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>> here to perform our national anthem, pleasekk morgan carr from broadway under the stars in sonoma, valley.o say, can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight'slast gleaming? whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fighto'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in airgave proof through the night that our flag was still thereoh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet waveo'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

>>> always a stirring scene. the last eightknown ma winners were the winners of this track. who will it be today? >>> today making nascar is the toyota. thepace car will go on sail in california. we like to thank fox sports for their tremendouswork and partnership. your commitment to the sports we love is evident each and every week.finally, we hope you enjoy the toyota 350. >> aerial coverage provided by goodyear. proudlysupporting goodyear. go to our website. goodyear, the official tire of nascar.>>> welcome to wine country. we leftles behind. time to make some turns. sonoma is made forwide elevation changes. during the course of one lap the driver will have experienced150 feet. nearby golden state warriors. former

rainbow warrior, can gordon get one more orwill someone else be drinks the cabernet? >> i'll be looking at your daddy. a coupleof win this year. nascar's defending champ. others eyeing the big surprise today as weget ready for the command. >> professional climber, and assistant servicemanager. sergio rizzo! drivers, start your engines! drivers, fans, anxious. so are theannounce team. welcome to guys taking you through the race. mike? >> i'm so excited i can't stand it. 15 yearsall of these races, here we are. one of my favorite races. his grin bass bigger thanit was today. you know what it's like when you take off in first gear? you'll spin thoserear tires if you're not careful. that's where

the action picks up. there will be a trafficjam at the top of the hill. it will be a chain reaction to the back of the field. you willhave problems early. be careful on the start. you run this race backwards, what determineswhether this is a two or three-stop race. >> there is no right or wrong strategy. somewhereon pit road. there's a race strategy. most of these crew chiefs have their strategy inplace. as jeff said, you have to be cable to adjust that strategy based on the way thecautions fly and the car is driving. he adjusted his strategy last year by making three stops.if you do it on two stops you better have a good driving race car.>> we can't wait to get this party started. in sonoma, california, we're ready to turnright with nascar on fox.

>>> rolling off pit road on the biggest trackthis track has seen in more than a decade. welcome to the toyota save mart 350. stilla big line of traffic coming in from the south for jeff gordon's final appearance from thehome racetrack. here's the geico starting grid from stood's race. a.j. allmendinger.there's the front row. matt kenseth with the best start. kyle larson set the track recordsaturday. jeff gordon. most of all drivers, clint bowyer, 2012 winner, tony stewart atvictory lane twice. casey meres his best start of the season. a pair of sonoma road coursewinners, kyle busch and martin truex in row six. another pair of former winners here,jimmie johnson and carl edwards. row seven. denny hamlin, looking to score on the roadcourse and ryan newman runner up here in 2006.

and jamie mcmurray, top ten last three races.dale earnhardt jr. finished third here last year. that's the top 20. danica patrick fourthfastest in the practice. greg biffle. three top tens here. watch michael mcdowell hasspeed next to sam hornish. >> what do you say we dial up the poll sitterfor today's race. you got a copy there, my friend?>> copy, d.w. >> you came in odds on favorites. how goodis your car today? can you make it two in a row?>> i hope so. proud of everybody here back at the racetrack. doing everything they can.the chevy has been good all weekend. >> got to safe your tires. pit at the righttime. get a lot of luck. if you do your job.

i do my job. we'll have a great shot at it.>> a.j. you're one of the best road racers. good luck today. hope it all works out foru. thank you guys for everything you do for our sport.>> it's been our pleasure. let's get down to pit road beginning with matt yoakum.>> it's been 13 years since kurt busch won back-to-back races. but exceptional pit stallon pit road with a number of advantages we'll discuss later. it should all boil down tostrategy. they'll roll with a two-stop strategy. that's when they make the final decision tostick with two or go with three stops. chris neville?>> matt kenseth admits on road courses he's got challenges. but speaking with the crewchief today he said the first ten laps will

be so important. matt needs to hit his marchon the racetrack and make clean shifts. after those first ten laps they will start to workon that race char. jamie? >> martin truex dream season continues. asfor their chances yet again today. i talked with their crew chief. he told me the brand-newrace car exceeded their expectations. now if they could get around kurt busch they havea chance for win number two of the season. >> for california native kevin harvick thenumbers are shocking. 0 for 14? sonoma. one of a few tracks kevin has not won at. don'tlet the numbers fool you. he's done everything but win at this race course. today they believethis is the day that changes with a trip to victory lane.

>> thanks, vince. not only is sonoma differentbecause of right turns some of the road course car preparation rules are different, too.here's andy petree. >> cars look the same as they run every week.there are about a dozen specifications in the book that specifically address road courses.there are required equipment on these cars to be prepared for wet weather condition shouldthey arrive. not going happen today. they have to carry the blinking right on the rearwind doe and they allow them to run the rear sway bar where they don't anywhere else. there'sa lost things though to make them road worthy. >> thanks, andy.>> think martin'sville but turn right. here's your paper club. we asked about the challengesof road racing here. how do you prepare? i

really don't.>> first time we have not tested heading into the road course. there's no testing allowedthis year. here we go. >> you're looking from the pavement in turnnumber two. top of the first two big climbs here at sonoma. let's have a look around this11-turn road course. there's the start-finish line.>> you come up the hill at turn two. you catch second gear. this is a really tough spot onthe racetrack then start downhill here and you take it from there.>> then it's back uphill sharply. highest course and then coming down to turn four iswhere brandon mcreynolds and two competitors went threewide on the final lap yesterday.

>> you rub off the track you watch that wallthat sticks out right there. this goes down to what we call the chute. they go off theracetrack down to turn seven and this, right here, we see synchronized spinning sometimesbecause they try to go through their fleewide. >> you try to straighten these ss out. reallyfast, tough place on the racetrack. >> turn ten. key to a fast lap here. it leadsto the final corner. >> you have one right here going into 11.one right here going into turn seven. those are your two safest places to pass. i won'tsay there will not be other places to try. >> there's a little dogleg along pit road.another nuance that makes this track different and special. nationwide is proud to announcethe 88 video series. to see new behind the

scenes video every tuesday.>> it was 97 degrees thursday, hot on friday and a marine layer of clouds came in and lookat this. it's hard to get forward bite. you want to spin rear tires. you see 110 laps.you don't need a penalty here. you talk about all day long. already been mentioned a lotbefore the green flag and in the pre race. >>.>> you sigh them going through the hair pin right there. slowest part of the racetrack.30 to 35 miles per hour. >> here we come. boogity, boogity, boogity.we'll see you boys in daytona thursday. >> up to turn two. look at elevation change.still double wide. allmendinger, still at disadvantage. he had to yield a little rightthere. doesn't surprise me.

>> turn three, the highest point on the course.another blind rise. downhill to tfour. >> you can see them across the rumble stripsthere using every pit of that asphalt. >> beauty thing about the start of these racesthis is where your car is at its best. >> it's handling good, sticking good.>> ideally you are single file through the a ss.>> you'll get single file or else. >> looks like a snake coming down throughthere. >> out of turn 10. short shoot.>> you're shifting all of the way through this attorney and first gear. this is so critical.hout you get out of turn 11 dictates how you run a lap on this joint.>> kurt busch leads the first lap. kyle larson

to turn two.>> this gives you a good idea. gear selection. you see third gear down to second gear.>> right here -- actually you use those curbings come down4 and into 7. you use them to make the car turn. you see jeff doing. that loads the leftside up. nail the throttle and go. see allmendinger back to kurt busch. didn't get the best starton there of the race. but allmendinger might have a pretty good race car. he certainlywas fast in qualifying. >> these front three opened up a little distanceon matt kenseth. he had a look inside. not much inside.>> think about it. kyle larson shattered our track record in the second round-- or first round of qualifying yesterday

here he is, he and allmendinger, two bestcars being held by kurt busch right now. >> kyle larson qualified well. then had mechanicalissues. >> wow.>> that makes you dizzy right there. that feels like it hurts.>> he's looking. that's all, though. it's hard to make a pass right there unless youreally get a run off turn three. >> again, another pass in spot. you got tobe close. see the cars get up on the curbing. down through here a matter of hitting yourmarks. there, there. then right here. >> he tried to make a move on kyle busch.that did not quite work out. >> it's hard to make a pass there. that'sthe guy in front of you. just screws up and

gets sideways or something.>> and two wheels off. no problem there. that puts him at risk to being passed on the insideto the corner and he is, by the 19 of carl edwards.>> carl has a good car. he was really happy with his car and ran good in practice.>> a good side-by-side battle here. jimmie johnson, that's a battle for 48. jimmie johnsonnot had a lot of speed here this week. >> really hadn't. matt kenseth running inthe 4 spot right now. jeff gordon what i say lurking.>> he's back there watching these boys and sizing them up. you can get an idea how gooda car is by the racetrack. he couldn't make the pass but he's looking.

>> probably nowhere in nascar racing thatyou are part throttling the car more than down through the ss in sonoma.>> i guess this is what you call pedaling the car a lot. guys with a good feel knowwhen the tires hook up and stick. that's something you play with all of the way down throughthe ss. >> gordon takes the inside and he got thespot. there's all kind of different ways to drive these cars. as far as your foot workgoes a lot of guys do the heal and toe. a lot of guys use just the throttle. you seehim on the break. working that gas, coming down the hill. getting the power down. drivers,you see how he tabbed that brake pedal? that's something they do. make sure that brake pedalis there. those breaks are good. you see never

touch the clutch as he shifts through thegears. jimmie johnson through 13. >> that was a nice move. that car was hookedup good right there. >> biggest challenge, getting the car to driveoff the corner. the driver that has better forward bite he'll win that battle off thecorner. >> look at the distance for brad keselowski.>> ryan newman got past brad keselowski. has the longest breaking zone on the course. kurtbusch led every lap so far. matt? >> on an average race weekend. teams are notallowed to change transition. here, they are allowed. this played to kurt busch's hand.the car was bogging down. they had slightly different ratios and the car came to lifeand it's paying off again today. five of 110

laps complete. kurt busch. kyle larson. jeffgordon and matt kenseth. >>> first car in your picture kurt busch.white car a.j. allmendinger. look at the battle for third as kyle larson tries to hold offjeff gordon. gets movers so far. including dale earnhardt jr. from 20th up to 15th. paulmenard. kasey kahne, plus 7. >> let's get a nationwide performance reportfrom vince welsh. >> they got to a good point with the car inpractice this week. they were all very happy. we've seen a lot of smiles from junior thisweekend. even though they qualified 20th they came in feeling like they had a top five car.the key is 20th position. without using up the chevrolet we'll see if they get it done.>> passed ryan newman moving them up to 14th.

