The beginning of the race saw more caution laps than green-flag laps, with three caution flags flying in the first 12 laps. Marcos Ambrose and Jacques Villeneuve had the strongest cars to start the race, with Ambrose dominating. But, the pit strategy of some of their competitors put Ambrose and Villeneuve in 14th and 15th after pitting.

Ambrose powered through the field, as did Villeneuve albeit a little less aggressively than Ambrose. As Villeneuve made his way to the front, he got into the corner a little too hot behind Said and started wheel-hopping. He made contact with Said, sending him around. Both were able to right their cars and continue on.

Ambrose took the lead from Carl Edwards on lap 36, but one lap later, he reported that he thought there was something wrong with the battery or alternator. Edwards was able to get by him for the lead, and Ambrose pitted on lap 45 for a battery change. But, damage to the car prevented the crew from making a quick change, resulting in Ambrose losing two laps on pit road under green.

About six laps later, Ambrose broke something in the suspension, ending his day. He finished 33rd.

With 10 laps to go, Edwards, who looked poised for victory with Ambrose out, was leading when he broke a track bar mount. He went behind the wall for repairs.  He finished 20th.

Robby Gordon assumed the lead when Edwards had his problem, but was iffy on fuel. He conserved over the last two cautions. But, when Trevor Bayne hit the wall and Jason Leffler wrecked, the race was red flagged. Gordon didn’t have enough fuel for the upcoming green-white-checkered finish. 

On the restart, Said got by Gordon for the lead. Gordon gave him a shot in the rear bumper before running out of fuel and coasting while cars blew by him. He finished 14th.

Said took the lead, but Max Papis was all over Said’s rear. Papis passed him under braking  heading into the final two turns. But, Papis swung a little wide coming off of the final turn allowing Said to pull along side of him. The two had a drag race to the finish with Said getting the edge by a nose.

Top 5: Said, Papis, Villeneuve, Brad Keselowski, and Paul Menard.

Joey Logano, JR Fitzpatrick, Parker Kligerman, Justin Allgaier, and Trevor Bayne rounded out the top 10.

Notables: Kenny Wallace (13th), Robby Gordon (14th), Mike Bliss (15th), Mike Wallace (17th), Carl Edwards (20th), Jason Leffler (21st), Colin Braun (22nd), Tayler Malsam (23rd), Ricky Stenhouse Jr (24th), Michael Annett (25th), Brendan Gaughan (27th), Joe Nemechek (28th), Ron Fellows (30th), Patrick Carpentier (32nd), Marcos Ambrose (33rd), and Steve Wallace (38th).

The car will start and park in the two events before Atlanta, with yet-to-be-named drivers.

Papis will drive for Germain in the Camping World Truck Series next season in a GEICO-sponsored Toyota.

Update: Jayski is reporting that Papis will remain in the No. 13 car for this weekend’s Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway and for next weekend’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Under caution, Ambrose switched his car off, which is routine for drivers trying to save fuel. But there was no reason for Ambrose to do that, as he had plenty to last through a green-white-checkered finish. When he went to re-fire it, it wouldn’t start.

He slowed allowing six cars to pass him. When it re-fired, he tried to get back into the lead, but NASCAR rules state that he has to maintain a reasonable speed. And since he didn’t, he had to restart seventh, giving Johnson the lead.

Johnson drove away from the competition over the final laps and earned the first Sprint Cup road course victory of his career. The win is also Johnson’s first since NASCAR switched to the spoiler on the COT.

Top 5: Johnson, Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, and Jeff Gordon.

Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Boris Said, Tony Stewart, and Juan Montoya finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

Notables: Dale Earnhardt Jr (11th), Jan Magnussen (12th), AJ Allmendinger (13th), Mark Martin (14th), Jamie McMurray (15th), Ryan Newman (16th), Jeff Burton (27th), Carl Edwards (29th), Matt Kenseth (30th), Clint Bowyer (31st), Kurt Busch (32nd), Joey Logano (33rd), Denny Hamlin (34th), Kyle Busch (39th), and Martin Truex Jr (42nd).

Around lap 11, AJ Allmendinger got into Clint Bowyer, spinning him out. Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray, and Kyle Busch stacked up behind them. Busch made contact with McMurray, spinning him out. Busch got heavy damage to his nose. 

Denny Hamlin suffered nose damage early in the race. Rather than fix it during a green-flag stop, the team decided to wait for a caution. A few laps after Hamlin made his pit stop, his hood flipped up. Hamlin drove to pit road with his hood obstructing his view. His team fixed the car while he was on pit road. He finished 34th.

Martin Truex Jr was running well for most of the day. He was in the top 10 when Jeff Gordon got into him, spinning him around. He was furious with Gordon and Juan Montoya, vowing to wreck them over the radio. 

On a restart on lap 64, Boris Said didn’t get going. Cars stacked up behind him. Truex Jr, Regan Smith, Max Papis, Paul Menard, Sam Hornish Jr, and Denny Hamlin all got together, causing a pile up at the start finish line. The race was red flagged for clean up. Truex Jr and Smith got the worst of it.

