoya leads, Jimmie Johnson is second

Lap 193: More Denny Hamlin - "I thought I wasa clear and misjudged it. I got to apologize to the team. They deserve better than that. They got me out front. It was a bad mistake."

Lap 193: Denny Hamlin - "I made a rookie mistake."

Lap 192: Several cars pit, but none of the leaders.

Lap 192: "I don't blame it on anyone. He just came down and that was it," Montoya said.

Lap 189: Denny Hamlin goes straight into the garage.

Lap 189: Juan Pablo Montoya - "What the heck was the about? He just turned left."

CAUTION 5 - Lap 189: Juan Pablo Montoya gets into the back of Denny Hamlin and spins him out of the lead! Hamlin hits the inside wall and gets big damage. Hamlin went into Montoya's race line abruptly before the incident.

GREEN FLAG - Lap 189: Denny Hamlin leads the field to the green. Juan Pablo Montoya, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick round out the top five.

Lap 186: Race leaders are in for service. Montoya beats Johnson out of the pits! Hamlin comes wins the race out of the pits! Hamlin is using that first pit stall for being the polesitter as a big advantage - goes to show you qualifying really does matter.

Caution 4 - Lap 184: Debris. Just in time to bunch up the field, Johnson was on rails up front.

Lap 178: Johnson's leaad over second-place Montoya is up to 7.338 seconds.

Lap 173: Jeff Gordon really unhappy with the set of tires on his car. Dropped to fourth behind teammate and championship leader Mark Martin.

Lap 165: Oh no! Tony Stewart gets a pass-through penalty for too fast exiting pit road after his pit stop.

Lap 163: Tony Stewart pits, and Jimmie Johnson is back out front now.

Lap 162: Jeff Gordon pits, Tony Stewart is now the leader.

Lap 161: Deluge of cars coming in now - including Juan Pablo Montoya. Jeff Gordon leads for the first time today.

Lap 160: Race leader Jimmie Johnson is in, so is Greg Biffle. Montoya reclaims lead.

Lap 159: Reed Sorenson, David Gilliland (in Kyle Busch's car) pit next.

Lap 158: Joey Logano is first driver to pit, more coming soon.

Lap 152: Teams getting ready for pit stops within the next few laps.

Lap 139: Johnson has a huge lead up front, but now it is Juan Pablo Montoya's turn to chase him as he passes Denny Hamlin for second.

HALFWAY - Lap 125: Jimmie Johnson takes the lead!

Lap 122: Seven of the top eight racers are Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers. The only one who isn?t? Seventh-place Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 122: Denny Hamlin keeps the lead, but he got a big challenge from Jeff Gordon, who actually led a portion of the last lap.

Lap 121: Denny Hamlin restarts as the race leader. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle and Juan Pablo Montoya round out the top five. Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch round out the top 10.

Lap 119: Matt Kenseth got a penalty for being too fast on pit road during the last stop. Must serve a stop and go penalty.

Lap 118: Leaders pit. Denny Hamlin wins the race off of pit road! No strategy there, just plain good hard working four-tire pit stop for the No. 11 crew.

Lap 117: Before the caution came out, Montoya asked his spotter to check other drivers' lines on the track.

Caution 3 - Lap 117: Debris.

Lap 115: Jimmie Johnson reclaims the lead!

Lap 114: Dale Earnhardt Jr. up to eighth and catching up to Kurt Busch.

Lap 112: Jimmie Johnson is on Juan Pablo Montoya's bumper now. Wants the lead back.

Lap 108: Dale Earnhardt Jr. putting pressure on eighth-place Greg Biffle right now.

Lap 107: Robby Gordon goes back into the garage.

Lap 101: Montoya - "That wedge wasnt a good thing."

Lap 99: Jamie McMurray coming back out after spending time in the garage.

Lap 97: Montoya has a 2.6 second lead over Johnson. "All we're doing is racing the 48 out the back," his spotter says.

Lap 94: Jimmie Johnson uses the high line in Turn 2 to get past Denny Hamlin and take over second place.

Lap 92: Three-time Fontana winners update - Jimmie Johnson (third), Jeff Gordon (fifth), Matt Kenseth (21st).

Lap 90: Juan Pablo Montoya is fast when he's up front! He already has a 1.055 second lead.

Lap 88: For the most part drivers are staying single file, although some will pull out occassionally.

Lap 87: Montoya storms past his teammate Truex and takes the lead.

Green Flag - Lap 86: Martin Truex Jr. restarts as the leader. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Pablo Montoya is second, followed by Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.