>> busch your leader, gordon completed thepass on larsen. that's why there's a big gap from allmendinger.>> jeff gordon in third. >> look at kyle larson. he was brought uphis home town close to here. he said his mom and dad would bring him to watch the raceswhen nascar first started coming here. and why? he was a huge jeff gordon fan.>> he may not be right now. though. jeff gordon just drove by.>> whoa. now. that one car looked like he got a problem. he may pitt with a tire goingdown. vince? >> exactly right. he radioed in a couple lapsbefore saying he had a bad vibration in fourth gear something they didn't have in practice.radioed a moment ago. it's either coming apart

but they are prepared for jamie mcmurray topitt. >> he's coming to pit road right now. goodthing about it he can make the stop but this will change their strategy for the rest ofrace. >> depending what is wrong with the tire.we had a number of tires this weekend. tire came-- tread came unlaminated from the casing. we had tires blistered and had rear tire issuesthis weekend already. >> mcmurray ran as high as 15. look to theright of your screen. truex, kyle busch. >> here's truex to the inside but right thereon his haem teammate. truex will cost him a spot with junior if he's not careful. hegot to let him government is that's what we

were talking about. that tire looks like it'sthat lamination problem that some guys were talking about.>> compoundwise is the same as far as the grip but they added tread to the tire to helpthe ware. but i think that's created a few issue.>> the other thing if you lack the brakes up and slide. you can cause yourself problemstoo. >> kurt busch continues to pad his leagueon allmendinger who has 4 seconds back of jeff gordon.>> i always look at the trends at the beginning of a road course race. averages of the last10 races shows the first caution normally comes around lap 23, but four times it's beenin the first 10 to 15 laps.

>> denny ham lip don't show a lot of speedin practice. here he is all over. for 19th place. breaking zone at turn 7. can hamlinoutbrave keselowski? not that time. here's brad. >> the tire just falls off.>> we already tried. >> it's tough to make adjustments on the racecar. why? because you're turning left or right. you may help one direction but hurt at theother. >> whatever you do you have to do it yourselfwith the track bar or something. >> martin truex moved up to 13 plays. kylebusch, truex. we saw him in practice, looked loose there, matt?>> that's exactly the issue he had the car

is too free. back in daytona. he doesn't haveany issues withth weekend with the right leg and left foot. using the clutch so much duringthe course of the weekend. plate and screws causing some discomfort, jamie.>> martin truex we saw get passed after the pass and said not good, dude. we are not good.he was pretty good they were really optimistic that they could get that. kurt busch, hislead is shrinking. now up by allmendinger, 1.8 seconds. >>> you see her every week in victory lane.also keep up with the miss sprint cup on twitter. find out how to win a autographed. followon facebook and instagram to like inside the sprint cup tier reece.>> kurt busch is your leader. clint bow career

moved up into the top five. so has jimmiejohnson. he's up to six. you're riding on the front bumper of clint bowyer.>> riding with the king here. bowyer drives into 11. i thnk it's interesting. he likesto take care of his rear tires right there. he didn't pass a single car until he madethat move. he got a good car and is pacing himself early in the going.>> it's been a good weekend. clint bowyer came here, remember, his father has been thebiggest help so far in the early going. he said you need to drive a little more different.he's a little more of that curve and i'll be good. >> right here. following kyle larson.>> you got to come in to that curb. what i

mean you can't nip it. you got to make thecar turn. >> back up front. kurt busch's lead is gone.here comes a.j. allmendinger. he knocked it down to about a second and a half. matt?>> a.j. was tells his team. the 41 of busch. he has seen where his car leveled off. kurtbusch is losing for front grip than rear grip. >> mike and darryl, if you are going to dothis on three stops. now that we completed the lap. we talk about martin truex jr. whocontinues to slide backwards. i say they should be on pit road short limit just inside thetop 15. even though they qualified poor limit they've been extremely happy. they departmentqualify hell. they hardly touched car in race trim this weekend. very similar setup whenkevin led 23 laps. they believe they have

a car in front getting it done.>> harvick now 12. >> i think the bigger shock is when they don'trun good. i think you expect them to be up front there. jimmie johnson is-- i tell you has looked really, really good. that 48 car is as solid as a rock. >> and closing. he got a pretty fast hot rodright now. >> denny ham lip come to pit road. matt?>> a three-stop strategy for denny hamlin. >> denny struggled of late. 19 of 10 roadcourse races. hoping to change that today. waiting on fuel.>> on the left of your screen. dale earnhardt jr. taking tenth place. nice job by both ofthe michael waltrip racing cars. starting

this race in the top ten.>> what denny hamlin and that team will do, they split it up to 30 rins apiece.>> that's pretty easy to do. when you try to stretch that out to a two-stop race itgets tough. >> i misspoke saying he showed surprisingspeed this weekend. he's an excellent road racer. he's giving that car its ride of theyear. closing up on david gilliland. former tour winner here. >>> if you want to pass in the ss in sonoma,here's what you have to do. >> michael mcdowell in the 5 car. said i'llrun you off the track. yeah, you might do that but that's good road racing there.>> here are the ford withiners at sonoma.

beginning with davey allison in 1991. that'squite a list of road race talent right there. >> brad keselowski. what did they do matt?>> air pressure change for keselowski. you can hear the frustration on the radio. juststruggling. three of the last your years they struggled almost every year.>> i have to believe possibly a driver, crew chief that changed their strategy becauseof the way the car was driving. >> the comparison between there and watkinsglen, that is short track. watkins glen is fast. a lot of speed.>> david gilliland in the firewall at turn ten. this is full course caution. the tourwinner here went deep. >> nose are in those tires.>> he is okay. we talked about what a tough

fast corner this is. have a look. wow, whatan incredible -- that's a sudden stop. look how he knockedall of those tires loose. that's huge. >> we talked about turn 11 being the slowestcorner at 30 miles an hour. that's one of the fastest parts of the racetrack. >> david gilliland told his crew coming into turn ten the left front track let go. >> he came in early. now we find he lost atire. >> first caution of the day riverside, californianative. second generation nascar star is okay. how does this play in our strategy. we alreadypitted some of us have. >> those that made the stop are golden. theywill stay out. matt yoakum said tony gibson

and kurt busch look at a two handle stop strategy.they need to get to lap 30 to do it on two stops.>> this is where you stay out under caution and come in under the green and say, i don'tknow about that. >> it will take a little while for the pacecar to pick up the field and then pit road to open. our aerial coverage today providedby goodyear proudly supporting our military for 100 years. show your support for our troopsat goodyear.com. participate in the charity auction there, goodyear official tire of nascar.>> mike and darryl as long as it takes to clean that up even if you're on a two-stopstrategy. that could go close to 30. >> that's the battle of the crew chief isfighting with himself right now. do i stay

up? go i come in? when do i come in? you havea two-stop strategy and you got to stick to it or it won't work. >> i believe david gilliland is the firstcar one lap down. there's no free pass on this caution since he's the car that broughtit out. there's david walking away. >> okay. see the skid marks off turn ten.>> i know we talked about the safer barriers. this is where the tire tracks really do thejob. absorbing impact. goes, bit road is open. about 8 to 10 seconds we'll have a betterpicture who is on what strategy. >> i know that's an interesting corner. iknow i'd be lobbying to pave all of that and make it like turn four so i can run out intothat area, miss that wall and not tear up

my car. i'm just saying.>> vince walsh. >> crew chief said we have one goal today.that's to win. we'll pit as often or seldom as necessary. they'll take advantage thisopportunity because they have to have more drive off. jamie.>> we just need more rear grip. four tires and air pressure adjustment.>> they're going to start checking out. saying, hey, we got a great car right now. matt?>> due to the concern of five cars already pitted they felt they would get eaten up.significant air pressure change. all four for better grip. similar strategy for the47 of allmendinger. >> thanks, matt. the first of those cars whodid not pit were clint bowyer and tony stewart.

>> they were warned in the drivers meetingabout the timing line of the exit of pit road. really close together. 24 laps complete insonoma. we're under caution. >>> under caution at sonoma. coca-cola, officialsoft drink of nascar. let's look how the coca-cola racing family is performing today. tony stewartone of only two drivers in this race that has not yet made a pit stop. ryan newman andjoey logano. let's go back to the david gilliland incident as they clean up there. let's lookat the billboard where the corner workers are waving a blue flag. we don't use thatin oval racing. >> that's an advisory flag corner workershave. they have a discretion to wave it if they their there's a situation drivers needto be aware of. when it comes out there's

a yellow flag on the full course. blue flagdoesn't mean you can't pass. it's just an advisory flag for the drivers.>> this, sandy. they rolled david gilliland's car on the rollback and replacing the tirepacks at turn ten. >>> pretty mellow in wine country until nascarcome towns. 10,000 white flags given out as fans come in. they all salute jeff gordonmaking his final race at his home track in sonoma, county. 25 down. we're going green.we got a correction from nascar. alex bowman got the free pass. gilliland was not downa lap at the time during the incident. clint bowyer and tony stewart are the only two driversnot at pit road at one point. >> everybody gets tight running up the hit.running out of contact most of the time.

