Bank of America 500

 

Clint Bowyer wins!

Radio chatter on Lap 333: Spotter Brett Griffin to Clint Bowyer: "You got to get off the exit of these corners."

White flag: Clint Bowyer continues to hold the lead over Denny Hamlin.

Lap 330: Clint Bowyer is holding his own at the front.

Lap 328: Clint Bowyer's lead is now .982 of a second over Denny Hamlin.

Radio chatter on Lap 327: Crew chief Darian Grubb: "He pitted two laps ahead of us, so he's nervous."

Lap 323: Clint Bowyer has a 1.255-second lead over Denny Hamlin. Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin are all on the lead lap. Brad Keselowski, who has led the most laps in this race, is 11th.

Lap 320: Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson have not pitted. Hamlin is 1.570 seconds behind Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson is 4.389 seconds back. Greg Biffle, in fourth, is 27.5 seconds off the pace after pitting.

Lap 319: Ryan Newman, Joey Logano pit. Kyle Busch is back on the lead lap.

Lap 318: Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Greg Biffle are the leaders.

Lap 316: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth pit.

Lap 315: Tony Stewart pits for two tires.

Lap 314: Aric Almirola pits.

Lap 313: Greg Biffle passes leader Clint Bowyer to get back onto the lead lap.

Lap 312: Cal Edwards, Bobby Labonte, Paul Menard pit. Edwards clipped his tire carrier coming out of his stall.

Lap 311: Brad Keselowski pits, takes two tires.

Lap 310: Clint Bowyer is in the lead.

Lap 310: Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne pit.

Lap 309: Kyle Busch, Mark Martin pit.

Radio chatter on Lap 308: Brad Keselowski: "If we can't make it, do you want to short pit?"

Lap 307: Jimmie Johnson has slowed down significantly in an effort to conserve fuel. He is running eighth.

Lap 306: Greg Biffle's lead is 1.373 seconds over Kyle Busch.

Lap 305: Marcos Ambrose pits.

Lap 304: Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards are the top five.

Radio chatter on Lap 303: Brad Keselowski is looking for debris.

Radio chatter on Lap 302: Crew chief Kenny Francis: "We're going to pit with 20 to go."

Radio chatter on Lap 299: Crew chief Darian Grubb to Denny Hamlin: "Keep saving here."

Radio chatter on Lap 293: Kasey Kahne: "Put the track bar down, it’s the only thing that (expletive) helps." Crew chief Kenny Francis: "I put it down once tonight." Kahne: "It’s the only time you’ve given me any rear grip too." Francis: "You’re P6 now, hang in there."

Lap 292: Now only one of the top four drivers is one in the Chase - leader Greg Biffle. Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Carl Edwards follow.

Lap 289: Greg Biffle's lead is up to almost a second now.

Lap 285: Greg Biffle has a half-second lead over Kyle Busch.

Radio chatter on Lap 283: Crew chief Paul Wolfe: "We're going to need a little help ... Darian Grubb was telling Hamlin to turn off the ignition when he pit ... then turn it on before he left."

Lap 281: Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson are the top 10. Brad Keselowski is 14th.

Lap 280: Greg Biffle has the lead after the pit sequence.

Lap 279: Denny Hamlin gives up the lead to pit.

Lap 279: Jimmie Johnson is shaking his car as he heads down pit road.

Radio chatter on Lap 278: Brad Keselowski on Lap 278: "Paul, can we make it now?"

Lap 278: Clint Bowyer pits.

Lap 276: Brad Keselowski is out of fuel. Keselowski will coast to his pit stall.

Radio chatter on Lap 275: Brad Keselowski: "Just ran out."

Lap 275: Matt Kenseth pits.

Lap 274: Ryan Newman, Paul Menard pit. 

Lap 273: Kevin Harvick pits.

Lap 272: Carl Edwards, Bobby Labonte pit.

Lap 269: AJ Allmendinger pits again to serve a pass-through after a pit-road speeding penalty. Jeff Gordon pits.

Lap 268: Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne are among those pitting.

Lap 267: Greg Biffle pits.

Lap 265: Tony Stewart, AJ Allmendinger pit.

Lap 264: Sam Hornish Jr., Kurt Busch, Mark Martin and Marcos Ambrose pit.