Joey Logano spun off the bumper of Juan Montoya on lap 85. Mattias Ekström spun off the bumper of Brad Keselowski while Carl Edwards and David Gilliland also got back together on lap 92.

In the closing laps, Elliott Sadler and Clint Bowyer, who were running in the top 10, got together and spun. Sadler finished 17th while Bowyer finished 31st.

Give a call to Robby Gordon, Marcos Ambrose, Boris Said, Jan Magnussen, and AJ Allmendinger for all finishing in the top 15 despite not being in the most competitive equipment. Good for them.

On the third and final attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, Harvick pushed McMurray ahead of the pack, making it a two-car race for the win. Coming off of Turn 4, Harvick made a move to the inside and beat McMurray in a drag race to the finish line.

Top 5: Harvick, McMurray, Juan Montoya, Denny Hamlin, and Mark Martin.

David Ragan, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, and Mike Bliss rounded out the top 10.

Notables: Carl Edwards (11th), Martin Truex Jr (12th), Dale Earnhardt Jr (13th), David Reutimann (14th), Tony Stewart (16th), Greg Biffle (17th), Kasey Kahne (21st), Jeff Gordon (22nd), Matt Kenseth (28th), Brian Vickers (29th), Jimmie Johnson (31st), Jeff Burton (32nd), Brad Keselowski (34th), Ryan Newman (35th), Joey Logano (36th), and Michael Waltrip (39th).

Give a call to Mike Bliss, who posted a top 10 finish in Phoenix Racing’s No. 09 Chevy. That team lost its sponsor before the season started. And, about two weeks ago, the team parted ways with driver Aric Almirola, and put Bliss in the car.

Michael Waltrip deserves credit, as well. Driving for Prism Motorsports, Waltrip made the start in the No. 55 Toyota to commemorate Aaron’s 55th anniversary. He lead some laps, and appeared to have a strong car until he made contact with the wall. Later, he was caught up in a wreck. He finished 39th.

Scott Speed and Travis Kvapil also deserve kudos for finishing 15th and 18th, respectively. They stayed in touch with the lead draft all day and stayed out of trouble.

Also deserving kudos are Regan Smith, Bobby Labonte, Elliott Sadler, Sam Hornish, Robby Gordon, and AJ Allmendinger. They all lead laps the old-fashioned way, by driving their cars to the lead instead of staying out to lead a lap under caution.

The race saw a record number of race leaders (29) and lead changes (88) with several smaller teams making their way to the front and leading laps. The drivers were racy, early on. But, despite many lead changes, and a lot of three-wide action, the first half of the race was relatively quiet.

On lap 76, Denny Hamlin spun as he tried to pass Michael Waltrip. Hamlin spun through the grass, but didn’t hit anything and was able to continue on.

Less than 10 laps later, Kyle Busch was pushing Johhny Sauter in the tri-oval, causing Sauter to spin. He made contact with Kurt Busch to the inside, then spun back outside into Michael Waltrip. Elliott Sadler dove to the inside to avoid the wreck, but in doing so, made contact with Matt Kenseth. They spun, with Sadler hitting Max Papis and Kenseth hitting Paul Menard. David Stremme was also involved.

Late in the race, Jeff Gordon got a shove from Ryan Newman, and got a run on the inside line. Jimmie Johnson, who was in the middle, dove inside to block, forcing Gordon below to the yellow line. Gordon saved it on the apron, but he lost a lot of positions.

With about five laps to go, Mike Bliss turned Jeff Burton into the wall in the tri-oval. Burton bounced off of the wall twice, before sliding down the track into Jeff Gordon. Bliss made contact with Kasey Kahne, who then hit Scott Speed, sending Speed sliding across the infield grass. Gordon and Burton suffered heavy damage, though Gordon was able to salvage a lead lap finish out of it.

After the race Gordon said:

The 48 [Jimmie Johnson] is testing my patience, I can tell you that. It takes a lot to make me mad and I am pissed right now.

On the first attempt at a green-white-checker finish, several cars were into the wall when Joey Logano turned Ryan Newman in the corner. Newman hit Bobby Labonte and Elliott Sadler. Newman and Sadler shot up to the wall, collecting Logano. Labonte slid down the track into Marcos Ambrose, sending him up the track and into the wall. Labonte also made contact with Sam Hornish. Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, and Brian Vickers had nowhere to go, and all three were collected, too.

On the second green-white-checkered attempt, Greg Biffle slowed — he may have been out of fuel — and started losing positions. Jimmie Johnson attempted to get in front of him before he was clear, and they two made contact. Johnson was unable to save it. He spun and got back into Biffle. The two slid down the backstretch infield, with Johnson hitting the wall. Biffle finished 17th, Johnson finished 31st.

The crew chiefs from the No. 13 (“Bootie” Barker) and No. 47 (Frank Kerr) have been fined $75,000 and placed on probation for the rest of the year for violating Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 20-2.3A (unapproved added weight); 20-7 (all engine cooling system components must be approved by NASCAR prior to being used in competition); and 20-7.3A (radiator mount; failure to submit components) of the Sprint Cup Series rule book.