>> kyle busch running on the outside. battlingstewart then comes new mnt and allgaier all of who pitted early.>> kyle busch has pretty fresh tires on 18 car.>> this is where the two-stop strategy will drive a driver crazy. right now tony stewartwill get eaten up by people without tires. this is a different strategy they are on.>> ryan newman behind stewart and the rest of that snarling pack. menard. allgaier, kezlou zi, busch, larsen, jeff gordon and more. >> it's pretty easy, you concentrate. focus,hit your marks, make your shifts. when people are around you in a tight back like somebodytrying to shoot a three-pointer with somebody in their face.>> this is what you guys mentioned earlier. this is

the seam in the tire. tread on top is literallychunking off. three of four tires that came off the 24, we've seen this happen. this wasalaufstanson telling us what happens. >> ours came up slightly. there's nothingyou can do about it. if you feel a vibration that's probably what it is.>> there's not a lot you can do to keep the driver making that from happen.>> only thing you can do is slow down. how do you win a race slowing down?>> you're not. that's the dilemma you're in. slam the tires like we saw kyle busch comingthrough the as, you'll abuse that tire. >> gordon's teammate, jimmie johnson, currentlyninth. take a look at this that tire. this team also concerned about the bars. you gotto be easy early in the run. first 15 laps

be easy on your tires.>> you see tony stewart in the 14. you have martin truex buried in there.>> he's grown the tire pacts. >>. >> see what happened. he was running 19. saidhe wasn't given any room. there's truex coming out of 7. reagan off the course kind of inthe dirt and hooks him. you know in other sports there's unavoidable contact and avoidablecontact. that 0 could about been a little given and take there. that could have beenavoided. right there. >> daryl you talked about him in the pre race,the man that started off 14 top ten finishes it won't happen again today.>> no? that's a brand-new car that they built. this he are very happy with it. they haveto rebuild it. i'm sure they're headed back

to the garage to see what they can do to getthe car back in the race. contact from david regan. puts martin truex out. we'll give youa look riding with joey logano as they exited turn seven.>> it's clear. landon cassill will get the free pass from some of that contact. there'sdamage to regan's car. he's about three rows deep into the tire pack there.>> he's moved that barrier, that's hard lick. mike, pit road will be open. really the onlytwo drivers that i suspect may be on pit road is clint bowyer in the 15 and tony stewartin the 14. the time they go back racing, you go back to next year. carl edwards made firstof three stops. >> when clint bowyer won. was that a big surprise?that day he drove a flawless race and won

that thing. that's what it takes. bowyer andstewart bill pit as they bring martin stewart's car back to the garage. >>> michael waltrip. irs meierssonoma. martintruex junior finished top in every race. now this, very upset with what happened momentsago involving davegan and we hope he's okay. four leaders, four lead changes under oursecond caution. kurt busch started up front. allmendinger on the pole. he led two differenttimes and led the most laps. they are fixing the tire barrier. let's talk what happen haddedwith truex? >> looks like reagan was outside of truexand he ran out of room. payback came. what i think is interesting. the first 20 lapswe saw synchronized driving. working well

with each other. being very careful but asthis moves on we see more and more feel shoving each other around.>> kyle busch at the moment in front of jamie mcmurray. spotters trying to determine iftheir drivers losing time so far as they continue to repair that tire barrier. >> there was a problem with his left fronttire. that's the fastest turn on track. if you tell me any place i would not want towreck that's where gilliland landed. >> fans celebrating on lap 24. jeff gordondominated this place. his last ride here i should say as a driver and caution momentsago. reagan in the 78. it's truex. he hits it hard enough pushing the tires. that's whywe stopped the action at the moment. the barrier

behind the tires that cement area has beenpushed back. cars are stalled on lap 31. >> it's hard to pass judgment what happened.regan ran out of room. he didn't like what he felt he retaliated. that's what appearedto happen. you see more and more aggression. we've taken more time and been careful sofar. that's coming to an end now. >> jamie little standing by with martin truex.jamie? >> tough break for you guys. you made adjustmentsto make the car better. what happened? >> we'll be okay. try not to restart here.when you're mid pack not a good place to be. it's really congested. we were a lot fasterthan a couple guys around us. you are trying to not get run over. gout to make moves. everytime i passed 55. he would, you know, just

keep-- stay on the side of me and not give me three, four inches to get clear, so we hadto get going. it's just we both ran out of room and he turned me on purpose. i ran intothe side at first. that was an accident. i thought i gave them enough roof there. hefelt like he turned me on purpose. how it happened. so, the racing will go on and doour thing. >> finished in the top ten. 14 of 15 racesthis day is done early here. >> they return things at the track. >> track position more important. alreadyearly aggressive racing from regan and truex. >>> welcome back to sonoma. chris myers parkingplace, suspended high above the raceway. kyle

busch is your leader. matt kenseth, davidregan. carl edwards. >> that's how high his voice was yesterday.>> real concern for teammates kyle busch. suddenly department feel quite right. he wasn'tsure if it was a loose wheel or tire coming apart when he pitted the team. it was cordingon one of the four tires. good news for hip. mean while denny ham lip pitted on lap 18.something similar. turns out he had a loose right rear. damage to the studs. they broughtthem back in. wheel was still vibrating. took a spacer out and he since pitted two moretimes. could be a long afternoon for hamlin. >> thank you, matt the car stopped and let'sgo back to find out what put us under this delay. watch the 55.>> they're right back here. martin gets to

the 55. that's one hit. right here, 55 ofregan. i'm going to have to knack you out of his way. that's what he did.>> these tire packs that absorb the impact. five high two deep and ault bolted togetherto take the impact without bouncing all over the racetrack as here when john grebs andderek cope go for a plier and those loose tires scatter just about everywhere. a lotof hang time. for west coaster krebs. here's the difference with what happened with thetire packs backed up bye jersey barriers, similar situation for david gilliland at turnten. >> you see the tires come off in groups. allbolted together like you said. make ace pretty good safer barrier, actually.>> we're back under yellow. cars moving once

again. kyle busch leading jamie mcmurray,a.j. allmendinger and kurt busch. >> leading the field the toyota pace car.first hydrogen powered production car. only emissions that it emits water. it goes onsale in california this fall and toyota plans to expand sales to the mid eastern u.s. ashydrogen fueling infrastructure expands. ready for the restart.>> jamie mcmurray, that one car running second. he made the stop on lap nine. i expect himto run around lap 40 to 41 before he makes the stop.>> now the last car on the lead lap. >> this is the last race to race togetherbefore luke lambert races in daytona. toyota

versus chevrolet in the front row. here wegovernment. >> coming up out of turn three to three a.top of the hill, blind rise for these drivers. >> that's amazing. down into four.>> you know, mike, right now early in the race, 33 laps. if there's an opportunity topass you'll take it. there's no time right now to push the issue. we got a log way togo yet. taking care of your car. jimmie johnson side by side. allgaier, had a chance to turnseven. were they side by side. johnson backed off. >> looks pretty darn good. holding off thechamp right there. not too bad. kyle busch opens it up as they come down to turn 11.allgaier, peak inside mcmurray. nope. newman

on the outside and kurt busch may take advantage.>> you all talked about kyle busch in the pre race show. 11 races before the chase afterthe bad finish at michigan. what they can truly salvage is win races the rest of theyear. >> i don't know. i felt like-- i can win races. i know we can win races. i just don't know if he can overcome pointsor not. that will be the challenge. 173 points outside the top three right now.>> second place, allmendinger, drives through past mcmurray into second. you see newmanworking hard to hold off kurt busch and move up on mcmurderry>> like that 47 car. that looks pretty solid. we know a.j. is a great road racer. mcmurraymay be at risk. his tires may be on the car

since lap number nine.>> because they had to make that unscheduled stop. they had to run to lap 40, mike whichis six laps away. what jamie mcmurray has to have here is patience.>> newman has the opportunity. he opens the door and kurt bush will follow through onthe 41. >> that's what i was talking about. it's frustratingas a driver. getting past -- not a whole lot you can do. run your race,mind your manners, take care of your stuff and wait until you make your pit stop.>> a little worried about kyle busch. he's driving the wheels off that thing. i've seenhim sideways a number of times. we know there's tire issues out there possibly. he's usingthose rear tires pretty heavily right now.

here comes johnson on theive side. on mcmurray. >> short shoot up to seven. kurt bush pastnewman there's johnson up over the berm, side by side makes the pass.>> that's ha should happen earlier. it didn't and i'm not harping on that. i'm saying asa clean pass that's the way do you it. >> right now, jeff gordon in the 24 car isall over the back of mcpurry on this one. that is the battle for six.>> gordon gets a good launch. so does dale junior.>> that's great passing right there. gout a guy pretty much going give you a spot. 88car taking advantage of it. >> they've been really happen with the 88.dale earnhardt jr. not a lot of smiles. not

much different today. needed more forwarddrive for this second run. they gave it to him with an air pressure adjustment. theydid van v issue with open rear tire. that slice we've seen amongst many cars up anddown pit road. but they don't consider it to be serious. have not addressed it as avibration against this run at all. >> what i liked. best finish they had on theroad course. they had to change transmission. didn't discourage them. talk about how goodthe car is and it's showing again today. earnhardt to 7 moving past mcmurray. how physical isthis racetrack? >> we looked better the second half.>> first gear. >> yep.>> using those gears to slow him down. catching

those to get into the corner. second gear,third gear. you stay right there up the hill. roll out a bit so you don't overrev the engine.it's deceiving how uphill that is. you lose ray lot of speed. go back to second gear,turn two to three probably going run that press far. maybe all of the way to turn seven.is closing on kyle busch. pretty good right now. so is kurt busch. >> kurt busch trying to close in on a.j. allmendinger.his issue, though, opposite of the first run. the car is free on the right-handers on the41 machine. jamie? ryan newman having a good run. today, just a little bit loose, and theyadjusted with the track bar. guys? >> for the lead, allmendinger, had a goodlook inside. back at third. jimmie johnson

working kurt busch, kyle busch, allmendingerup front. still 1-2, single file. >> looks like the 18 car up in the front.kurt busch is hanging right in there, too. >> there's a four-lap difference between kylebusch's tires and tires on allmendinger and kurt busch.>> that could be a lot. we saw drivers in qualifying from one to the other that thetires give up and lose grip. >> i'm just a little worried about the 18'stires. sliding the car around quite a bit more than the 47 or 41. that can take tollon the rear tires. weave answer seen some of them with problems. both cameras you areseeing are mounted on a.j. allmendinger's car.>> look at kyle busch, our leader in the 18

car. he swept the road course races in 2008.he gives all of the credit as he has his hands full with his brother, kurt busch.>> match them both in turn 11 there. nice run by kurt. . he gives all his credit toroad racing when he was teammates with jeff gordon and jimmie johnson, with hendrick motorsports doing a lot of testing. >> speaking of jimmie johnson, he's anotherguy lurking behind these three. he got a pretty darn good car right there.>> now, you know, you can get under a guy coming down this hill right here. if you-- if the 18 car of kyle busch happens to go wide right here. you can get a run on him,make the pass like we see what kurt is trying to do right here. i think he's going to makeit. way up on the curb. this could get interesting.

got to let him go. doesn't have position.>> there's not a whole lot you can do. this through the ss, try to set him up and makea run down 11. which is a great pass in that area.>> kurt laid back. trying to get a run. down into the bottom.>> maybe you make it. maybe he gives me room. maybe he does.>> yes that will drive kyle busch down to third. that's why he was trying to be so aggressive.>> he's coming, chris. >> he's coming right now.>> and he announced easy. i need you to be straight and smooth. big, happy, high horsepower.straighten out the exit, straighten out the wheel. that's going to be easier on the reartires.

