log is the race leader. he finished fourth here last fall and led 33 laps. 22 cars on the lead lap. out of turn four, green flag, joey logano with kyle busch there. trying to stay even with harvick into turn one. earnhardt at 3rd, kyle busch 4th. jeff gordon inside for 4th place as harvick takes the lead. that's what harvick has been looking for quite some time to get that thing back out front, get that clean air. joey logano was able to drive off. we'll see what harvick can do. >> danica patrick did not get a good restart dropping to 11th at turn three.

>> matt kenseth at the outside in the 20. there's patrick to the inside of ryan newman. >> why did we ever believe we could not be talking about matt kenseth before this night was over because he was a lap down. he's been outside the to 7 most of this race. >> for 200 some laps we haven't spoke much about him. it's showtime. matt always figures out a way to be up there at the end. need ear factor in practice or qualifying. as kevin harvick and jeff gordon both just logged their fastest laps of the night. kyle larson in that 42 right now he's running in the 12th position and there you see greg biffle in the 16 just behind him in 13th. >> biff has a little right side damage. got in the wall going off turn one but wasn't very severe and hasn't affected the car much at all. that was early on, several laps

ago. >> he makes battling for 3rd, dale earnhardt jr. and jeff gordon. jimmie johnson moves to the inside of brad keselowski for 14th. >> on that last caution, jimmie johnson took four tires, brad keselowski they did fuel only. >> jeff gordon trying to get some clean air across the hood of his chevrolet. takes 3rd away from his teammate. three hendrick chevrolets running 3rd, 4th and 5th right now with johnson 14th with four new tires. so looking pretty good tonight for hendrick's racing operation. >> let's take a look at the pit stop averages for four tire stops. see who has been on it tonight. dale earnhardt jr. number 88

crew, steve letart averaging 12.4 seconds. >> 12.4 seconds for four tires. these tires and wheels they have five lug nuts per wheel not to mention 19 gallons of sunoco race fuel. a driver wouldn't even have time -- you can't say can i have a drink of water. >> it's made a difference. junior is in the top five in position to challenge here with 54 laps to go. he's running 3.2 seconds off of kevin harvick. inside of the lead. >> we're having good race cars. track position is important as well. we saw that with kevin harvick earlier in the race when he got back in traffic and couldn't go anywhere. >> four chevies in the top five. joey logano's ford in second. in the next five two toyotas, kyle busch and his teammate matt kenseth, the fords of carl edwards and aric almirola and the chevy of danica patrick

rounds out your top ten. 22 lead cars. >> these guys are talking about clean air. how can that be so important. it can't make that much difference. look at kevin harvick. there he goes. there's log at the line. what a huge difference getting out front makes. when harvick was stuck in the back as the caution flag flew, he came out in 18th place and couldn't advance. how can it be the car stuck in 18th and flying around now. we talk about the importance of track position. i've been trying to figure out what curb curb and dale rogers say. he's not been on pinpoint road since lap 158. that's about 57 laps ago. now there were 20 cautions in there but i think what he's going to do, i think they are going to get to the point where they feel they can make a green flag pit stop, make to it the end without stopping again

knowing that everyone else will have to. the danger of that, they need to make that stop and hope we don't get a caution before everyone else comes to pit road. that has to be the strategy. >> making a nice fuel run right here. he's in the 6th place. seven seconds off the lead. danica moved back up into the top ten. she's ten seconds off the lead. she got shuffled back on that want restart back to 11th then repassed ryan newman. she's .7 behind aric almirola. ryan blaney having a great night. his dad dave tried to qualify for this race but was the one car that did not make the field. trying to become the first father-son to compete in a nascar event since 2005, i

believe. bobby hamilton sr. and junior at atlanta. >> ryan is scheduled to run the race in talladega, it's the weekend they will have off. >> this is what i like. golden opportunity. capitalize on it. go out here run all the laps, get the best possible finish you can. don't make mistakes. >> capitalize is what jeff gordon in that 24 car is about to do when he caught joey logano in that 22. >> did you see the pointer going into turn one. 205 miles per hour. >> kyle busch, matt, how long can he stay out there? >> the guys are up on the wall, in their window right now. that's what dave rogers was holding up. as soon as they reach that number they will call him to pit road. remember the car was wicked loose earlier. he could barely hold on to it. he's going to make a chassis adjustment on this.

at one point rogers said clean air servicing. that's why they are trying to stay up front for track position. they are packing it full of fuel. >> i'm not sure an audible wasn't called. they wanted four tires. they were having trouble on the right side. they called it off. >> he was 6th, larry when he came to pit road and now he's gone one lap down. and distance to race leader kevin harvick. >> this is hold your breath time for him because he cannot stand to have anything happen right now. the caution flag ruins his night. >> good news for kyle busch. he was the first car one lap down, ricky stenhouse is now, kevin harvick is your leader. ♪ today, i consider myself, the luckiest man, on the face of the earth. he did it! the home run champ!