Lap 263: Carl Edwards passes Kyle Busch for second.

Lap 262: Brad Keselowski is still setting a fast pace. He has a 1.206-second lead over Kyle Busch and now has only 15 cars on the lead lap.

Radio chatter on Lap 259: Paul Wolfe: "Nobody can make it without saving…" Keselowski:  "How many laps do we need to save?" Wolfe: "Three to five."

Lap 259: Martin Truex Jr. pits.

Lap 258: Denny Hamlin passes Mark Martin for sixth.

Lap 255: Brad Keselowski has pulled back away from Kyle Busch. Keselowski has a 1.133-second lead.

Radio chatter on Lap 252: Kyle Busch: "Snug in, free off, not bad on either number…" He continues to run second to Brad Keselowski.

Lap 248: Jeff Gordon has moved into the spot of being the first car one lap down, which means that he will get the free pass if the caution comes out.

Lap 245: Brad Keselowski's lead is now eight-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch.

Radio chatter on Lap 243: Crew chief Chad Knaus: "All the guys ahead of us are going to be short on fuel."

Lap 240: There are still just 16 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 239: How tight is the Chase race? Nine of the top 12 spots belong to the Chase contenders.

Lap 237: Brad Keselowski has a 1.498-second lead over Kyle Busch.

Lap 233: Now there are only two Chase drivers in the top five. Brad Keselowski has the lead, with Greg Biffle in fourth. Kyle Busch is second, Carl Edwards third and Mark Martin fifth.

Lap 229: Jeff Gordon is last among the Chase drives on the track, running 19th.

Lap 227: RESTART - Brad Keselowski pulls ahead from the inside. Greg Biffle gets alongside Kyle Busch for a battle for second.

Radio chatter on Lap 226: Crew chief Darian Grubb to Denny Hamlin: "We're still going to be three laps short of a one-stop deal."

Lap 226: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch will lead on the restart. Denny Hamlin is 10th, Jimmie Johnson is 11th on the restart.

Radio chatter on Lap 225: Kasey Kahne: "That was the greatest caution ever, we needed it." The team added a half a spring rubber in the right rear.

Lap 224: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards are the top five.

Lap 224: Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Sam Hornish Jr. and Kasey Kahne among those pitting to top off. Harvick and Kahne also take tires.

Lap 223: Ryan Newman was on pit road as the caution came out.

CAUTION 5: Lap 223: Debris

Lap 222: Paul Menard, Bobby Labonte and Gordon all received speeding penalties.

Lap 221: Clint Bowyer pits from the lead.

Lap 220: Leader Brad Keselowski pits. Jeff Gordon serves a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road.

Lap 219: Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin pit.

Lap 218: Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon and Trevor Bayne among those pitting.

Lap 217: Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth among those pitting.

Lap 216: Mark Martin, Joey Logano pit.

Lap 215: Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, AJ Allmendinger, Bobby Labonte and Kevin Harvick pit.

Lap 213: Martin Truex Jr. pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 213: Crew chief Darian Grubb: "Pitting in 7 laps."

Radio chatter on Lap 212: Crew chief Kenny Francis: "Seven or 8 laps til we pit."

Lap 210: Sam Hornish Jr. pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 208: Kurt Busch: "With all this crap on the grille, you think we’d be loose, but we’re tight through the apex." His water temp is 255 degrees. Spotter Rick Carelli tells him there’s a napkin or something on the grille. He is running 18th.

Lap 206: Now things are spreading out more among the leaders. Brad Keselowski has a four-tenths of a second lead over Denny Hamlin, but Kyle Busch is now 5.281 seconds back in third.

Lap 198: Marcos Ambrose pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 196: Crew chief Darian Grubb tells Denny Hamlin to use as little brake as he can. ..."Keep the heat out of those fronts as long as you can."

Lap 195: The field has tightened up a little at this point. The top 10 drivers are within 10 seconds of one another.

Lap 194: Matt Kenseth is the deepest Chase driver in the field, currently running 17th.

Lap 193: Brad Keselowski has a half-second lead over Denny Hamlin.

Radio chatter on Lap 190: Spotter Brett Griffin to Clint Bowyer: You don't need a mirror, just keep hitting your marks.

