By From the Archives

Published: March 16, 2008

The skies are overcast, but there is a refreshing absence of rain over Bristol Motor Speedway.

Respects have been paid to Dale Jarrett before his final start in a race that counts, the invocation has been give, the anthem sung and the engines have started. Here is your top 10 by starting position:

Johnson
Gordon
Bowyer
Kenseth
Mears
Stewart
Hornish
Burton
Edwards
Harvick

The pace car has led the field onto the track. Jeremy Mayfield in the No. 70 and track record-holder Ryan Newman have moved to the back of the field after changing their engines.

Darrell Waltrip is losing his voice on television. Must be the emotion of Jarrett’s last start. As for Jarrett, he is comfortably sitting in 37th position. As a broadcaster, though, he’s first rate.

The pace car is gone, Johnson ducks under Gordon to take the lead.

Lap 4 - the field is tight, running mostly single file as Johnson pulls away. Expect things to get really interesting in about another 20 laps, as Johnson catches the back of the field.

Lap 10 - Bowyer just came around Gordon to take second. Gordon, as usual, appears to be exercising caution. Jarrett is still in 37th.

Lap 14 - Bowyer just went low around Johnson. There won’t be any major battles in this one for a while. By the way, Dale Jr. is currently 15th.

Lap 20 - As Bowyer begins to catch the slower cars, he’s follwoed by Johnson, Gordon , Kenseth and Mears. On an interesting side note, there are some seats in the upper levels that are noticeably empty. That’s causing quite a stir here in the press box, where the cynics reside.

Lap 32 - Stewart is up to fourth. Bowyer is a second and a half ahead of Johnson, which is hard to do when negotiating through lapped cars.

Lap 41 - Still no yellows. Remember how people thought the Sharpie 500 was borinig last year? We will have a competition caution on Lap 50.

Lap 46 - Stewwart is up to third behind Johnson and Bowyer.

Lap 52 - Competition caution. Man, Darrell Waltrip sounds awful.

Lap 57 - We’re out of the TV timeout - er, competition caution. Bowyer had a nice stop, and pulls away on green. He’s looking very strong.

Lap 59 - Robbie Gordon spins out in Turn 4 to bring out a real yellow. That’s more like it. Johnson is now right behind Bowyer in the lineup, which could make the next restart interesting.

Lap 67 - Pace car is gone. Bower pulls away again as Johnson follows. Stewart still behind, followed by Kevin Harvick. Bowyer said he didn’t have the best car yesterday, but it’s looking at the moment that he might today. Gordon is back to eighth. Kyle Busch, your defending champion, is up to 10th. As someone who grew up on IndyCar, he reminds me most of a young Michael Andretti - very aggressive, always charging, damn the torpedoes.

Lap 75 - Bowyer is 1.3 second ahead of Stewart, who just passed Johnson. If Bowyer stays clean, no one’s going to catch him.

Lap 82 - Bowyer will be in the lapped traffic within five laps. You can bet Stewart is chomping at the bit to race him in traffic. Kyle Busch is now seventh. Gordon is having a rough day - he’s down to 10th.

Lap 87 - Bowyer is in the crowd. His lead has dropped from 1.7 seconds to less than half a second. Nobody weaves in and out of slower cars better than Stewart, the dirt track pro he is.

Lap 92 - Stewart is right on Bowyer’s bumper. Lucky for Bowyer, a debris caution just came out. If Stewart is strong enough, he’ll try to jump the restart.

Lap 96 - Stewart comes out of pit road first, as Bowyer lost four spots. Michael Waltrip is now your leader, followed by Stewart, Johnson Harvick and Denny Hamlin.

Lap 100 - Green flag, with Stewart chasing Waltrip. He goes low, gets around in Turn 4 and takes the lead. Johnson follows in sedonc. Bowyer is now sixth. Now we’ll see how good Boywer’s car really is.

Lap 106 - Kyle Busch just came around Bowyer for sixth. Stewart and Johnson are starting to pull away.

Lap 115 - Hamlin up to third. Stewart is a half second ahead of Johnson, and is more than two seconds up on Hamlin.

Lap 120 - A spin by Dave Blaney brings out the yellow. The leaders stay out of the pits.

Lap 125 - Just 25 laps under yellow so far. Stewart pulls out to the lead. Johnson is now being threatened by Hamlin. Is Toyota supplanting Chevy as the dominant manufacturer, and Joe Gibbs supplanting Rick Hendrick as the dominant owner? Yes, it’s too early to tell, but Hendrick and Chevrolet each have zero wins.