Lap 82: Leaders pit. Juan Pablo Montoya and Mark Martin race out of the pits. But it is Martin Truex Jr. who leads coming out of the pits - two tires only on the No. 1 car

Caution 2 - Lap 81: Debris in Turns 1 and 2 from a flat tire on Ryan Newman's car.

Lap 79: Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes over 10th. All four Hendrick cars are in the top 10 now.

Lap 73: Montoya's spotter Tab Boyd: Killer exit, clear by six already.

Lap 73: Montoya's crew chief Brian Pattie: Pace yourself.

Lap 73: Montoya takes the lead from Mark Martin.

Lap 71: Montoya gets past Hamlin and is now second.

Lap 70: Mark Martin opens up a bit of a lead up front.

Lap 68: Mark Martin goes to the outside of Denny Hamlin in Turn 3 and manages to grab the lead - but Hamlin is sticking with him.

Lap 67: Kevin Harvick shuffled from second to fourth as Mark Martin and Montoya pass him.

Lap 66: Juan Pablo Montoya is complaining that his car is really tight - and that's why he dropped to fourth shortly after restarting as the leader.

Lap 65: New Race Leader - Denny Hamlin.

GREEN FLAG Lap 64: Juan Pablo Montoya leads the field to the green flag. Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin round out the top five.

Lee Spencer says on Lap 63: Shoutout to David Reutimann, who had to start at the back of the pack and is currently up to 25th

Lap 62: Kyle Busch pits this time by, driver change is complete and now David Gilliland is driving the No. 18 M&M's Toyota.

Lap 61: Leaders pit. Juan Pablo Montoya keeps the lead. Jimmie Johnson loses six spots! Johnson had a lugnut issue -- surprising from that bunch, usually one of the best in the garage.

Lap 60: With the sun peaking out for the first time all day, expect some teams to make big changes during this stop.

Caution 1 - Lap 59: Problem with Jamie McMurray - hits the wall in Turn 2. David Gilliland is readying to get in Kyle Busch's car during the upcoming pit stop.

Lap 57: Don't look now, but three-time Fontana race winner Jeff Gordon is up to fourth.

Lap 52: Don't be surprised if Juan Pablo Montoya runs away with this thing today. This is the same car he used to dominate at Indianapolis Motor Speedway - until an ill-fated pit road speeding penalty late in the race cost him a win

Lee Spencer says on Lap 46: At California, the lap times diminish by 2.5 seconds over 35 laps ... fresh tires will make a difference

Lap 45: An update about the pit stops, Kyle Busch did not make the driver change during the last stop. The team will switch drivers during a yellow flag stop.

Lap 44: Juan Pablo Montoya takes back the lead - but Jimmie Johnson isn't going quietly this time.

Lap 42: Pit sequence is complete, Jimmie Johnson reclaims the lead.

Lap 41: Race leader Kurt Busch pits.

Lap 40: Race leader Juan Pablo Montoya is in. Kurt Busch takes the lead. Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart also in.

Lap 39: Championship leader Mark Martin is among those who pit. Also, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon are in..

Lap 38: Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne among the teams pitting right now.

Lap 37: Teams have started pitting.

Lap 36: Montoya's lead up front is up to 1.929 seconds over Jimmie Johnson.

Lap 30: Joe Nemecheck parks it.

Lap 26: Dave Blaney, Michael McDowell in the garage. McDowell tweeted yesterday he would start and park, so this is no surprise.

Lap 25: New Race Leader - Juan Pablo Montoya.

Lap 16: Juan Pablo Montoya is up to second. He's roaring to the front.

Lap 14: Mike Bliss, David Gilliland in the garage. As a reminder, Gilliland is going to be Kyle Busch's relief driver and the change is expected during the first pit stop.

Lap 10: New race leader - Jimmie Johnson

Lap 10: Johnson now on race leader Denny Hamlin's tail. Johnson is fast!

Lap 3: Johnson takes over second.

Lap 2: Greg Biffle regains second from Johnson.

Lap 1: Jimmie Johnson takes over second place.

GREEN FLAG! Denny Hamlin leads the field to the green for the first time this season.

All the cars have rolled off without problems.

ENGINES FIRED!

ALERT: Kyle Busch will start today's Pepsi 500, but he will get out of the car early in the race. David Gilliland will drive in relief. Busch is battling flu-like symptoms, strep throat, bronchitis and a sinus infection.

Who are the favorites for today's race? Lee Spencer has her 10 to watch.

Welcome to FOXSports.com's coverage of the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The green flag is set to wave at 3:15 p.m. ET today.