Lap 189: Kyle Busch moves around Greg Biffle for third.

Radio chatter on Lap 187: Greg Biffle asks if they put a spring rubber in the left rear. Crew chief Matt Puccia responds: 10-4

Lap 187: Michael McDowell, Timmy Hill pit.

Lap 184: Denny Hamlin is charging back a little, cutting into Brad Keselowski's edge. There are 16 cars on the lead lap at this point.

Lap 181: Brad Keselowski is running away already. He's now four-tenths of a second ahead of Denny Hamlin. Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin round out the top five.

Lap 180: Brad Keselowski takes the lead once more.

Lap 179: Brad Keselowski is challenging Greg Biffle for the lead.

Lap 177: Greg Biffle is two-tenths of a second ahead of Brad Keselowski now. Denny Hamlin is half a second behind the leader.

Lap 174: Greg Biffle pulls away with the lead. Brad Keselowski is now second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin. Jimmie Johnson is back to sixth.

Lap 173: Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin side by side for the lead, with Biffle in the spot. Jimmie Johnson, on two tires, is falling back.

Lap 172: Restart: Greg Biffle jumps to the outside to push them three wide.

Lap 171: Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green when the race restarts.

Radio chatter on Lap 169: Brad Keselowski says he is surprised Jimmie Johnson took two tires. 

Lap 168: Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle lead the field to the pits. Keselowski's team goes one round down on track bar. Jimmie Johnson takes the lead with a two-tire stop. He is the only driver amongst the leader who opted for two tires.

CAUTION  4 - Lap 165: Debris

Lap 164: Tony Stewart, whose car sustained damage in an incident early in the race, is back up to 12th.

Lap 162: Denny Hamlin's lead continues to dwindle. Is this strategy, or is Jimmie Johnson just that much faster?

Lap 161: Jimmie Johnson is cutting into Denny Hamlin's lead. Hamlin has a .733 of a second edge right now. Brad Keselowski, in third, is more than four seconds back.

Radio chatter on Lap 159: Kasey Kahne tells his crew that he can't pass. He needs the track bar down a little bit, wedge out and the front better.

Radio chatter on Lap 156: Kasey Kahne says something is not right with his splitter. He is still running fourth.

Radio chatter on Lap 153: Spotter Joey Meyer tells Brad Keselowski that the leaders are slowing down -- likely saving fuel, too.

Lap 151: In his debut with Furniture Row Racing, Kurt Busch is running 19th. AJ Allmendinger, returning to the race after his suspension, is 21st in the Phoenix Racing entry.

Lap 151: Matt Kenseth is still down a lap, but he's up to 24th.

Lap 149: Denny Hamlin has a 1.603-second lead over Jimmie Johnson. Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle round out the top five.

Radio chatter on Lap 148: Marcos  Ambrose's spotter tells him to be careful of people in the garage as he brings it to the stall.

Lap 146: Marcos Ambrose to the garage.

Radio chatter on Lap 146: Brad Keselowski reports that he is a little bit free on both ends. Spotter Joey Meyer tells him it's likely that Marcos Ambrose left debris on the track after hitting the wall.

Lap 143: Race leader Denny Hamlin has never won a Cup points race at Charlotte. In 14 starts, he has seven top-10 finishes, two of them top fives, to enter this race weekend with an average finish of 15.0 at the track.

Lap 141: Denny Hamlin has a 1.598-second lead over second-running Jimmie Johnson.

Lap 140: Denny Hamlin is picking up where the others left off with a hot pace. Only 16 cars remain on the lead lap.

Lap 135: Spotter Joey Meyer reminds Brad Keselowski that there's a 10-lap tire difference between him and Jimmie Johnson. Keselowski tells crew chief Paul Wolfe that the car is "a little bit better" on this run.

Lap 135: Paul Menard pits.

Lap 134: Landon Cassill pits.

Lap 134: Denny Hamlin is the new leader, giving him the bonus point in the Chase.

Lap 133: Leader Jimmie Johnson pits. Jeff Burton also on pit road.

Lap 131: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Juan Pablo Montoya among those pitting.

Lap 130: Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch among those pitting.

Lap 129: Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Marcos Ambrose among those pitting. 

Lap 128: Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle among those pitting.

Lap 127: Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer among those pitting.