>> chris, one of the problem us use firstgear so much. it's easy to spin those tires. again, position. this is where tile buschis where a victim of the pit stop at 19. drivers who passed him. their tires are four lapsfresher than kyles, that's why he's falling back. >> that 2 car, he had his hands full. youheard kyle say, we can't help you. it's all up to you.>> watch the two. >> oh, man. locking them down. locking themdown. safe. slid right over the berm. >> watch this.>> if he department have problems now, he should. because he's using up that left rearend in the right front. i think he got away

with one there. from the dirt outside turnseven. >> just infront of his teammate. joey logano.riding with joey. down into turn three. up the hill. into the highest point of the course.when you come up over the top. you can't see anything. you have to get over that hill.before you can see down the bottom at turn four. kurt busch has one second of a leadon a.j. allmendinger, matt? >> now he's saying the back of the car ismuch worse. your car won't be good but will be better than anybody else's.>> they're going go another eight to ten laps. window is open right now to hit pit road andmake it one more stop. >> you see the

right front tire locked up. you see them lockingthat up. first thing you know you got a tire problem.>> it's just wear a tear out in that particular area. jamie.>> jeff gordon, they're not as good first time around saying he's really loose off everythingnow. so, he wants some adjustments as we go. and trying to work his way to the front, guys.>> had a little threewide action. clint bowyer, austin dillon.>> austin got a little loose coming out of that corner. riding with bowyer through turnten. . oh, my gosh. >> not again.>> no, not that. >> that's funny.>> somebody would have knocked those out of

the way.>> tony stewart that 14. bowyer just goes by him right there.>> he had his hand out the window that that's the two drive theories pitted under that lastcaution. they are going try to go close to lap 70 before they make their final stop.>> that gives you a little cushion in case you should have. possibly. we have a few ofthose. kyle busch dropped five seconds off the lead and following into the clutches ofjeff gordon here. you hear the part throttling through the ss and joey logano passed histeammates keselowski and now gets jamie mcmurray to move up to 13. that will be hard to driveto the pits. >> if i'm one of those drivers like jamiemcmurray. i want to hit pit road in case the

caution comes out. there he is, he hit pitroad. >> mcmurray does that. now he's starting tochunk that tire. it's pretty much gone. >> good thing about it. there's a lot of areain the dirt. >> jamie macgets his service.>> more than anything. with heads-up by his spotter. that probably saw what was goingon. window open for mcmurray to come to pit road. no caution with kevin harvick passingdale earnhardt jr. for six. looking at jeff gordon now ahead of harvick and earnhardt.chris? >> matt kenseth has all kinds of struggles.saiding that car is so loose. he's getting worse and worse. he's also saying he's havingbreak issue. no confidence. you see a long

stop trying to get the debris. i'm not itsure that didn't tear a break line off. that could have done something from the break fromthe left weir there. . 45 laps complete. top six drivers are all past nascar sprint cuproad course winners led by kurt busch as we go curb hopping in california. >>> 47 laps complete. kurt busch leading allmendingerby one sec. make a trip to sprint and cut your bill in half bring them your at&t wirelessbill and your old phone. kurt busch with two or more wins this season. he led almost 700laps this year. more than he led in the past three seasons combined. you take a guy likekurt busch. got a really sharpive drooer. technically knows the racetracks. breaks thingsdown really well. that's why this car is so

good.>> kyle now slipping behind dale earnhardt jr. and falling to 6th. jeff gordon 7th. davidregan. kyle larson. top ten. back when we last restarted kyle busch was the leader butas we mentioned he has tires that are four laps older than the five drivers ahead ofthem. i tell you tires take abuse. >> how long does kyle busch need to stay outthere. >> he pitted on lap 19. so much depends optstrategy this group is working on right now. you see the battle between keselowski andalmirola and matt kenseth. if he this are trying to do it on one more stop, they cango beyond lap 60 which is another 12 lap bus that was the 18 radio right there. i feelthey may come to pit row right now.

>> they could be worried about pace. whichi don't think i'd be worried about right now. here he comes in to pit. hot and heavy. 18car coming in hot. but this definitely puts him where it makes one more stop. he's breakingthese last two runs down at 30 laps apiece. to try to take full advantage of the tires.kyle busch and ryan newman. matt? . kyle busch started skating from position to position.he said don't worry about it. we're sticking it our game plan. needs more grip. comes littlebit deeper in the box. right side tire already going on. and there they are at turn 11. thenas they accelerate on 11 on the stop watch. allmendinger. closing just a bit. kasey kahne.past the 24 of jeff gordon. >> the hendrick boys trying to keep each overcompany, checking on each other. pit, pit,

pit.>> that's jeff gordon's radio what they are going to do is the same thing that kyle busch,ryan newman and brad keselowski split this last run in the checkered flag in two segments30 laps apiece. reagan might have given jeff gordon a bump there.>> i don't know if he could have seen this out of my car or not but i'm not afraid touse it. >> see the thank you fox sports out of davidregan's car. thank you, david. david is driving hard today. very aggressive. he said at thepress conference he's not a natural road racer. >> he's running eighth right now. that's agood job for his car. he and clint bowyer had good cars all week end long. bowyer runthis race. car makes a difference on a road

course.>> jeff gordon is in, jamie is there. >> 23rd and final start in the home town startin sonoma. jeff gordon, extremely loose everywhere. all over the racetrack. four time start. fillingup with snow cofuel. >> jimmie johnson closing on second placea.j. allmendinger. now under 2 seconds. 48 is coming. . allmendinger is off the pace.jimmie johnson running quicker laps. he and kurt busch. he's a little quicker than kurtbusch. johnson looking to the inside. i think he'll make a pass. got the nose in there.got to let him government that's clean. that's allmendinger. he got position on me. no needholding him up. >> that's a sign much a veteran road racer.darryl, if you're going to pass me. i'll let

you pass me somewhere it doesn't upset mylap so much like one of those slow correspondence. >> exactly.>> don't push me off the dirt when you go by me. i'll let you guy by.>> david regan comes to pit lane. vince? maybe gave jeff gordon a bump earlier. the car hasbeen solid throughout the course of the day today. four-tire change as they are here onthe road course and regan is off and away. two of the first three cars on pit road.>> all on lap 23. 32 laps to go. >> what we're hearing, kurt busch. a.j. allmendinger.47 coming this time. a lot like jeff gordon just trying to make these last two runs asshort as possible and take advantage of those fresh tires. 41 on pit road. here comes 47.i think that's the 48

-- no, that's 47 de behind him.>> vince? >> kevin harvick started 17. he's pittingfrom the number 4 position right here has not complained about the car at all. whenthey took the tires off the first pit stop they looked good and looked good again. matt?2011 winner here at sonoma. kurt busch comes to a stop. this past return, car was morefree. they are going to make a chassis adjustment almost slight air pressure change on the 41of busch and 47 a.j. allmendinger. opportunity race. this is just like it was at watt sinsglen. the car much worse this run. he was complaining about know fuel pressure. he gotto take a big swing or we'll be in good trouble. i don't know if it fell off the jack but hewas in the pit a long time.

>> vince, what happened to harvick's car?>> the car fell off the jack. when it did, they had left rear damage on the tire as thetire was right there underneath the wheel well. you see they couldn't get the tire offthe tire. they department have the left rear on. crew chief rodney childers shook his headin disgust. >> when that thing fell down. you saw howmany crew members it took to get the jack back under. meanwhile these guys at full speedunder the green. >> i don't know if they were putting the tireback on when actually they were trying to get it off. mistakes in the pits. this racegoes by pretty fast. those things really set you back. that car is good, too.>> casey meres is from backersfield.

>> these guys leading the race. he's climbeda second behind johnson with the pit stops. >> you got two guys from california. a guyfrom missouri. a guy from -- two guys from missouri and kansas. andyou got a guy there from new york. a guy from indiana.>> hamlin had that issue on pit road but seemed he ran better since. danica dives to the insideas it gets to turn seven. >> danica another driver on pit road as well.sit there in 13th spot right now. keeping the car clean, nose clean and doing a nicejob. >> kyle larson pitted.>> that 38 car is solid. >> this will move carl edwards up to secondand boyer to third, matt?

>> larsen making his way to the pit box. one reason it makeshim so good on the road course his dirt background. gordon, stewart. chassis adjustment for larsen.complaining the car was too free on the left-hander. >> so, now, of the front five, clint bowyeron pit road at lap 30, others at lap 23. they'll be coming shortly. tony stewart pitting atlap 30 so he should move up. jamie? >> carl edwards driving a brand new race car.he said it's holding on better. longer run, more laps he can keep up that speed. he'sa little tight in the slow correspondence. they just said on the radio. they are goingto meet around lap 68 through 70. yard edwards is the defending winner of this race.>> what i'm seeing with jimmie johnson, greg biffle. four of the top five pitted on 23like all of the other drivers that came to

pit road. what they are trying to do is stretchit to 67 or 68. that gets them to the end of one more stop. as jimmie johnson maintainsits lead it's a no-brainer not to do that. >> you know what lap carl edwards pitted onlast year? >> would it be 32 and 70?>> lap 70. >> last year, this year, right? for 54 lapsto go in sonoma. >>> time now for the just past halfway midrace report here on fox sports 1. jimmie johnson leading the eighth race. he has turned thefastest lap during the first half of this race. martin truex jr. got knocked out ina scrape with david regan. kasey kahne moving up. darryl waltrip who is the driver to beat?>> i watched that 48 car work his way through

the field. i like it on old tires new tires.he got sick straight top tens. watch that 48 go to victory circle again.>> you got to watch the 41. he got a fast car in practice friday. everybody in the garagearea raved about the speed of that car. he picked off position after position. what ilove. there's so many different strategy in the end 41 winds up.>> carl edwards made two trips. his crew chief is quite the gamer. he might be the guy thatbreaks that streak of all of these different winners over the last ten year.>> at times they've fallen off a.j. allmendinger. the concern he doesn't have speed. he's tryingto diagnose what the problem is. i think our day is done.>> clint bowyer won here in 2012 with a two-pit

stop strategy he's in second right now. thegame plan is the same. if he continues to have a flawless race. michael waltrip racingwill win the third of the last four races here.>> jeff gordon racing in the home track for the last time in his career has been as highas third. he's trying to win for the record sixth time. showing long green flag runs tothe finish. we'll see which driver can protect tires to be there at the end. that's yourjust past midway race report. let's rejoin the guys upstairs.>> thanks, only two guys out of the race. p they are both okay. there are eight drivers,one lap down but the top 33 cars are all on the lead lap here with 50 laps to go. a.j.allmendinger. is on pit road. matt?

