AdvoCare 500

 

DENNY HAMLIN WINS. Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick are the top five.

WHITE FLAG: Denny Hamlin leads, but Jeff Gordon is chasing him. Gordon comes close, but cannot make the pass.

FIRST ATTEMPT AT GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED: Lap 325:  Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. lead the field.

Lap 322: On the restart, it will be Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Paul Menard, Kyle Busch and Regan Smith.

Lap 321: Denny Hamlin wins the race off pit road. He was third heading to pit road.

Lap 321: Leaders pit.

CAUTION 6 - Lap 320: Jamie McMurray crashes.

Lap 319: Jeff Gordon is 2.311 second behind Martin Truex Jr. with just a handful of laps remaining.

Radio chatter on Lap 318: Crew chief Chad Johnston: "Keep backing it up some more for me, buddy. Nothing to lose."

Lap 317: Jeff Gordon is finally cutting into Martin Truex Jr.'s lead. He trails by 2.688 seconds.

Lap 315: Kevin Harvick is up to fourth now.

Lap 314: Martin Truex Jr. is asked to back off even more as he carries a 3.216-second lead over Jeff Gordon. This must be nerve-racking for both the driver and the crew chief now.

Lap 312: Martin Truex Jr. has a 3.491-second lead over Jeff Gordon with 12 laps to go. He's asked to back off a little more.

Radio chatter on Lap 310: Crew chief Chad Johnston: "Give me 300 feet."

Lap 310: Martin Truex Jr. is backing off a little, but still actually gaining time.

Lap 308: Although he is conserving a bit of fuel, Martin Truex Jr. isn't losing any ground to Jeff Gordon. He has a 3.669-second lead.

Radio chatter on Lap 305: Although the team believes it is good on fuel, Martin Truex Jr. is being asked by crew chief Chad Johnston to lift earlier each lap. Truex: "I don't get it" why he's conserving fuel. He points out that it's making him nervous that they are asking him to lift earlier each lap.

Lap 305: Martin Truex Jr. has a 3.416-second edge on Jeff Gordon.

Radio chatter on Lap 302: Martin Truex Jr. is assured he has no pressure coming from another driver. He's asked to ease off the gas 100 feet earlier as he is stretching his fuel mileage.

Lap 300: With 25 laps to go, Martin Truex Jr. is getting the times of his laps, and the edge he has on Jeff Gordon.

Lap 298: Martin Truex Jr. has a 3.124-second lead over Jeff Gordon - and is actually pulling away lap by lap. Denny Hamlin is another second back.

Lap 295: Martin Truex Jr. has a 2.9-plus second lead over Jeff Gordon.

Lap 293: Fourteen cars remain on the lead lap.

Lap 291: Jeff Gordon takes second from Denny Hamlin.

Lap 290: Martin Truex Jr. has a 1.997-second lead over Denny Hamlin. Jeff Gordon is just two-tenths of a second behind Hamlin and is quickly closing the gap.

Lap 289: Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth are battling for fifth. Busch, also in the wild-card battle, doesn't need to give up much ground late here.

Lap 286: Jeff Gordon is up to third. Gordon has a shot to really make up some ground in the wild-card race now.

Lap 284: Martin Truex Jr. has a six-tenths of a second lead over Denny Hamlin. It has been 191 races since Truex last one - and two days since he announced his contract extension with Michael Waltrip Racing.

Lap 282: Fresh tires are starting to give an edge as Brad Keselowski is up to third. Jeff Gordon is fifth. Kevin Harvick hasn't made up ground, though, and is seventh.

Lap 281: NEW LEADER - Martin Truex Jr. moves around Denny Hamlin.

Lap 280: Denny Hamlin has just a tenth of a second lead over Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 279: Jeff Gordon is up to sixth with his fresh tires.

RESTART: Lap 279 - Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. lead the field to green.

Lap 278: From the garage, Carl Edwards laments his luck this year and says it feels as if someone is trying to teach him a lesson.

Lap 277: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Paul Menard, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Regan Smith, Jamie McMurray, Sam Hornish Jr. and Mark Martin will be on the lead lap on the restart.

Lap 274: Kevin Harvick is first off pit road. He'll be fifth - with fresh tires.

Lap 274: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth stay out while most of the leaders, including Kevin Harvick, opt to pit.

Lap 273: Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch are the top five.

Crash recap: Sam Hornish Jr. gets squeezed between Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman. There's contact, Newman hits the wall, Johnson's car turns sideways in front of Newman and the two cars sustain heavy damage.