Lap 124: Brad Keselowski pits. Marcos Ambrose, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also pitting.

Lap 121: David Ragan pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 119: Brad Keselowski is attempting to save fuel and make the finish on one less stop.

Lap 115: Denny Hamlin is starting to cut into Jimmie Johnson's lead now. He still trails by 1.391 seconds, though.

Lap 109: Jimmie Johnson's lead over Denny Hamlin is now at 1.956 seconds.

Lap 106: Denny Hamlin has slipped past Brad Keselowski into second.

Lap 104: Jimmie Johnson has long been a factor in points races at Charlotte. In 22 starts, he has six wins. He has 14 top-10 finishes, 10 of them top fives, for an average finish of 11.818 entering this race. He last won a points race at Charlotte, though, on Oct. 17, 2009.

Lap 102: The front five are setting a fast pace. Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne are the only drivers within five seconds of leader Jimmie Johnson. Only 20 cars remain on the lead lap.

Lap 100: Jimmie Johnson is wasting no time taking advantage of his lead. He's already eight-tenths of a second ahead of Brad Keselowski.

Lap 98: Jimmie Johnson takes the lead once more.

Lap 97: Brad Keselowski is feeling the heat from Jimmie Johnson now.

Lap 95: Brad Keselowski now has Jimmie Johnson running him down.

Lap 88: Jeff Burton pits.

Lap 86: Brad Keselowski has cycled back into the lead after the round of pit stops.

Lap 85: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth among those pitting.

Lap 84: Jimmie Johnson, Trevor Bayne, Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Stewart among those pitting.

Lap 83: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch among those pitting. 

Lap 81: Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex Jr. and Bobby Labonte among those pitting.

Lap 79: Kasey Kahne pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 78: Kurt Busch and the Furniture Row Racing team have radio issues.

Lap 76: Jimmie Johnson has a lead of more than 2.25 seconds over Denny Hamlin. Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin round out the top five.

Lap 73: Marcos Ambrose pits.

Radio chatter on Lap 72: Crew chief Kenny Francis warns Kasey Kahne that they're five to six laps away from pitting.

Lap 72: Jimmie Johnson takes the lead - gaining that additional point in the Chase.

Lap 71: Brad Keselowski gives up the lead to pit.

Lap 70: Ten of the Chase drivers are in the top 15. Matt Kenseth is 32nd and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is obviously not running tonight.

Lap 67: The top five right now are all Chase contenders. Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin continue to mirror their points positions with a top-three run. Kevin Harvick is fourth, Kasey Kahne fifth.

Radio chatter on Lap 64: Crew chief Steve Letarte: "You did a great job buddy, great job. You proved that you could race with those guys."

Lap 62: Regan Smith heads to the garage. He has no oil pressure.

Radio chatter on Lap 61: Crew chief Steve Letarte to Regan Smith: "Great work buddy, if they want to race you like that's just dumb. You're doing fine, you're doing great." Smith is running 10th.

Lap 60: Brad Keselowski continues to set the pace. There are still 33 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 53: Mike Bliss to garage.

Lap 52: Jeff Burton pits. David Ragan, Scott Speed to the garage.

Lap 51: This looks familiar - the race matches the Chase, with Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin in the top three spots.

Lap 50: Brad Keselowski continues to set the hot pace, with Jimmie Johnson on his bumper.

Radio chatter on Lap 46: Brad Keselowski: "It's got some steam going, whew."

Lap 44: Brad Keselowski is the leader once more.

Lap 43: Brad Keselowski goes low and slips past Marcos Ambrose to take the lead.

Lap 41: RESTART - Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose lead the field. Ambrose storms past Keselowski heading into Turn 1. Greg Biffle, former leader, is 12th after pitting.

Lap 39: Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose, Scott Speed, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick will be the top five on the restart. Matt Kenseth gets the free pass.

Lap 38: Crew chief Paul Wolfe's decision to pit early gives Brad Keselowski the lead now.

Lap 37: Paul Menard back in to the pits.

Lap 36: Several leaders are pitting, including Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr., Regan Smith, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano.

Lap 36: Fire is showing under Paul Menard's car.

Radio chatter on Lap 36: Spotter Keith Barnwell tells Martin Truex Jr. that Jimmie Johnson is the quickest car - running the same line as Truex is. Truex is running third.