>> a.j. trying to become the fourth poll sitterto win in sonoma. he comes it-to-a stop. one of the engine tuners. he's under the hoodlooking to see if maybe something has become disconnected or something is amiss if theymake such a change, not miss too much time and get back out.>> meanwhile jimmie johnson's run just flawless. his fastest lap 1:16.4. that ranks up nearthe top of fastest laps today. actually seventh best lap overall today.>> watch these guys win these races the last four, five, particularly. they run a flawlessrace. 48 is running a flawless race. >> chris neville?>> jimmie johnson has a little luck on his side. running the low this weekend. this isthe fifth time they run it all year. all finished

in the top ten and run twice in texas anddover. jimmie johnson, this has great times on the racetrack. as many tires as he hason those tires. he's really maintaining that gap between he and kurt busch.>> only three drivers on the track right now. all of them have a lot of time to make un.best of those, dale earnhardt jr. in eighth. 38 seconds behind.>> kurt busch inside of carl edwards. this is third place.>> hard to make that pass but was able to make position. get up underneath the 19 carand proceed on. nice move. >> mike, i mentioned-- you saw kurt wave at carl. cutting him a little slack there. i mentioned a flawlessrace. when i say that. i remember kurt busch.

he won three, four years ago driving for penske.clint bowyer, never put a real wrong all day. carl edwards last year never put a real onall race. but won this race. it's hard to government jimmie johnson so far is on thepace. >> johnson increasing the margin. over clintbowyer. right now just under 28 second. let's have a look at fifth place. joey logano'scar. matt? >> every driver wants to win on every typeof layout in nascar. i put a big checkmark against to daytona 500. you put a lot of effortin coming here to sonoma. spent time in the forward racing similarity. friday. todd gordonand two engineers in the pace car. went to show them different parts of the race carthat's challenging. how significant an adjustment

he needs trying to put as much as he can fora road course win. right now running in the top five. tony stewart. greg biffle.>> the biff struggled with his car. i know one thing for sure that driver wouldn't letyou down. he give him a winning car, he'll win you a race.>> logano fifth and biffle eighth. poll sitter a.j. allmendinger will not win in the racetracktoday as he takes the 47 to the garage. that's sad, that's sad.>> you talk about greg biffle in the 16 car. you underestimate the road course racing abilities.he's finished in the top ten last three times here at sonoma. he come into the lap 64 witha 28-second lead. i think what we'll do is see him on pit road in the next two, threelaps. that will take him to the end.

>> again it's a flawless strategy how theyare operating. broke it down into pit stops. so far it's working perfectly. here into tenthplace. moving past kyle busch. >> that pit stop where the car fell off thejack that's going to be hard to overcome. >> he's 42 seconds behind jimmie johnson.>> upon greg biffle's ford have turned ten. >> inside move at 11.>> you can't defend that. can you? >> that's the safest place to make a pass.it's a wide corner. give us plenty of room. get through there without any contact andproceed on. >> we see kyle busch's-- greg is on the same strategy. >> i don't know. seems something he's buggingthe 16 car light right now.

>> he has home defense.>> i don't know. >> here's what our leaders last pitted. theseare the front five cars. >> i have to give credit to clint bowyer.he doesn't go much further with carl edwards and joey logano.>> realistically. he can go to lap 70. once his window open us might as welcome with theother guys. the biggest risk is if the caution comes.>> i know you don't want to get caught up by a caution. there's a 51 car. allgaier,off the pace. he's still moves, got power. >> allgaier, was 16th.>> but i think this may motivate jimmie johnson and those guys. i think the win go zo open.you might want to hit on pit road in case

he doesn't make it.>> it's slightly downhill to where he is on pit road. he might be able to make it. i thinkhe will. he's right in the middle of the racetrack. you don't know he's there. spotters are tellingu. blue flagsing for allgaier. that means there's something to be aware of just ahead.it's not a caution flag it's a be alert flag. he's going to make it to pit road but notthe pits. that's going to be the problem. >> logano shot and made it.>> that was close. i don't know if he'll make it all of the way to the pit box or not. that'sthe problem. just what you saw with logano there. if he stopped on pit road we have tohave a caution. >> that's why todd gordon brought joey loganoto pit road. get around him, get around him.

>> yes.>> what a move. >> going work on the 22. he was tight on bothright and left-handers. there's allgaier out of the way. there's agate right where he is stopped where he can pull that car off pit road.>> boy, i tell you chad knaus' heart rate had to go up. jimmie johnson, start of thelast lap. was stumbling that entire lap. were they going to make it back around there? kurtbusch able to lob seven seconds just in the last couple laps. johnson exits pit road withhis stop completed. kurt barb assumeed lead. justin allgaier, here comes johnson. that'shornish, sorry, sam hornish and just to the left is the gate where you remove allgaier'scar. jamie?

>> the car has gotten better as the day goes on. that's the same strategycarl used last year to win this race. stopped on last 30 and 70 to win the race. that leavesclint bowyer running third and i have to meet clint bowyer. they have to be on pit roadwith the next couple of laps. >> i tell you that third place finisher reallygave him a lot of confidence on the road course. run much better since then. here's bowyeron pit road. following justin marks. things cycle around. here's bowyer. jamie?>> he raised $350,000 for youth in his community. right now his car has been good. no adjustments.put four second cars on. kasey kahne up to third. jimmie johnson fourth. kevin harvickfifth and justin allgaier got going as kurt busch leads with 42 to go.

>>40 laps to go in sonoma, california. here'syour race summary of laps led today. kurt busch 39, jimmie johnson, 14. kyle busch,12, clint bowyer and a.j. allmendinger, whose car is in the garage replacing a fuel cellfor no fuel pressure, has also led a lap today. >> let's go to nationwide dale earnhardt jr.performance update from vince. >> dale earnhardt jr. not known as outstandingroad course racer but as d.w. mentioned a moment ago. aft they finished third they gainedadded confidence and came into this race wanting to take another step forward. the crew chiefsaid i believe we can win this race and we'll do whatever it takes to get there. we've alreadywon this season. we know we'll be in the chase. we'll be aggressive and be on the offensiveand dale earnhardt jr. has been spot on currently

running second.>> you got hendrick powered cars in the first four spots with kurt busch leading. kaseykahne, jimmie johnson running one, two, three, four-- actually five with kevin harvick. >> tony stewart made his second and hopefullyfinal pit stop of the day. >> no brake problems there. all four lockedup. i think that's one guy when he says he doesn't like road course, he ain't kidding.let's hear what jimmy and chad knaus are thinking. >> we're going to be okay. we're working atsaving tires. >> save this caution. we will be the leader.we want to stay with these guys the rest of the week.>> you come in, get a little gas. finish top

ten no matter what. you've done a great job.>> that's a great crew chief. make it up as i go.>> here's why they can do that. we know everyone running inside the top 12 has to make onemore stop. clint bowyer is 32 seconds behind jimmie johnson, he can save a ton right here. >> that's what he needs to do. you save alittle bit of fuel on two laps out there. we should be good after that. we saw thattire early in the race left rear looks good. exiting turn ten. caution is out.>> heavy contact. i saw the dust cloud on turn ten. you heard j.j. say that would beus as the spotter said somebody's crashed in turn ten.>> just gets off right here. this things comes

around and, bam, that is a hard lick on thatdriver's side. >> matt? meanwhile, also on pit road. the18 of kyle busch. no changes for busch as well.>> that was heads-up by our team. the window was open. they were able to get on pit roadbefore it was closed. they'll be in front of everybody else that still has to make thatstop. >> kyle wilson. david regan employing thatstrategy and yalely will be able to drive most of that car away. all of our other leaders,kurt busch, just to name a few can come on to pit road.>> that is one car that stayed real consistent on the used tires.>> what will it have, three, four laps versus

the other guys?>> caution came out on lap 73. he'll have five, six laps. >> michael mcdowell will get the free pass.third caution of the day. bring your verizon or at&t bill and your old phone. by a margin.kurt busch led the most laps so far today with 36 to go.>> that's the reason right there when you're on the strategy especially late in the raceknowing that's when the intensity picks up. when that window opens i saw it with ryannewman two laps before that caution. you better get on pit road and be done with that finalslop. a.j. allmendinger back in the race after replacing fuel system components in the garagearea. ouesitter.

>> you heard them say they had fluctuationof pressure something they could fix. he's waiting to blend in, i think.>> yep. track sweepers headed for turn number 10 for j.j. yalely went off at the exit. we'lldo a nationwide inside ride with dale earnhardt jr. we are going have to come down, pit fourtires on fuel to make it the rest of the way. >> it has to be really fast. that's why.>> i didn't know we were that good. pit road is open. crew chief. kurt busch leads themon to pit road. >> the very first pit box, harvick gets tourtires that last pit stop on the left. this has gone much smoother. raced his way backto top five. matt? tony gibson's strategy trying to maintain that gap. were they goingto make the green flag stop. no changes on

the 41. a little slow on the front. jamie?>> that may have gotten way off. we were deep and early. this is an extra long pit stop.it's planned. he wants to be set up just like jimmie johnson and dile earnhardt jr. thecar has been extremely loose. hang in there. you're just like your teammates. it will befaster. we have making up to do but hang in. this is disastrous. >>> foot stomping. racing around sonoma. daleearnhardt jr. ahead of kasey kahne. that can prove pitiful in the last few races followedby kurt busch and kevin harvick. now, each week look for the race day advanced auto parsdriver spotlight. today race day caught up with dale junior. and fans' race day continues.catch it sunday evening 5:00 p.m. eastern

time on fox sports 2.>> these guys are like napoleon dynamite getting some sweet air.>> biggest crowd at sonoma raceway at more than a decade. a lot of them from northerncalifornia coming to see jeff gordon's last right at sonoma.>> you mentioned race day. this may be our last sprint cup series race as well as ourlast xfinity race on fox and fox sports 1. it's race day and the nascar camping worldtruck series through homestead in november. >> we look forward to t.>> kyle larson in fourth place. pretty good spot.>> that's our advantage. we're good on gas. tires. how do the tires look?>> they look good but they are wearing.