Lap 138 - The leaders running single file now. Stewart is about a second ahead of Johnson, who has a decent car, just good enough to take advantage when something goes wrong for somebody else. Johnson, like Gordon, reminds me of Rick Mears - always careful, doesn’t mess up his equipment, always takes advantage of someone else’s mistakes.

Lap 166 - Stewart is working the lapped traffic. His lead is up to 1.3 seconds over Johnson, who is getting harassed by Hamlin.

Lap 172 - Gordon is 10th, Casey Mears is 16th and Junior is 25th. Not a day that would please Rick Hendrick so far.

Lap 188 - Hamlin has moved up to second.

Lap 190 - Just in time for Hamlin to take the lead, Dario Franchitti bounces off Jeremy Mayfield, who spins and collects Ryan Newman and Bobby Labonte.

Lap 192 - Stewart and Hamlin pull into the pits. Maybe the funniest thing about racing coverage is the “race out of pit road” graphic they do, the only place where there’s a speed limit. Maybe if people are still complaining about a boring race when this one is over they should eliminate the pit speed limit. If we’re going to have collisions, have them closer to the pit crews.

Lap 197 - Stewart and Hamliin battle for the lead on the restart, and Hamlin gets it going into Turn 1. Stewart gets railroaded by Johnson and Bowyer, who is back up to third.

Lap 210 - Bowyer goes under Johnson for second. Hamlin now 1.7 seconds in front.

Lap 230 - Stewart is back in second, being pressure dby Bowyer. Stewart just made a heck of a high pass on Ryan Newman to hold him of. Not much three-wide action today, but at least nobody’s afraid to go high.

Lap 245 - Harvick is now in third, though he’s two seconds behind Hamlin. Hamlin is keeping Stewart back in traffic.

Lap 259 - Stewart got within a half second of Hamlin, but is now a second back. Stewart is getting held up by Brian Vickers, and gets passed by Harvick for second place.

Lap 271 - Allen Gregory is certain people are falling asleep in their seats. Denny Hamlin is lapping Casey Mears and pulling out to a 1.2-second lead.

Lap 278 - Dario Franchitti gets bumped by Paul Menard and spins out. Meanwhile Juan Montoya hit Hamlin trying to get back on the lead lap before the yellow. That could be an issue.

Lap 282 - There are only 16 cars n the lead lap. That includes Earnhardt, who is up to 11th. Gordon is 14th. Hamlin jus came back into the pitsto work on his right rear quarter panel. Denny could be a little upset with Juan Pablo when this thing is said and done.

Lap 287 - What do you know? Kyle Busch is your race leader. Stewart is still in the mix in second, and looks to to be reeliing him in. All Toyota, all the time.

Lap 291 - Kyle Busch just blew a tire and spun out on the backstretch. Meanwhile, Mike Skinner’s car caught fire. Darth Waltrip is concerned on TV.

Lap 293 - Busch’s spin marked the first major crowd response since Junior got introduced, although I’d almost swear they turn up the PA guy’s microphone when he announces Earnhardt for emphasis.

Lap 297 - Busch is complaining about steering issues on his radio, so he’ll have to pit again. By the way, I mean Kyle, not Kurt - what ever happened to Kurt, who used to win here all the time? Actually, he’s up to eighth.

Lap 300 - Stewart, who can never avoid trouble with his mouth, has avoided it with his car today and now is in the lead. Jeff Burton, who has been his typical patient self, is second, followed by Harvick and Johnson, who has to have the best team in the business, is fourth. Earnhardt is up to ninth and Gordon is still 14th. Of course, this still constitutes a bad day for Hendrick. Mears is now 39th, seven laps down.

Lap 306 - Burton and Harvick are making a run on Stewart, who is keeping them at bay by staying high. The high side seems to be where the action is today.

Lap 313 - Mike Joy just apologized for Darth Waltrip’s rasp. You have to give it to the guy for making the trip when he probably feels as bad as he sounds.

Lap 318 - Harvick is up to second. Hamlin is down in 12th. His day is probably over for all practical purposes. Can’t wait for that post-race interview, though Hamlin is usually pretty laid back. Someone on that team has to have a cool head.

Lap 335 - Stewart just put Kyle Busch two laps back.