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they stop anything. (screeching) and if you use anything else... you should stop. duralast. proven tough. get in the zone. autozone. where's the crew?a racing family pit stop ♪ >>do they expect us to do it? do they expect us to do it? that's it. >>uh-oh. anybody need another coke? i'll take one. thank you. ♪ with 41 laps to go in kansas, kevin harvick leads jeff gordon by 2.8 seconds. their lap times continue to be

within a tenth of a second of each other. joey logano 3rd. now one week from tonight nascar's best drivers take to track at charlotte motor speedway for the 30th annual nascar sprint all-star race, a million dollars on the line. part of fox sports 1 ten days of thunder coverage on fox sports 1 begins next saturday, 7:00 eastern. definitely a classic checker wrecker. that's what that race is all about. >> the driver who has led the most laps has gone to victory lane the last three races, kevin harvick has now led 111 of the 267 laps distance, 39 to go. nobody is going to catch him. at least in the leading laps

category. >> mike, you know, i'm always looking at trend just like all the other crew chiefs. we only have three previous races at kansas. when you look at those races the average lap of the last caution is around lap 190 with 77 to go. now we have 38 to go. the one crew chief, dave rogers and kyle busch hope to go out green. >> got a green flag look to it. everybody is pretty well strung out and i don't see anybody really working on anybody too hard here at this time. >> we're not seeing the clumps of cars like the one that created the a.j. allmendinger and menard collision. >> exactly. a few cars busted up in the middle of three and four right now but pretty much quite minding their manners at this point with a little ways to go.

37 laps to go. >> the only thing that could offset the trend the drivers seem to come off the corner snap loose like we've seen several drivers. >> those are daytime trends not nighttime. >> i didn't have a very thick notebook on nighttime trends. >> i screwed him enough. >> this is the first night race in the brief history of kansas speedway. held saturday night so everybody can get home for mother's day tomorrow. >> jeff gordon has been knocking tents out of kevin harvick's lead, .2 last lap. got to balance back out. kevin has had to pass a couple of cars, closing down a little bit. >> just saw kyle busch in that 18 car. he's back in the 22nd position.

one lap down. first driver one lap down so he would get the free pass. >> for third lap in a row here gordon has been faster than harvick. and this time it tilts the other way by .2. >> kevin harvick in the 4 was catching a lap car or two here and that cost him a tenth or two. when they get in clean track, the 4 is still the fastest car. >> we'll see these drivers start to peel of making green flag pit stops. >> gordon run off turn four, he picks up another .2 on harvick and traffic was not a factor. >> kasey kahne on pit road. steve? >> mike, they are going to put four tires on that 5 car this time opinion kenny francis say it will free it up you want it,

a small chassis adjustment on that 5 and again they've taken two tires previous stop, four tires this time for kasey kahne. >> that lap leader kevin harvick had to deal with a lap car of michael annett and jeff gordon chopped almost a second off of harvick's lead. >> he can see that 4 car now. >> greg biffle in the pit lane from 15th place. dale earnhardt jr. goes after joey logano for 3rd. as joey logano heads for pit road. >> krista? >> greg biffle has been saying he's had no turn at all. he nearly wrecked back on lap 218 so greg biffle is needing help with his turnability on the

track. joey logano also coming in, joey logano has been so strong but said he's missing that clean air, his car is starting to come to him and been a little bit too free. he needs more stability, more of a tight race car for the final stretch. >> second and third place jeff gordon and dale earnhardt jr. are pitside for service so is danica patrick. >> harvick has to come this time. he can't stay out there. >> jeff gordon was doing? he was running some of his fastest laps because he knew he was getting ready to pit. >> jeff gordon took two tires on the last stop allowed him to run on top. they are taking four for this final stretch. >> the leader is in. kevin harvick to the pit lane. that should the end lead to carl edwards. edwards for matt kenseth and aric almirola out on track.