>> this is where it starts.>> you agree this is where the caution starts, 34 latches to go?>> again, going to our trend. the last caution flag is lap 97 with 13 to go. also in thelast ten races three time overtime. green-white checkered. in ten laps they start losing theirminds. >> up to this point this is where you letpeople in. cut them slack. you let them have it. from here on out you don't give up anything.if somebody is alongside of you you race alongside the car trying to get ahead you. >> a couple drivers deep in the field. jeffgordon. handling issues, 26th place. they try to remedy that on the pit stop here. joinnascar as we salute veterans and active military

members. join nascar salute or visit nascar.com/salute.>> got him in 26th. should have had the best car today. jeff knows his track. having tocome in this late to make those kind of changes i'm not sure i can overcome that. david regan'screw getting him on the pit road. we talked about jimmie johnson leading this race. schclosestdriver back to him. dale earnhardt. back in 13th. top 12 drivers stayed out.>> a lot have not been to pit road since the late '70s including jimmie johnson.>> we're one lap shy. with this additional caution. we're one lap. but.>> that puts him in the same boat. joey logano, kyle edwards, tony stewart. i'm going to tellyou something. that car right now. the 48 car is the car to beat. only way he losesthis race, if they bead themselves on fuel.

>> lights are out. on the toyota hydrogenfuel pace car. >> this might be a good one to watch closely.>> you think? >> calamity corner it's been all weekend. >> jeff gordon's team. he has to drop to therear for the restart. bowyer, johnson, larsen. logano. has to be real careful not to makeany contact. bowyer is hanging tough. michael? >> you talk about needing to have a perfectrace. first three tires. they are gambling right now. being perfect is going to includethis race ending in the scheduled distance. >> larry said and we know, there will be anothercaution. larry nailed it. these drivers a lot of them lose their mind.>> regan and edwards there they go into the

road hard!>> were you saying? >> yes. they'll lose their mind and in theprocess they'll lose their car. >> that's what johnson and those guys need.they save plenty of fuel. look. you study trends, they study trends. got some more comingout on the headers. >> wow. ta was way more than push comes toshove. >> that was crazy. here's a look at the fourthcaution of the day. now he's got to fight for some room. this is the same place thatthe 78 and 55 had trouble. this time the 19 of carl edwards bounced over those curbs andbounced into david regan. >> that was a battle for seventh or sixthactually.

>> because of the odd impact or angle. theycatch it before the tire pack right there. jamie?>> carl edwards said i'm find. crew chief said if you stay in there and try to bringit back into the garage we'll take a look at it. carl edwards looks like he's climbingfrom his race car. david regan climbed out as well.>> in that same spot. one of those places where you hate to give up position. particularlylate in the race but sometimes. you got to yield. back at lap 29. david regan and martintruex. right there. at the 78. the 19 was almost involved in this. he waited it outand was able to clear the wreck. edwards comes across. he hit regan into the right fronttire. in that course, it's cooler in the radiator

i'm thinking he has oil in the headers andshe caught on fire. as soon as he cut the motor off most likely the fire would go out.>> he got some fluid to clean up in david regan's fire. including the jersey blocksthat you're familiar with from highways across the country. . and we're under caution with31 laps to go. >>> we're here for a win, not a position.>> car falls offer with the rear. >> he blocked him. 30 laps to go. after contactfrom david regan. here's the toyota race summary. five drivers have led laps. eight league changes.vince welsh caught up with carl. >> he is done early today. but what is your perspective, carl?>> i don't know. everybody put so much effort

in this. fortunately we have a lot of stanleytools to work on this. david and i were close. >> looks like the tough. left rear hit theright rear. i thought worst case we'd bump doors. that's probably my fault there. stanleydoesn't usually do that. i love this place. my favorite track.>> mike? >> i thought martin truex's car is permanentlydamaged but he's back out there. you see the highway barriers forklifted back into position.tire tracks not extended no that area. >> before we went to green. jeff gordon waspenalized and sent to the rear of the green. jordan had high hopes for today. let's seewhat happened to cause the penalty. >> the crew member here, this guy right here,he throws

-- what does that appear like, andy? can youtell? >> that's a technicality. there's a rule youcannot throw equipment across the wall. i know that's a spring rubber. hard to distinguishwhat is spring rubber or benign object. something that's heavy. sometimes you can't tell whatit is. that's why this rule is in place. >> gordon would have restarted 26th but insteadhad to restart 28th. with the penalty also restart at the tail end. longest line. that'sone lap down. there's about eight of those. but there's still 29 laps to go here in sonoma. >>> aerial coverage provided by goodyear proudlysupporting our military for 100 year. goodyear, official tire of nascar. let's check withvince welsh with david regan out of the care

center. vince?>> we heard from carl and he shouldered much of the blame. what was your perspective?>> these great starts that's where you gain or lose a lot. if you give an inch, a lotof guys take a mile. i really knew we were both putting ourselves in a pad situationright there watching the replay. it's tough through there. if i give a little to carl.three, four guys will get around me. we had a great aaron's dream machine. can't say enoughabout everybody. michael waltrip racing, toyota for working hard to bring fast camries outhere. thought we had a chance to win this thing today. proud of everybody on the aaron'sdream machine to give me a chance to win. i felt like i was in a good spot there. wewere 50/50 and just racing for a spot and

it's one of those things. i don't regret whati did. if i had to do it all over again i would. a lot of times i'm too conservativeand give these guys too much. i'm glad i held my own and had a good car today but it wasn'tmeant to be. >> that was the incident with carl earlier.you got together with the 78. . i didn't get together with the 78. the 78 ran me off thetrack. i was trying to get on the racetrack. that's a good instance where the 78 did mewrong and i'm trying to get back on the racetrack. that's unfortunate for him. never good tosee anybody tear up the race car. martin would probably not do that again if he had the opportunityto. >> thanks, david.>> candid comes. this track will bring out

the mean in you at this point with six spotsfor the chase open. quick recap. we have 27 latches to go, 110 early on. first caution.you see those tires in play. david gilliland getting involved there. martin truex jr. nowback out on the track. this is what david regan was referring to and truex indicatedmaybe regan has one coming to him. both drivers okay. truex, very, very upset. kevin harvickwent from 4th to 26th. number one here. but he had multiple wins this season. allgaierrunning out of gas. look at the move by joey logano. >> he's in third place because of that moveright there. he got on pit road and took advantage of that situation.>> you give an inch, you take a mile. you

don't have an inch or mile with the laps runningout and after this, ten races until the chase. we have had five leaders, eight differentlead changes and jimmie johnson, your leader already four wins this year. should he gethis fifth it would be the worst ever by the 16-race mark of the season. let's head backupstairs. >> thanks, chris. lights are out on the toyotapace car. we've had two multi-car mile-ups. two single-car crashes. are we done?>> not even remotely. >> we're now getting into the crashfest partof the race. you'll see more of what we saw with carl edwards in the 55 car. let see whatthe 88 had to say. >> it's been a good one.>> good race car no matter where we end up

here. it's been a good car, man. i'm proudof your race cars. pretty awesome. >> all right. folks, refill the popcorn bowl.pull up a good chair. this is about to get interesting.>> snug your belts, too. >> i would say pull them real tight one moretime. >> johnson, logano, stewart. busch, larsen.here we go. >> got a nice jump on clint bowyer at 15.here's logano looking for room on the inside. not going be able to get there. looks like18 going to get there. and fight for that spot.>> every time you get it together. you lose it in the next point.>> larsen on the inside. a lot of crowding

going on right there as they come down intoturn seven. biffle on the outside. look at that. oh, my gosh. did you see the 42 car?i thought he was going to turn over. >> how about tony stewart behind joey logano.i think for the first time he can see the leader in front and he's motivated right now.he's had a good car. three of the top five right now have yet to win this season. tryingto punch their ticket into the chase for the sprint cup.>> kyle looked low, looked high. tight line through turn 11.>> guys watch that 41 car of kurt busch. he led twice as many laps as anyone today. he'sreally fast but stuck back in the 12th spot. his tires are a little pressure but that'sa lot of track position to make up, darryl.

>> you put that 48 car up in front. i don'tcare if he got more laps than some of these other cars, bowyer, maybe, and kyle buschbut that 48 car has been mighty supreme today. >> mike, you spoke about the driver that'snot one of the top five. how about clint bowyer, 92 races since he visited victory complain.>> kyle busch with an injured leg and ankle. we know how bad he wants to win.>> third one is tony stewart in the top five. when is the last time we saw tony stewartwithin sight of the lead this late in the race.>> that's a lot on the line for everybody but jimmie johnson who has four wins. he wantsto win another one, obviously, he wants to win every time you go to the racetrack. thereare guys behind him who are desperate.

>> he and joey logano have nothing to lose.>> there's bowyer, kyle busch, there's tony stewart. kyle larson. back to newman, biffle,i mean, there's a bunch of guys in the top ten that would give anything right now fora win. i don't think give is part of the equation going forward here. >> no, they'll do anything to take a win.how's that? >> there you go.>> think about it. how many winners have we had here in the last ten races?>> winners? >> ten. ten different winners.>> turn seven. that was kurt busch making a pass on biffle. so, kurt moves up to ninthin the red and black car. that 41 car is good

but there's no substitute for track position.you're going to wear out your stuff trying to get back to the front.>> mike, you asked me at the top of the show about strategy. 24 laps is eternity on a roadcourse. but right now, the difference could be the drivers that hit pit road before thatcaution flew. that could be the difference between winning and losing this race.>> this he were kyle busch and kyle larson, i believe.>> but i think that all of these drivers that came to pit road even the ones prior to that,that could be the difference. >> it was just pointed out to me. things havebeen pretty common in turn 11 today up to this point.>> just wait. just wait. keep your camera

locked down on it.>> i'm with you, brother. 23 laps to go and you're starting stuff.>> that's a good place to pass and good place to wreck.>> didn't vickers put tony stewart on tile barrels?>> kyle busch took advantage of clint bowyer in turn seven. he moves into the second spotwith that 18 car. >> remember earlier, i was saying how muchhe abused his car. he slides the car around a lot. the car seems to take it. i know he'sone of the best drivers out there when it comes to sliding the car around. darryl, asgood of a car he has. i would say the discomfort he's feeling efforter is the furthest thingfrom his find.