Robert Germain, owner of the No. 13, and Tad Geschickter, owner of the No. 47, have each been penalized 50 champion owner’s points. And, drivers Papis and Ambrose have each been penalized 50 championship driver points.

Meanwhile, the crew chiefs of the No. 00 (Rodney Childers) and No. 56 (Pat Tryson) have each been fined $25,000 and placed on probation through the end of the year for violating Sections 12-1; 20-7; and 20-7.3A.   

The violations occurred in post-qualifying inspection before the Texas race.

NASCAR confiscated the lower radiator pans on the Nos. 13 and 47 because they were found that the pans were considered unapproved ballast weight mounting, which is a violation of Rule 20-2.3, added car weight. The steel piece taken from Papis’ car weighed 45.2 lbs, while Ambrose’s piece weighed 25.7 lbs.

Cal Wells, of Michael Waltrip Racing, said in a statement:

NASCAR indicated we were running a part, a radiator pan, which had not been officially submitted for approval. We accept NASCAR’s ruling and will not appeal because we cannot debate whether the part was submitted, only whether or not the part needed submission.

 Geschickter said:

While the penalty feels excessive for an apparent misunderstanding on submitting a part, we also understand NASCAR has to police the sport and rule strictly to keep a level playing field among the teams. We will work diligently to ensure that there are no misunderstandings in the future.

The penalties drops Ambrose from 26th to 28th in driver’s points while Papis falls from 37th to 38th.

The combined margin of victory was 0.02 of a second (Johnson won by .005 and Kahne won by .014.) The two Duel finishes were reminscient of Kevin Harvick’s close victory over Mark Martin in the 2007 Daytona 500, and they’re exactly what NASCAR needs and wants to prove that racing can still be exciting.

By virtue of winning their respective duels, Johnson will start third and Kahne will start fourth in Sunday’s Daytona 500. That gives Hendrick Motorsports the first three starting positions in the race. Mark Martin took the pole in qualifying and Dale Earnhardt Jr took the outside pole.

Michael Waltrip, who needed to race his way in during the first Duel, ended up spinning and crashing into the inside wall, ending his chances of racing his way in. Michael McDowell, Max Papis, and Todd Bodine raced hard for the first two transfer spots.

Coming out of the final corner, McDowell had the first transfer spot locked up, while Papis and Bodine battled for the second one. Bodine, who was put in Kirk Shelmerdine’s No. 27 at the last minute, ended up hitting the wall, killing his momentum and allowing Papis to drive away from him. A very, very humble and happy Papis cried after racing his way into the Daytona 500.

In the second Duel, Waltrip still had an outside chance to make the race: if Scott Speed or Bobby Labonte raced their way in by finishing in one of the top two tranfer spots, Waltrip would be in the race based on his qualifying time.

Waltrip watched Duel 2 in the studio, while Bobby Labonte, Mike Bliss, Casey Mears, and Scott Speed battled for the transfer spots. Every pass, or near miss, must have been amplified 100 times for Waltrip, who at times looked like his heart was about to jump out of his mouth.

In the closing laps, Mike Bliss, in a back-up car, had the first transfer spot locked up. But Mears, Speed, and Labonte were battling for the second spot. Mears appeared to have it, but Paul Menard checked up in front of him, killing his momentum, allowing Speed to pass him and earn the final spot.

Waltrip cheered Speed as he crossed the finish line. He, then, breathed a sigh of relief, and the tears started flowing. Waltrip will make his 24th consecutive start in the Daytona 500.

Jeff Gordon will go to a back-up car after getting caught up in a wreck with Waltrip and Regan Smith. Gordon went on to finish 10th in his Duel, but will start at the rear of the field on Sunday.

If the Duels were any indication, Sunday’s 500 is shaping up to be on heck of a race. The Duels featured great racing, lots of passing, and a lot of two- and three-wide racing, which makes for a much better race for fans than a game of follow the leader.

Once the smoke cleared, the following go-or-go-homers made the show: Bliss, McDowell, Speed, Papis, Bill Elliott, Joe Nemechek, Labonte, and Waltrip. The drivers who did not qualify are Reed Sorenson, Mears, David Gilliland, Jeff Fuller, Aric Almirola, Terry Cook, Dave Blaney, Derrick Cope, Todd Bodine, Mike Wallace, and Norm Benning.

Jimmie Johnson, David Reutimann, and Marcos Ambrose will start third through fifth, respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 are Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, and Tony Stewart.

Notables: Jeff Burton (14th), Carl Edwards (16th), Greg Biffle (24th), Jeff Gordon (28th), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (31st), Denny Hamlin (34th), and Matt Kenseth (40th).

Go-Or-Go-Homers That Will Start: Stewart, Max Papis, Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith, AJ Allmendinger, Joe Nemechek, David Gilliland, and Todd Bodine.

Did Not Qualify: Travis Kvapil, Dave Blaney, Mike Garvey, Jeremy Mayfield, Sterlin Marlin, Scott Riggs, Tony Raines, and Dexter Bean.