krista? >> wow. they are so close on fuel. they are language to come in on lap 346. that's as far as they could stretch it. kevin harvick is going with four for the final stretch. track bar adjustment. >> ryan newman finishing up service. aric almirola in the 43 car. carl edwards, he actually pitted the caution after most of these drivers as they did pit stops. he can go another six to eight laps as well as matt kenseth, denny hamlin, tony stewart, paul menard and brad keselowski. >> didn't think the 4 had a stellar stop. the 24 just went back to him and going down the back straightaway. >> so far all of our leaders have been taking four tires. that's not the call 43 of aric almirola despite taking two on the last stop. they go with two tires again. >> martin truex in and out of

pit lane and this would be the last scheduled stop with 27 laps to go. >> that is carl edwards crew chief. he is the only one of the drivers who calls kansas his home track on the sprint cup series. he's not had difficulty tonight. jamie mcmurray a fiery crash. and clint bowyer, a spin and multiple difficulties have left him two laps down. clint bowyer. so carl edwards will give up the lead to get his final service of the night. matt kenseth picks up the lead, matt yoakam on pit road. >> jimmie pitting and carl edwards, two or four. carl wanted four but jimmy said

we're going with fuel and right side. can't afford the time. >> i believe matt kenseth has the next to pit. and everybody else who was on the lead lap has another, has a cushion of ten or 12 laps or so. here's kenseth. matt? >> the car was tight from the center to exit. but he too said being closer to the front that made the car different. almost like having six tires on the toyota the grip he would pick up versus four. >> jimmie johnson is the new race leader. johnson and eight others, larry, could probably go another nine, ten laps but with these drivers having fresh tires how long do the others dare stay out? >> they are going to be giving up quite a bit of time. by michael can you allocations they can go to lap 250 which is about six laps from now as far

as fuel. >> kyle larson in that 42 car his last trip to pit road he actually changed just two right side tires, it was the last caution but he pitted the last 2005 four. >> when this cycles around if we stay green, prior to pit stops the lead kevin harvick had a 1.3 second lead on jeff gordon. butted they are just the opposite now. jimmie johnson is your leader. let's look at the pit comparison between harvick and gordon. >> this is what happened. 24 had another one of their great stops. the 4 a mediocre stop. when they came back out on the track the 24 was ahead of the 4. >> you can see kevin harvick was a little bit better than jeff gordon but you can see the difference right there in the crew and right now jeff gordon he's going to be in front of

kevin harvick. >> by a good bit and pulling away. they came out pretty close together. right now jeff gordon is pulling away from kevin harvick. >> that graphic gave advantage to kevin harvick but jeff gordon pitted a left earlier than kevin harvick that gave him an advantage as far as fresh tires. >> so it's time for our sprint 20 to go, jimmie johnson is your race leader. he's the first of nine drivers that still need another pit stop. the first of the drivers who have completed their final service is jeff gordon. 24.9 seconds off the lead ahead of kevin harvick. kyle larson is the 2nd place car and brian vickers 3rd but they will need another stop so will brad keselowski in 4th. and here's larson to the pit lane.

that's your sprint 20 to go. matt? >> larson made one more adjustment for the run to the finish. fuel going in. right side tires for the 42 of larson. >> eight drivers have one stop to make in the 5-hour energy 400 benefiting special operations warrior foundation. those pit stops had better come soon and you won't miss them. do you hate saving money, jeff?

what is it with you? i don't hate saving money! are you sure? because i'm racking my brain here. i have no idea why you would possibly -- i got my own framily, tom. yeah. lugnut's in your framily? of course! unbelievable. [ grunts ] ♪ [ male announcer ] join a sprint framily for as low as $25 a month. and for a limited time, get a switching bonus worth up to $650. happy connecting from sprint.

get a switching bonus worth up to $650. the double doand bread is dead. dead. it's a sandwich with no bread. 2 pieces of chicken. dos. 2 slices of bacon. dos. we got some cheese on there. a little bit of colonel's secret sauce. you know what it doesn't have... bread. and it's delicious. [crunch] [sigh] you know this is just a limited time thing, right? what? ♪ jimmie johnson continues to lead. lap 204 is when he was last on pit road. paul menard on pit road. and joey logano trying to get back on the lead lap. he's got fresh tires. so does dale earnhardt jr.. five drivers at the front have yet to make that final pit stop, jimmie johnson, brian vickers,