CAUTION 5 - Lap 271: Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman crash.

Lap 270: The wild-card contenders are not faring well in these late laps, which sets up quite a Chase race at Richmond.

RESTART: Lap 269: Cars are three wide for third. Then they begin to wreck. Jimmie Johnson takes on heavy damage in the incident. Ryan Newman is also involved.

Lap 268: Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green on the restart.

Radio chatter on Lap 267: Denny Hamlin is told he is about four laps short on fuel. It's a message being delivered to several drivers.

Lap 266: Denny Hamlin leads the race off pit road, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.

Lap 266: Leaders pit.

Lap 265: Denny Hamlin leads into the caution.

Radio chatter on Lap 263: Carl Edwards: "We're done." Edwards is told to sit in his stall on pit road as pit road is open, then he can take it to the garage.

CAUTION 4 - Lap 262: Carl Edwards' car is leaking fluid.

Lap 260: Martin Truex Jr. is the only driver within two seconds of leader Denny Hamlin.

Lap 258: Denny Hamlin has a .701 of a second lead over Martin Truex Jr. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.

Radio chatter on Lap 256: Carl Edwards is told that NASCAR reports that he is starting to smoke a little. Carl Edwards says that "we've definitely got something broke in one of the cylinders."

Lap 255: Carl Edwards is well off the pace. He needs to gain ground in the race to make the Chase.

Lap 253: Can Martin Truex Jr. mount a challenge on the leader? He's winless this season - and now just .486 of a second behind Denny Hamlin. Truex is running the fastest laps on the track.

Lap 252: Martin Truex Jr. gets around Kevin Harvick and takes second.

Lap 249: Now it's Denny Hamlin's turn to slip away at the front again. He has a six-tenths of a second lead over Kevin Harvick with 76 laps to go in the race.

Lap 248: Kevin Harvick challenges Denny Hamlin, but Hamlin takes the lead.

RESTART - Lap 248: Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick lead the field to the green.

Lap 245: Denny Hamlin will lead the field back to the green. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Sam Hornish Jr., Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Paul Menard are the lead-lap cars.

Lap 243: Denny Hamlin takes the lead from Kevin Harvick on pit road.

Lap 242: Leaders pit.

CAUTION 3 - Lap 241: Juan Pablo Montoya bounced off the wall.

Radio chatter on Lap 241: Denny Hamlin is told that this set of tires needs to go seven more laps than the last one did.

Lap 240: This lap, Kevin Harvick has the advantage. He pushes lead to half a second.

Lap 239: Kevin Harvick laps Ryan Newman. There are now 12 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 235: Denny Hamlin has almost caught Kevin Harvick now. He trails by two-tenths of a second.

Radio chatter on Lap 234: Greg Biffle: "I don't know if there's oil or not, but it is slick."

Lap 233: Marcos Ambrose is lapped.

Lap 232: Kevin Harvick's lead over Denny Hamlin is holding close to steady now. Hamlin is almost 2.5 seconds back.

Lap 230: Kevin Harvick's lead over Denny Hamlin is now 2.607 seconds.

Lap 226: Kevin Harvick has a 4.164-second lead over Denny Hamlin.

Radio chatter on Lap 223: Denny Hamlin is told he is picking up a second a lap on the leader right now.

Radio chatter on Lap 222: Denny Hamlin seems concerned with the strategy of waiting to pit each time: "I can't make up half a track every run."

Lap 222: Kevin Harvick has an 8.431-second lead over Denny Hamlin.

Lap 222: Kevin Harvick is the leader once more.

Lap 221: Denny Hamlin pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 220: Denny Hamlin is told he will pit this time by.

Lap 219: Denny Hamlin is the leader as he has not pitted.

Radio chatter on Lap 217: Denny Hamlin is told it will be a couple more laps before he pits.

Lap 217: Brad Keselowski, Sam Hornish Jr. pit.

Lap 216: Kevin Harvick is pitting from the lead.

Lap 214: Kevin Harvick has a seven-tenths of a second lead over Denny Hamlin.

Lap 212: As pit stops continue, there are six cars remaining on the lead lap. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is pitting.

Lap 209: Jeff Gordon pits.

Lap 208: Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards among those pitting.

Lap 207: Mark Martin pits.

Lap 206: Marcos Ambrose pits.

Lap 206: Denny Hamlin is now less than three-tenths of a second behind Kevin Harvick.

Lap 205: Greg Biffle pits.