>> a casual dust-up out of turn number ten.not enough asphalt. he's got two tires on the road. what's the problem? what is to getexcited about? >> you think of all of the speed that he'shad. right there behind ryan newman after leading 43 laps today that's a race high.jimmie johnson led 28. i tell you the other thing about the 48 car. i think he-- i know he's got a great race car. i know new jersey is so smart he's probably not drivingat 100% right now. he's probably saving a little bit-- >> oh, june bug.>> inside kyle larson. >> i'm in a bit of a hurry. i don't know ifyou know that or not. i'm going to become

a supreme road racer. fastest rush hour incalifornia right here through the "s"s. >> .>> all of those lead lap cars now larsen. underneath newman. kurt busch to follow. seventhand eighth. newman kicked back to ninth. chris? >> mike, jimmie johnson just came over theradio and said, i feel like i've lost a little bit of a rear grip that i have throughoutthis race. that car a little loose off high speed and low speed sections of the racetrack.jimmie, all we got to do is taking care of those tires.>> and, darryl, in a road course, we always talk about the aerodynamics not being important.clean air, all of the things we talk about week in, week out. you have to believe goingout front there's no distractions out there

in front of jimmie. >> on a road course there's so many thingsyou have to do. hit your marks, hit your shifts. can't miss a gear, can't overdrive corners.so many things you can't do. you don't want anybody around you distracting you from doingyour job. being out front. you can really run good laps.>> that was close for kyle larson. another thing you can't do. coming out of turn eight.that got kyle edwards and david regan into the wall.>> dale junior keeps working over tony stewart but has not been able to get by him, jamie.>> it has been a good day for tony stewart. they were not sure what they 0 would havein practice. but today has been a different

story. tony has been running in the top tenand now top five. remember, he hasn't had a top five all year long. what a great finishthis would be for tony stewart who, guys, by the way yesterday took the entire teamto six flags. won a huge stuffed animal. he's a winner there. he had the spring in his stepthe last few weeks and it's showing on the racetrack today.>> i can tell you one thing. dale junior ain't going to ruff him up to get by him. i canguarantee you that. smoke don't go for that. >> he hand chad johnson had a plan today.that's what they stuck to. even earlier in the race they had not panicked. by gettingfresher tires. >> yep. it's working out for them right now.kurt busch trying to move up but, does he

need a caution flag to get up to the front?he climbed to seventh. how far can he go? >> the 2011 winner on the radio, elbows up,pacing himself. plenty of time left for kurt to get back to the point. thinking outsideof the box, week in, week out. these guys spend so much time and money trying to getmore speed and more weight out of the race cars. normally they run a carbon fiber ticker.but knowing he averages 17 a year, he went with an aluminum shifter trying to eke outa win in sonoma. >> danica patrick has been all over caseymere trying to get the 15th spot. >> danica was up closer to the top ten butremember, she's not pitted since the last 69. she's one of those tires out there ontires that she would certainly like some fresh

runner on. they are hoping this will be ableto allow her to get to the end. they've had enough yellow flags. they are gambling, rollingthe dice fort finish. two stops for danica is the plan.>> kurt busch keeps picking them off. >> yes, he is on a mission. 6:30 off the lead.>> i think about the job he did a few years ago in james finch's car. had trouble at theend of the day. still finished third but kurt busch won the race for penske, a good littleroad racer. let's do a little dancing with the cars, joey logano.>> that little key bar above his foot. folks asked about that on social media. that soif the throttle sticks wide open. that's something that rarely happens anymore with ef-i. hecan lift his foot and pull that throttling

back. that's ha that t-bar is for.>> first time i saw that. i tried to use it. it's the weirdest throttle i've ever seen.>> we have to thank joey logano and jeff gordon to allow fox to put those foot cams in thecar this weekend. >> jeff's is a little bigger. he needed aplace to put the decal. >> i don't think i've ever seen that before.>> look at that brake peddle. if you elect to heel and toe, use the left foot for brakingyou can. these transitions are so good you use the clutch very little.>> kurt busch in that 41, working on tony stewart and that 14. trying to get to thetop five. >> company's coming.>> got a little congested right there.

>> ryan newman gets right against them.>> i don't know if that's enough for kurt busch in the 41 to make a run on him or notbut he's all over him right now. >> stewart's tires are six laps oflder thanjunior and computer busch's tires. >> kurt is almost seven seconds behind leader jimmiejohnson. >> he's lost half a second in the last three,four laps. >> second place. bowyer inside busch. twoseconds back of the lead. clint bowyer. >> kind of what i've seen with the 18 car.he's driving aggressively. i'm not faulting him for that but it's hard on those tires.>> earnhardt just about gave tony the bumper there.>> kevin harvick .

>> harvick, nine seconds back of the leader.who is the 48 of jimmie johnson. he is up 2.3 on clint bowyer, 3:30 on kyle busch. sixon joey logano and kurt busch. >> probably these fans have no idea whereriverside is and where we raced. coming into the ss is so reminiscent of the old riversidetrack. dale junior had stewart pass. no in this instant you don't. >> tony is not going to give up that spotin an instant. >> riverside was nascar's first full-timeroad course twice a year on the schedule through the 1980s. dan gurney was nascar's first roadcourse expert. won the motor trend 500 there five types.>> we started the year there and ended the

year there for a long time. swhafrjts i sawfrom the aerial view is dale earnhardt jr. who you're riding with. he charges turn 11.trying to get under tony stewart. tony beats him off the corner.>> what junior is trying to she him his nose and think you might let him in. give him someroom. >> smoke's having a good run. he's not goingto give up anything. >> he got completely side by side in turnseven. coming out of there. stewart had the line and held the spot.>> got a pretty good race car. considering where everything is. he's hanging in therepretty tough. >> biggest thing with the line of cars behind.there goes kurt busch, by joey logano. moves

him up to fourth place with 15 to go.>> you see dale junior and tony stewart fighting it out.>> same song, second verse, same place. >> yep, yep. you can get up alongside him.we saw it with the 78 and 55. getting a clean pass is treacherous.>> here's a different angle. you see what stewart does to defend.>> that's where martin truex kind of shoved the 55 off the track. that's where that feeas coy started. >> since the last restart, clearly, kurt buschthe biggest mover of eight spots. kevin harvick up five. jeff gordon, denny hamlin, jamiemcmurray. harvick has done a nice job. they've been able to rally back here pretty good.sitting in the top ten.

>> jeff gordon riding with him and the 24car made his way back into the top 20. 20 seconds behind his teammate, jimmie johnsonin that 48. >> here comes harvick. 31 of newman gettingby him in turn seven. up ahead dale junior had another look at tony stewart. nothingdoing. 7 and 11. that's the two safest places to make a pass if you can get position.>> heart throttling down through the ss to turn ten right there. . oh! he saved it. hesaved it. >> a little cultural racing. he chops joeylogano at turn 11. >> that's not the first time he's been outthere. >> to get off there and not wreck that's prettyamazing.

>> you want them to pave the outside of turnten? look at this and say why bother? >> that's huge. we've seen almost every carhit the wall. we saw it with j.j. yalely, 95 of mcdowell. a lot of guys have trouble.look how much degree bree he has on the grill. i'm worried about that. that could be a heatingproblem. >> it's covered not only the radiator butthe brake cooling. >> that's a lot of debris.>> getting behind somebody with grass in your grill is not like getting behind somebodywith a piece of paper in your grill. he might have a problem before this race is over with.>> he was making gains on jimmie johnson. he lost two seconds with everything that wenton there.

>> he was trying so hard. it was paying off.that's the thing. you push it this hard at the end of the day. end of the race.>> sometimes it goes bad like it did for him. right now, they are both about the same speed.8.6, 8.7 seconds now 8.8. the gap remains fairly constant. >> see clint bowyer in the 15. i know clintwith so much love to win this race about you if he could hold on to the top five it willnot only be his first five of the year but michael waltrip's racing's top five of 2015.>> i think they came in here with this race circled. they knew it was a race they couldwin. when you go to some place and expect to do well. you need to do well. they areperforming good today.

>> listen to clint through the ss. here again,dale junior looking at tony stewart. here comes harvick under junior.>> there's a lot of them lined up that want to take advantage if the door opens.>> harvick won't mess around. >> smoke said, i hope you all have fun playing.i got to go. i'm out of here. see you. >>. >> uh-oh, casey mears lost a wheel and axlebroke. it's still attached at the hub. going to be a caution.>> i saw him limping down the back straight. i wasn't sure what the problem was. i thoughthe had a flat tire but much worse. >> not only the rear axle. it was still hookedin but looks like the whole snout of that rear end housing broke off.>> that's what hoching those curbs will do

for you.>> mears was 15. >> there she goes.>> wow. haven't seen that in a long time. but i think, mike, no kidding. hopping thosecurbs that's what you worry about, breaking something in the suspension. that was justcoming out of turn 11. >> casey got the car out of harm's way. asthe wheel and axle bounce into the catch fence. >> this is a caution everybody is happy tosee probably except jimmie johnson because it gives them one more shot. look. that iseverything to do with that side of the rear end house.>> the brake rotor, caliper. the axle is there. housing, hub, everything is out there. thehousing looks like it broke.

>> exactly. the snout where all of that isfastened into. the axle slides into the gear. it just came out with everything else.>> wow. 11 laps to go in the toyota save mart 350 at sonoma raceway. what does this change?>> it gives everybody from clint bowyer on back another chance. now, gas mileage wasa concern for jimmie johnson. >> do what you can. you're doing great.>> there is v now been nine caution laps total since the top three pitted. this is a fuelissue. now can the 48 hold off at 41? that gives the 41 a real shot.>> clint bowyer shoots to pit road at the last instant. look at all of those cars comingoff pit road. that had to be a lonely feeling for jimmie johnson right there. that is-- oh, my gosh. jamie?

>> he went back and forth with his driver.final may li made the call and said this is the only chance we have. we need to pit. afour-tire spot. they're going to try to get it and win the second race here at sonoma.kurt busch was going to try to stay out. if he could. since others were coming in frontand behind that was their call as well. >> bowyer, kyle busch, logan know, kurt busch,harvick, newman. can kasey kahne, larsen. >> i did not see that coming. chad knaus wasin a box. he only had choice, to stay out. if they pit. absolutely stay out. he wouldn'twin on that call. >> does that not look like a lonely man?>> jeff gordon, matt kenseth. stay out. top five did not pit. watch clint bowyer and thislate decision.