brad keselowski, denny hamlin and tony stewart. so here's jeff gordon in 6th. the first of the drivers that have made that final scheduled stop. brian vickers is in. and that will leave four out on the track. steve? >> brian vickers has been battling tight in the center all night long. he said he just doesn't quite have the power on the straightaway, but, again, tight in the center is what they have been trying to work on. >> get back out one lap down, a lot of cars a lap down. but that will change as johnson, keselowski, hamlin and stewart make their final stop, larry, if they make a final stop. >> they would have to go 63 laps, mike and that would be with no help from caution. i go back to brad keselowski's win here in june of 2011. he went 57 laps which was unheard of. he was having to shut the engine off in the corners that day. >> tony stewart is in and so is

jimmie johnson. stewart finishes up his service. here's matt. >> jimmie said he didn't like the car on four tires. chassis adjustment and fuel for the 48. >> splash and go. >> that's it, brother. >> for jimmie johnson. >> pretty nice call. >> ricky stenhouse and jeff gordon. is now .8 a second up on the number 4. >> i've been watching these two guys here. i figure it filters back to them sooner or later. 4 car, kevin tried and tried and realized he can't get around jeff gordon. he cooled his jets right now. make a late run at him or not. the 24 is the best car. >> the two leaders, brad keselowski and denny hamlin have yet to make their stop. ten laps to go, keselowski is the leader and the trend not in

his favor. >> mike, when i look at his lap times he's not slowed down that much. denny hamlin, he has nine laps to go. i've not seen brad keselowski and paul wolf slow their pace down with this 2 door indicate they will go to the end snoorn what he did. he's done it before, keselowski has. of course he was kicking the thing out of gear and coasting, but remember they got a lap down early in this race. wait a minute. here it comes. brad keselowski will be in the final driver to make the green flag pit stop and jeff gordon, the point leader coming in, who said wednesday in a press conference, he said points are fine but everybody wants to, needs to get a win this year. everything has changed.

>> he said he would get the points lead up, get the top five, top ten. i just want to win a race. >> he'll have a good chance tonight. he does get held up in traffic. he's having trouble getting by the 11 car. denny hamlin pushes along. kevin can close up pretty quick. i don't think kevin has a car to run with the 24 right now. >> certainly getting past hamlin took a lot out of jeff gordon's lead less than half a second. seven to go. >> when kevin harvick moved to the very top of the racetrack, i mean just tippy toeing around the top. he picked up a little bit of speed. it's not enough to run down the 24. >> they had identical lap times that time around within two one hundredths of a second.

>> i think the 24 is just prevailing right now with a better race car. >> gordon caught bowman in a great place the end of the back straightaway site did not much affect gordon's corner entry and slow him down. >> it hurt kevin on the corner exit there because he caught him in the middle. jeff gordon in the cat bird seat. he's pulling away from kevin harvick. >> that was a big chunk that time jeff gordon over kevin harvick as far as the scoring monitor. >> seven place race. danica patrick, aric almirola, cole whitt on the outside. been an amazing night for danica patrick. running solid all night long. been in the top ten. here she is seventh now with a few laps to go. >> she could be on the verge of her best career sprint cup finish. >> she only has one top ten and that was eighth in daytona 500 last year where she sat on the

pole. >> alan gustafson grew up a jeff gordon fan. now he's his crew chief and strategist. did he make the winning call. that car has been flawless. good on the long run. he's continuing to stretch it out over the 4 car of kevin harvick. >> 1.1 seconds with three to go. >> not a lot of traffic ahead. clear sailing. >> harvick did get .2 back that lap right there. right now i think he's looking in his mirror i don't want to make any mistakes. don't want to overdrive this thing. don't want to do anything wrong. we know how great jeff gordon is. he doesn't make many mistakes. lap traffic ahead. greg biffle and some slower cars ahead of him. two laps to go. >> dead even that time. >> being real cautious. kasey kahne is 3rd. ten seconds back.

then joey logano, dale earnhardt jr.. 16 cars on the lead lap. biffle the last of them. around the outside of travis kvapil, number 32, herer comes. jeff gordon will be looking at the white flag. >> that's the first flag he wanted to see for sure. >> great end no matter what. we got us another winner, boys. >> harvick is coming. >> all over the racetrack. a lot of traffic in front of jeff gordon. he's going to catch him down in turn three and four. >> harvick a great run. down to half a second. .4 second. a third of a second. jeff gordon off turn four win number 89 for jeff gordon! by two car lengths over kevin harvick. >> harvick made it interesting, though. little bit of traffic that he ran up on him. >> that's mighty cautious.