Lap 201: With 124 laps to go, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski are the top five.

Lap 199: Denny Hamlin is holding steady at six-tenths of a second back.

Lap 198: Kevin Harvick's losing his edge now. Denny Hamlin is less than a second back.

Lap 193: Jimmie Johnson, in eighth, is the highest-running driver among the trio already locked into the Chase. Points leader Greg Biffle is 15th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 18th.

Lap 192: There are 17 cars on the lead lap. Notable drivers not on that lead lap: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer.

Lap 190: Kevin Harvick's lead over Denny Hamlin: 2.121 seconds. Kevin Harvick's lead over third-place Martin Truex Jr.: 11.367 seconds.

Lap 188: Denny Hamlin is making up ground on Kevin Harvick now. He has cut the deficit to 2.202 seconds.

Lap 186: Kevin Harvick leads Denny Hamlin.

Lap 185: Clint Bowyer fires his car back up and heads back onto the track.

Lap 182: Clint Bowyer pits and his team is working on the car, changing the battery.

Lap 182: Kevin Harvick's lead is now more than three seconds.

Lap 181: Brad Keselowski is the big mover since the pit stops. He's up to fifth now.

Lap 178: Kevin Harvick held the lead through the pit sequence and has a four-plus second lead over Denny Hamlin. Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch round out the top five. There are 20 cars remaining on the lead lap.

Lap 176: Denny Hamlin pits.

Lap 173: Kevin Harvick pits from the lead. Kyle Busch also pitting.

Lap 172: Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Sam Hornish Jr. among those pitting.

Lap 171: Clint Bowyer pits.

Lap 170: Jeff Burton, Paul Menard, Dale Earnhardt Jr. among those pitting.

Lap 168: Carl Edwards, Bobby Labonte, Marcos Ambrose among those pitting.

Lap 164: Tony Stewart pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 163: Jimmie Johnson is told: "That last lap was good, man, you're catching up to that 17."

Lap 161: Jamie McMurray is also now down a lap. Twenty-one remain on the lead lap as Kevin Harvick is tracking down the field.

Lap 158: The pace is starting to cost drivers again. Tony Stewart has been lapped again and is now 24th, one lap off the pace.

Lap 154: Kevin Harvick's lead is up to almost 2.3 seconds over Denny Hamlin. There are 24 cars still on the lead lap now.

Lap 150: Kevin Harvick's lead is now 1.6 seconds over Denny Hamlin.

Radio chatter on Lap 149: Joey Logano is told that there was an issue with his right front tire and that it looks like he ran over something.

Lap 148: Sam Hornish Jr. is all over Jimmie Johnson for sixth, then slips past him to take the spot.

Lap 147: Joey Logano is on pit road after feeling something in his tire.

Radio chatter on Lap 145: Kyle Busch: "Every time I gain a length, I lose two." Crew chief Dave Rogers: "Keep being patient."

Lap 144: Jeff Gordon is battling Joey Logano for 12th.

Lap 142: Kevin Harvick is trying to ease away from Denny Hamlin, but has only managed a half-second lead at this point. Kyle Busch, meanwhile, has fallen back to sixth.

Lap 140: Kevin Harvick has a .651 of a second lead over Denny Hamlin. Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Sam Hornish Jr., Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards are the top 10.

Lap 137: Kevin Harvick has just a four-tenths of a second edge over Denny Hamlin. Matt Kenseth has moved into third.

Lap 136: It's racy at the front right now as drivers who had been well back in the field try to seize the shot at a top spot. There are now 25 cars on the lead lap after several took the wave around.

Lap 134: Kevin Harvick moves into the lead on the restart.

RESTART - Lap 134: Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch will lead the field. Kevin Harvick has dropped to third, followed by Jimmie Johnson.

Radio chatter on Lap 134: Several drivers being reminded that there is a long way to go, with mixed reaction to that.

Lap 132: Leaders pit.

Radio chatter on Lap 132: Danica Patrick says it's tough for her to get her car down to the line right now.

CAUTION 2 - Lap 131: Debris on backstretch

Lap 127: Denny Hamlin has a 2.462-second lead over Kevin Harvick. Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon round out the top five.

Lap 126: Denny Hamlin holds the lead through the pit stop.

Lap 124: Denny Hamlin gives up the lead to pit.

Lap 123: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon among those pitting.

Lap 121: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson among those pitting.

Lap 120: Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman among those pitting.