CAUTION 3 - Lap 35: Paul Menard hits the wall.

Lap 30: Regan Smith, filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88, is 14th. All four Hendrick Motorsports entries are in the top 14.

Radio chatter on Lap 28: Bobby Labonte pitted with a flat left front tire. He is now 42nd.

Lap 26: Greg Biffle has pulled away to a half-second lead over Denny Hamlin. Eight of the top 10 at this point are Chase contenders.

Lap 24: Matt Kenseth is the Chaser deepest in the field, in 41st. Tony Stewart is 30th and points leader Brad Keselowski - who is among those who pitted earlier - is 22nd.

Lap 24: Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer are the top five.

Lap 20: Greg Biffle pulls away from the field as Clint Bowyer begins to drop back.

Lap 20: Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer will lead the field to the green flag.

Lap 20: Jeff Burton pits.

Lap 18: Marcos Ambrose and Landon Cassill on pit road. Tony Stewart's team is taking the left sides off the car.

Radio chatter on Lap 18: Spotter Joey Meyer is telling Brad Keselowski that Sam Hornish Jr. will assess Keselowski's car for damage after contact with Tony Stewart.

Lap 18: Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson will restart in the top five spots.

Lap 17: Tony Stewart is back on pit road as his team works to repair damage to his car.

Lap 16: Tony Stewart is on pit road with damage from the crash. That's two Chase contenders suffering setbacks already.

CAUTION 2 - Lap 14: Jeff Burton, David Ragan caught up in a crash at the start/finish line. Jeff Burton has significant damage.

Lap 14: RESTART - Greg Biffle and Mark Martin lead the field to green.

Lap 13: Brad Keselowski, Sam Hornish Jr., Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose, Landon Cassill, David Reutimann, Timmy Hill, Casey Mears, Michael McDowell, Jeff Burton, David Ragan, David Gilliland, Juan Pablo Montoya and Travis Kvapil pit. Keselowski takes two tires.

Radio chatter on Lap 12: Matt Kenseth: "We broke something in the back of it."

Lap 12: Kenseth loses a lap coming in to pit after his spin. He entered this race as the series most recent winner - and 12th in the standings, 62 points back. He  took two rounds out of the track bar and put wedge in on the stop.

CAUTION 1 - Lap 11: Matt Kenseth spins.

Lap 10: Greg Biffle has a four-tenths of a second lead over Mark Martin now. Biffle has been fast all weekend here in Charlotte.

Lap 8: Greg Biffle finally has a little bit of breathing room at the front. Mark Martin was second, followed by Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. Lots of Michael Waltrip Racing in that group, with Martin, Bowyer and Truex.

Lap 6: Greg Biffle is back to the front of the field. This is heavy racing for the opening laps.

Lap 5: Mark Martin finally takes the top spot.

Lap 3: Greg Biffle still leads, but he is in a side-by-side battle for the top spot.

Lap 2: Mark Martin is low and battling Greg Biffle for the lead.

Radio chatter on Lap 1: Kasey Kahne just asked spotter Kevin Hamlin to monitor the lanes as well.

Lap 1: Greg Biffle will lead the first lap of the race. Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. are in the top five.

GREEN FLAG!

Radio chatter prior to the race: Crew chief Paul Wolfe tells Brad Keselowski to watch his water temps tonight. Keselowski asks Joey Meyer to let him know when middle and high lane work in, since he'll eventually have to use them. Wolfe: "Have fun tonight and be safe."

Lee Spencer reports that she spent time with the No. 78 team today. Kurt Busch worked out the nuances of how the crew at Furniture Row calls a race. Former truck racer Rick Carelli will be his spotter and will call Busch in for his pit stops

Greg Biffle will lead the field to the green flag. In 19 starts at the track, he has seven top-10 finishes, four of them top fives.

Four drivers will drop to the rear of the field at the start of the race. Jeff Burton (valve spring), Ryan Newman (engine), Juan Pablo Montoya (engine) and Travis Kvapil (transmission).

Miss any of the action this weekend to date? Check it all out here.

Welcome to the FOXSports.com coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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

Greg Biffle will lead the field to the green flag tonight. For the full lineup, click here.