>> looks like to me he made the decision alittle bit -- he saw kyle busch and 18 were absolutelycommitted to the inside of him. >> what i can't believe look at the trainthat came behind him. everybody. >> there is no commitment cone or line. it'sthat wall there. as log as they make it to that area. they're legal. he basically didhang jimmie johnson out to dry. >> this will be a little lengthy clean up.when that housing, axle grease is tougher to clean up than water or motor oil.>> jimmie johnson hopes it takes a long time. carl edwards had a similar situation.>> jeff jr. a bunch got tires. similar situation. >> trevor bayne will get the free pass. elahebe the 28 car on the p lead lap. those cars

stayed out. think about mcmurray, he's good.gourdn is pretty good. and stenhouse okay, today. there's guys out there that can holdyou up. >> ricky stenhouse jr., matt kenseth had arough day. they can hold those guys up enough to let jimmie johnson get going.>> lieutenant hear what team 48 is saying. >> you're not going tolight like this. >> definitely not.>> i thoughtying out. >> we are staying out. we're in good shape,man. >> i think i agree with chad. you don't wantjimmie to say we're in trouble. how about it?>> how about trying to extend this as long

as possible.>> he radioed and said it's very dirty through turn one. that's a tough thing for jimmiejohnson and everybody else on the racetrack. he's lobbying to sweep up through turn one.>> of course he is. he wants him to repave the racetrack if he wouldn't. >> casey mears got off the track right beforethe finish line. >> with chad naudz i want him to sweep it,too. >> must be something up there that no oneelse can see. >> i still say chad knaus and jimmie johnsonhad one choice and that's to do exactly what they did.>> i think he's going to be fine.

>> time to award our five-hour energy moveof the race. joey logano was a contender in pit road. he sees kyle busch is committed.if you're coming i'm coming. >> just a freight strange of cars.>> wow. >> last instant decision.>> there goes bowyer. he's the first car in line with tires. behind johnson, murray. stenhouseand gordon. how about jeff gordon. stuck deep in the field. oh, woi, we have no chance.suddenly for jeff gordon this caution has changed everything. >> now, jeff burton got turned around by atrack truck. >> holy--

>> i guess when you're trying to get intoyour pit. we saw matt kenseth swing into the bit and get serviced that way.>> who said you have to be in your pit box. doesn't say which direction?>> that's true. that added a lap. we'll come back around one more time which is good newsfor jimmie johnson. >> i think if you think about it. you havejamie mcmurray, a good road racer. that could be the cushion jimmie johnson needs to holdoff clint bowyer and these guys that got tires. >> i'm not sure it's jimmie johnson. jimmiejohnson does not need, and i emphasize, need, a victory.>> he comes in, he wants to win but he doesn't need to win.>> you're siting there leading the race, sure

like to walk out with that trophy, wouldn'tyou? >> absolutely. but behind him are driversthat need to win. >> you got ricky stenhouse junior back there.two times xfinity series champion, still looking for his first win in that 17 sprint cup car.>> jamie? >> speak of a driver that needed a win today.everything went wrong. he had crew members into each other. tony came on the radio andsaid, guys, can't we do anything right? he's restarting 15. matt?>> that caution was a bigger save than he could imagine. after they pressured the tiresthat came off his car. they found he had a left rear tire going down.

>> and he got that grass off the grill. that'swhat i thought was going to case him a problem. he's good to know now. started the 9th. stillgot a chance. half of the top ten have won this season. half have not including jeffgordon. here's a look at his day. what a roller coaster.>> man. all of the way back to 40th at one time. now he finds himself third and withinsight of the lead with what will be self ton go when they come back.>> as much as we quote adjustments that they made in pit road. maybe pay dividends now.>> they told him he now has the same set-up as jimmie johnson. will it be a enough toget the four-time champion, his first victory of the year.>> nonetheless. probably got a better car

than before they did that. of the top tenlooking for win number one of the season. positions two, three, four. mcmurray, gordonand stenhouse. clint bowyer in sixth. kyle busch in seventh.>> here's what we know. you can't mess around. you've got to go. you got to knock peopleout of your way. that's going to be something that clint bowyer, kyle busch, all of theseguys i, they got to get these guys out of their way in a hurry.>> i think clint bowyer starting in the position he's in right there. that will put him ata pretty good position as we get up on the hillside.>> i don't think it's what they can do. >> they're on it. green flag.>> pretty good drag race up the hill here.

looked like mcmurray yielded just a littlebit to jimmie johnson to let him get clear. >> first five on worn tires. >> oh threewide, bowyer.>> there's one out of the way. got the 20 car, kenseth out of the way.>> now on kyle busch. they're off in the dirt, three, four wide. look at this, you can'tmake it down here. boys, something's got to give. . and they made it.>> wow. kyle busch to stenhouse. >>. >> these guys are doing a pretty good jobholding everybody up. >> kyle busch is the driver that's the closestto the front with pressure tires. >> he's been really good on new tires allday long.

>> a lot of smoke and dust at the top of thess. >> we got a wreck. there goes danica in thess. >> danica spins. she got it cranked she'sgetting it spend. >> beautiful's car is wounded coming in turnten. they're still going. >> danica got going. i don't think we geta caution. >> she was 22nd. she falls to 28. guys onthe new tires are not making a lot of progress. kyle busch needs to put jamie mcmurray awayin a hurry. he's doing everything he can in turn four.>> bowyer gets jeff gordon. kyle busch up to second.>> jamie did a good job. mcmurray in one.

he let 18 go. he was in bad position. 18 hadthe advantage. >> i think it might be over now. he'll chasedown jimmie johnson. he's pretty good. could be a race between the 15 and 18 if thingskeep going like they are. >> biffle made it to pit road. coasts hisway through. maybe headed for the garage. >> i thought those guys would hold the 18and 15. but it wasn't to "." >> bowyer made a couple dramatic moves toget to where he was in a hurry. he knew he had to go.>> he just forced his way in there. >> threewide. three wide you're on the right.>> what a power move. a bold move by clint bowyer to get up to third behind jimmie johnsonand kyle busch.

>> kyle busch is all over the rear bumperof jimmie johnson in that 48. >> i would say this is all over but the shouting.>> here is where need to win overcomes wants to win right there. kyle busch to the lead.>> this is a big, big -- that's one of the best, most significantpasses kyle busch has made probably in his career. now bowyer in his second inside tojohnson. >> these guys are on four tires. i'm a sittingduck. he knows that. >> some of the best racing we saw earlierwas clint bowyer and kyle busch battling for second.>> bowyer has a great race car. he's coming. biffle back up to speed. his car okay now.kurt busch to fourth. right on the bumper

for johnson.>> man, kyle lost time in turn ten right there. >> he's letting it all hang out. here's comesbig brother. >> bowyer is gaping on kyle busch.>> it's going to get good. boys. >> look at kyle busch leading this race withfive laps to go. four months ago the man was in the hospital having surgery on one. anklesand one of his legs here he's leading the road course race.>> i'm sure he'll be hurting when this is over with. but what at the job he's doing.he's all heart. to make the chase he needs an average finish of 13 along with a victorybetween now and richmond. nascar made him chase eligible after he had to sit out a couplemonths while he recuperated in the xfinity

series into an unprotected concrete wall. >> i don't know if he can hold that 15 off.the 41 is there as well. i don't know if he can hold those guys or not. johnson fallento fifth. michael mcdowell goes off course and back on.>> he is going, he's fine. >> he's to the outside at turn seven.>> watch kurt wash. >> bowyer protects the inside takes a lowentry. >> there you made the comment i think in ourpractice show. 41 and 18 finish first and last at michigan. they might finish firstand second today the way it looks. >> that's the way it's shaping up. we gotthree laps to go now. i don't think kurt would

move at 15 over a little bit. get a littleextra room. >> this is where you have to be so precise.if you make a mistake here you're done. you don't think these guys got both hands andfeet up on the wheel? >> michael mcdowell-- >> oh, no.>> limping around. looks like he picked up a little bit.>> yep. >> bowyer is winding that thing out of frame.95 needs to pull off if he can't make it back. >> there he goes.>> he's fired. >> going be a dive bomb. right here.>> ah!

>> bowyer is not going to give kurt buschan inch on the inside. he can't. >> that's where kurt is really good. and he'slooking, too. >> two to go.>> well, with michael mcdowell, and the 95 still being out there. one of the flags whilebusch really wants to see is that white flag. they are going to turn michael mcdowell intothe drag strip area and off the course. he needs to get off the course. that yellow here.>> clint bowyer, a little shot. looking, looking. right at turn seven he did it. that shouldhave moved bowyer aside but clint saw it coming. >> if kurt times it right he's a little bettergetting to turn 11. >> well, company is come and kevin harvickin that 4.

>> watch him. get a run, dive to the inside.dive, dive. >> oh, baby, this is a dive bomb.>> he's got position. here come kevin harvick. he may be able to get by clint bowyer. backto the start-finish line. white flag one lap to go track is clear. mcdowell has pulledoff -- all kyle busch needs to do is not makea mistake. >> there's samantha, his wife. this he justhad their new baby. this is a big, big, big day for this team.>> this would be a big day for adam stevens. took the ball as a crew chief for kyle buschthis year. it's a first win as a sprint cup series.>> they really looked forward to this year

being together. thought they were going todo some great things and today they've proven it. last time to turn seven.>> i mean you have to admit. this is an incredible accomplishment for young man to come out ofthe hospital. get back in the car. he won the xfinity race m michigan. here he is, drivingon a road course where people thought it might be his achilles heel.>> kurt closes the gap. four, five car lengths as kurt wobbles off turn ten. one last chanceat turn 11. >> watch the 4 and 15 book there. they gota pretty good battle for third. >> and off the final turn. no crutches necessary,kyle busch wince at sonoma and for the first time in sprint cup history, the busch brothersfinish one, two.

>> first and last at michigan two weeks ago.first and second today. >> well, next checkmark, trying get to thetop 30 in points. >> feel better about it now.>> 43rd last week. >> mom and dad will be proud.>> kyle busch becomes the 11th driver to win in 2015. in only his fifth start of the season.congratulations to big brother. >> way to stay tough all day.>> fourth road course win. he becomes only the first repeat winner in the last 11 raceshere. >> mike, darryl, kyle busch said one of thebiggest motivations to get back to see other drivers in victory lane holding trophies.>> there's the essence of racing. snow co,

fueling victories.>> michael mcdowell did get back out on track and finish the race as did greg biffle. madelate stops. >> i love all of you guys. what a day! 27 cars finish on the lead lap. the bush brothers, clint bowyerthird. kevin harvick fourth, joey logano, top five.