Lap 346 - Busch just got his lap back, and his fight with Stewart could end up giving Harvick on the lead. There he goes, off Turn 4, Harvick has his first lead.

Lap 350 - Stewart is not going away, as he tries to go outside to get Harvick. Back in front is Stewart with a nice move on the backstretch. Those are some great tires he must have.

Lap 365 - Stewart might have some words with Busch after this one. Kyle is about to cost him the lead for the second time trying to avoid going two laps down.

Lap 355 - Stewart is trying to put somoe distance between himself and Harvick, and is now half a second ahead. Meanwhile, Johnson is in Harvick’s mirror and appears quicker in the turns.

Lap 371 - Stewart is now around Kyle Busch, as is Harvick.

Lap 376 - Johnson just tapped Jeff Burton and spun, but neither lost control or track position. Nice work by both.

Lap 383 - Harvick is staying right with Stewart as a bright light engulfs BMS. I thought the night race was in August. Wait, that’s the sun.

Lap 378 - Stewart comes out of the pits with the lead. Pit and fuel strategy will now come into play. It’s still Stewart, Harvick, Burton, Johnson and Greg Biffle, who has come up from 14th.

Lap 389 - Harvick gets around Stewart for the lead. Hamlin is back up to eighth.

Lap 399 - Bowyer is up to fourth and gaining on Burton. Harvick is half a second up on Stewart.

Lap 416 - Stewart is back in front. “I’d like to thank Goodyear for giving me such a great tire.“

Lap 420 - Hamlin is trying to get around Bowyer for fourth. Burton is within reach as well.

Lap 433 - Stewart’s lead is a full second over Harvick. Hamlin, who may be a factor if he has time to reach the leaders, is starting to reel Burton in.

Lap 437 - Johnson is complaining about his handling after his collision with Burton, and was told by his crew to deal with it. Earnhardt got around him to get to sixth. Quietly a nice run by Junior.

Lap 444 - Hamlin passed Burton for third, and he’s two second behind Stewart. A 1-2 Toyota finish?

Lap 450 - 50 laps to go, and Stewart has dominated again. Last year he broke down halfway through, but now he’s in charge. Hamlin appears to be more of a threat than Harvick, though neither might have time to get to him.

Lap 466 - The top three cars are about to get bunched up within lapped traffic. Hamlin needs to make up ground in a hurry.

Lap 470 - Earnhardt is up to fifth. A top-five finish will securely give him the highest spot in the standings of Rick Hendrick’s cars.

Lap 473 - Harvick is going to make a move within the next two laps on Stewart. Hamlin is about a second back.

Lap 478 - Junior is up to fourth. If something happend and the top three cars wrecked before the finish, I think we’d have to red-flag it because a riot would break out by Earnhardt fans going bananas.

Lap 483 - Harvcik is going to catch Stewart shortly, but Hamlin seems the quickest out of the turns. Will he have enough time to catch the leaders?

Lap 485 - Brian Vickers smacked the wall to bring out the caution. Harvick is coming in, putting Hamlin in second. A shootout to the finish, coming up.

Lap 492 - Stewart, Hamlin and Junior stayed out, but everyone else came in for fresh tires. Who would have thought tires would have factored into the decision?

Lap 493 - Darth Waltrip says Harvick has a good shot at the victory here. We’re going green with five to go.

Lap 497 - Hamlin grabs the lead, but here comes Harvick.

Lap 499 - Harvick creeps up the lap and bumps Stewart into the Wall. At least Stewart can’t blame his tires this time. Now I really want to hear his post-race comments.

Lap 501 - We go to the green/white/checkered finish with Hamlin, Jeff Burton and Harvick up front. Burton has fresh tires, too.

Lap 503 - Here come the checkers.

Lap 506 - Hamlin’s car got loose on the restart, and suddenly Jeff Burton is in charge. He claims the checkers, followed by Harvick and Bowyer. Richard Childress suddenly has a perfect day.

Post race - Darth Waltrip with the quote of the day: “This race has left me speechless.“

A nice weekend for Bowyer, who got a win yesterday in the Mini 300. “I’m finally starting to figure this place out,“ he says.

As for Harvick, he wasn’t about to apologize for wrecking Stewart, who put him in the wall last July at Indianapolis in the closing laps. The two are friends, so consider the score between them settled.

Forty-two cars of the 43 which started the race finished. The lone exception was Vickers, who caught fire. The number is a record for finishers at BMS.