Lap 119: Pit stops are beginning. Jeff Burton, Marcos Ambrose, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards are among those pitting.

Lap 117: Kevin Harvick is 2.304 seconds behind Denny Hamlin now.

Lap 116: Denny Hamlin has only 13 other cars on the lead lap with him now as he has passed Paul Menard as well.

Lap 114: Joey Logano is fighting to stay on the lead lap. He is running 16th.

Lap 112: Kevin Harvick continues to make up a little ground. He trails by less than three seconds now.

Lap 110: Kevin Harvick is cutting slightly into Denny Hamlin's lead, but still trails by more than 3.6 seconds.

Lap 108: Denny Hamlin laps wild-card contender Ryan Newman. There are now only 17 cars remaining on the lead lap.

Lap 105: Kevin Harvick gets around Kyle Busch for second. Keep in mind, though, the race is only one-third of the way over.

Lap 104: Denny Hamlin continues to streak away from the field. He has a 3.433-second lead over Kyle Busch and 3.618-second lead over Kevin Harvick. Jimmie Johnson, in fourth, is 14.573 seconds back.

Lap 101: Denny Hamlin has more than a two-second lead over Kyle Busch. Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon round out the top five.

Lap 99: Tony Stewart is running 21st now after starting from the pole position.

Lap 97: How fast is the pace tonight? There are currently only 19 cars remaining on the lead lap with 228 laps to go.

Lap 94: Denny Hamlin now has an eight-tenths of a second lead over Kyle Busch. Kevin Harvick is third, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish Jr.

Lap 91: The Joe Gibbs Racing teammates are racing pretty hard for two guys who know that one of them is essentially locked into the Chase and the other desperately needs this win to get there.

Lap 90: Denny Hamlin takes the lead again.

Lap 89: Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin are battling for the top spot.

Lap 88: Kyle Busch has Denny Hamlin on his bumper. He laps Kasey Kahne, who holds the top wild-card spot by virtue of his two wins.

Lap 86: After pit stops, it's Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Sam Hornish Jr. at the front.

Lap 85: Kyle Busch holds the lead through the pit stops.

Lap 85: Juan Pablo Montoya heads down pit road to serve his penalty.

Lap 83: Juan Pablo Montoya penalized for speeding on pit road.

Lap 82: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Marcos Ambrose, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya among those pitting.

Lap 80: Denny Hamlin is right in Kyle Busch's tracks. He's less than three-tenths of a second behind his teammate now.

Lap 76: Denny Hamlin continues to cut into the deficit on teammate Kyle Busch.

Lap 73: Kyle Busch has a seven-tenths of a second lead over his teammate, Denny Hamlin. Hamlin is certainly closing in.

Radio chatter on Lap 70: Kyle Busch is told that he has a little bit of a buffer. "(Hamlin) moved up to the top and lost a little ground."

Lap 66: Kyle Busch has a 2.4-second lead over teammate Denny Hamlin as the sun sets over the track in Atlanta.

Radio chatter on Lap 63: Kasey Kahne: "I'm really loose in." His team worked on his car extensively during the first stop but he is running 26th.

Lap 61: Tony Stewart, who led eight laps earlier, is 18th.

Lap 60: Kevin Harvick is pressuring Jimmie Johnson for third, taking the spot.

Lap 59: Denny Hamlin has taken back the second spot.

Lap 57: Clint Bowyer is running 12th now after starting at the rear. Carl Edwards is 13th.

Lap 55: Kyle Busch continues to lead Jimmie Johnson. Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle follow.

Lap 53: Kyle Busch continues to edge away from the field.

Lap 51: Kyle Busch continues to set a hot pace. He leads Jimmie Johnson by more than a second and has an edge of more than two seconds over teammate Denny Hamlin, who is third.

Lap 49: Sam Hornish Jr., continuing his role in the No. 22 Penske Racing car, is running seventh.

Lap 48: Jeff Gordon moves to fifth, around Greg Biffle.

Lap 46: Kyle Busch has a seven-tenths of a second lead over second-running Jimmie Johnson now.

Lap 44: Kyle Busch pulls away on the restart, while Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson fight for second.

RESTART:  Lap 43 - Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin will lead the field to the green.

Radio chatter on Lap 41: Crew chief Chad Knaus: "If you're free right now, why don't you go to the bottom?" Jimmie Johnson explains that he was fighting the handling on his car down low. Knaus: Points out the faster drivers are running with a left-side tire below the yellow line.

Lap 41: Kasey Kahne and Marcos Ambrose's team each have lengthy pit stops. Kahne's team is working on his car.

Lap 40: Leaders pit.

Radio chatter on Lap 40: Aric Almirola's team plans for the car to go to the garage. He will wait until after everyone pits, then the car will be pushed to the garage.

CAUTION 1 - Lap 39: Aric Almirola has dropped fluid on the track.

Lap 39: Aric Almirola is blowing smoke and heading to pit road.

Lap 37: Denny Hamlin holds the lead over Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Marcos Ambrose and Jimmie Johnson. Kevin Harvick, who dominated the Nationwide Series race Saturday night before being passed late to finish second, is sixth.

Lap 35: Denny Hamlin takes the lead from teammate Kyle Busch.

Lap 34: Marcos Ambrose has entered the mix. He is up to fourth.

Lap 30: Where are the wild-card contenders running now? Kyle Busch is leading, Jeff Gordon is third, Joey Logano is 12th, Carl Edwards is 15th and Ryan Newman is 20th.

Lap 29: Kyle Busch is pulling away once more. He now leads by more than a second.

Lap 27: Denny Hamlin has cut teammate Kyle Busch's lead to four-tenths of a second.

Lap 25: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart are the top five.

Radio chatter on Lap 24: Jimmie Johnson is told that half the cars on the track are running high in both corners.

Lap 23: Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have Joe Gibbs Racing in control of this race right now as they run 1-2.

Lap 21: The field is starting to stretch out around the track, but there's a group still battling for position in the top 10.

Lap 19: Carl Edwards, another driver trying to get into the wild-card race, is running 17th right now. Of course, it's a long race.

Lap 18: Denny Hamlin has taken third, dropping former race leader Tony Stewart to fourth.

Lap 16: Kyle Busch takes the lead.

Lap 14: Kyle Busch takes second from Tony Stewart. Busch, like Gordon, is battling for a wild-card berth. He has one win this season and currently has a hold on the second wild-card slot.

Lap 13: Once in the lead, drivers seem to initially pull away. Jeff Gordon is doing just that with a 1.2-second lead over Tony Stewart already.

Lap 10: Jeff Gordon leads the field. This race is critical for Gordon as he is trying to battle into the Chase for the Sprint Cup field. Right now, he's fighting for a wild-card spot. A second win would put him in much better position there.

Lap 8: Greg Biffle continues to face challenges for third. Tony Stewart is still leading, but Jeff Gordon is chasing him down.

Radio chatter on Lap 7: Spotters are telling drivers that the high line is really working off Turn 2.

Lap 6: Jeff Gordon continues to move up through the field. He storms past Greg Biffle to take second. Can he catch Tony Stewart?

Lap 4: Now it is Jeff Gordon in the mix. He's alongside Matt Kenseth in a fight for third.

Lap 3: Matt Kenseth is challenging his teammate, Greg Biffle, for second.

Lap 2: Tony Stewart is coming back. He swings to the outside and easily passes Greg Biffle.

Lap 1: Greg Biffle jumps to the front and will lead the first lap.

7:51 p.m. ET: GREEN FLAG!

Now coming to the green ...

Start is waved off for a lap.

Clint Bowyer goes to the rear at the start of the race for making an engine change prior to the race.

One lap to go here at Atlanta ...

Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are all already locked into the Chase. Who else will be after tonight?

Prerace chatter: Crew chief Darian Grubb encourages his team to stay hydrated and wishes Denny Hamlin luck in the race. The two chat and seem confident.

7:44 p.m. ET: Drivers are starting to roll around the track.

Teams are checking to make sure that drivers know where their pit stalls are as they prepare to roll off.

Prerace radio chatter: Crew chief Chad Knaus emphasizes to his Hendrick Motorsports team that this is a long race and that they have plenty of time to work on the car, if needed.

Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle will lead the field to the green flag tonight. Stewart has three Cup wins this season and is 10th in the standings; Biffle has two Cup wins this season and leads the standings.

7:40 p.m. ET: Engines fired!

Miss any of the action this weekend? Catch up with everything from Atlanta here.

Tony Stewart will lead the field to the green flag tonight. Check out the full lineup here. Stewart has even more incentive to run well tonight. First, he's in 10th, the final locked-in positions once the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins in two races. Second, he's seeking a new primary sponsor for 2013 as Office Depot will be leaving its role as co-primary sponsor at the end of the year.

Welcome to the FOXSports.com coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The race is scheduled to start shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET.