Racin' Cup Fantasy Nascar Free Nascar Race Information Phoenix International Raceway Subway Fresh Fit 500 Race Recap Race 08 April 18 2009

Phoenix International Raceway
Subway Fresh Fit 500 Recap
Race 08 2009
8pm ET Saturday April 18th

Lap 312 -- CHECKERED FLAG: Mark Martin wins the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, his first victory since 2005.

Lap 311 -- WHITE FLAG: Mark Martin continues to cruise.

Lap 309 -- Jimmie Johnson races with Kurt Busch for fifth position. Busch holds the spot, then passes Denny Hamlin for fourth.

Lap 307 -- LEAD CHANGE: Mark Martin blows by Ryan Newman on the outside to take the lead. Newman falls quickly as Tony Stewart takes second.

Lap 306 -- GREEN FLAG: Ryan Newman gets the race going again.
1. Ryan Newman
2. Mark Martin
3. Tony Stewart
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kurt Busch

Lap 302 -- LEAD CHANGE: Ryan Newman stays out to lead, possibly due to a bad in-car radio where Newman cannot talk to his crew. Kyle Busch gets out second behind Mark Martin, but Busch is clocked for speeding when exiting pit road.

Lap 301 -- Leaders pit:
• Tony Stewart gets four tires and a chassis adjustment
• Kurt Busch gets four tires on his stop
• Mark Martin has a small issue on the left-front but is out first
• Kyle Busch is out second with a quick stop

Lap 300 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Dale Earnhardt Jr. spins and crashes into the wall. Casey Mears made contact with him.

Lap 297 -- Mark Martin puts teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. a lap down.

Lap 292 -- Carl Edwards is now in 10th position after struggling much of the race. Sam Hornish Jr. is in 11th with a strong performance.

Lap 287 -- With 25 laps to go, Mark Martin has a 4.005-second lead on Tony Stewart.

Lap 282 -- David Reutimann passes Greg Biffle for fifth, and Jimmie Johnson follows to take sixth place.

Lap 277 -- David Reutimann continues his stout performance, running in sixth position.

Lap 272 -- With 40 laps to go, Mark Martin leads Tony Stewart by 2.804 seconds.

Lap 268 -- Jeff Gordon, a lap down and in 30th, has another tire rub.

Lap 266 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is now running in eighth place as his tires continue to wear down.

Lap 262 -- Kurt Busch tells his crew he may have a vibration from flat-spotting his tires when he slammed the brakes to keep from hitting Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 258 -- Tony Stewart passes Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second.

Lap 255 -- LEAD CHANGE: As they navigate slow traffic, Mark Martin dives below Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take the top spot once again.

Lap 250 -- Mark Martin makes quick work of Greg Biffle for second and is running down Dale Earnhardt Jr. He trails by just 2.077 seconds.

Lap 247 -- After green-flag pit stops, Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads by 4.029 seconds.
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Greg Biffle
3. Mark Martin
4. Tony Stewart
5. Kyle Busch

Lap 245 -- Brian Vickers and Juan Montoya are penalized for speeding getting onto pit road.

Lap 244 -- LEAD CHANGE: Brian Vickers makes his stop for adjustments. Carl Edwards is in, as is Juan Montoya. That puts Dale Earnhardt Jr. back out front.

Lap 243 -- LEAD CHANGE: Brian Vickers is the new leader after Jimmie Johnson comes down pit road for service.

Lap 242 -- LEAD CHANGE: Mark Martin pits for his tires and gets minor adjustments. David Reutimann pits. Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr. pit. Jimmie Johnson is the new leader.

Lap 241 -- Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin all make their stops.

Lap 240 -- Tony Stewart pits for an air-pressure adjustment, four tires and a window adjustment for more air.

Lap 239 -- Kyle Busch pits for his tires and a track-bar adjustment. Matt Kenseth pits also.

Lap 238 -- LEAD CHANGE: Mark Martin drives around the top of Tony Stewart as they get a little loose in Turn 4.

Lap 235 -- Jeff Gordon comes back to pit road to serve a penalty. He left pit road without a lug nut on the left-front wheel when he made his stop.

Lap 234 -- Greg Biffle gives up fifth position to make his stop. Four tires and a clean stop. Bobby Labonte and Michael Waltrip join him.

Lap 233 -- Jeff Gordon makes his pit stop. He takes four tires and has a 16.3-second stop with a major track-bar adjustment.

Lap 231 -- Marcos Ambrose gives up his top-10 spot to pit and get four new tires.

Lap 227 -- Scott Riggs pits but leaves without a left-rear lug nut. He must return for a penalty.

Lap 226 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on pit road for his scheduled stop. He gets four tires and fuel. Clean stop in 14.0 seconds.

Lap 221 -- Mark Martin follows Tony Stewart and takes second from Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 220 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart passes Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the lead, the first green-flag pass for the lead during the race.

Lap 216 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car is getting loose as his tires begin to wear, allowing Tony Stewart to continue to cut into the lead.

Lap 212 -- Tony Stewart has cut Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s lead to 2.4 seconds. With 100 laps to go, there has not been a green-flag pass for the lead.

Lap 207 -- Matt Kenseth is having a difficult day, running in 32nd of the 33 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 202 -- Mark Martin passes Kyle Busch to get up to third position, following leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. and second-place Tony Stewart.

Lap 200 -- Tony Stewart moves below Kyle Busch to take second position.

Lap 199 -- Kurt Busch is running in seventh, but he's struggling with his car. He says when he hit the wall it may have bent the chassis.

Lap 196 -- Mark Martin has the fastest car this lap. He runs in fourth.

Lap 191 -- Tony Stewart takes third away from Jeff Gordon.

Lap 185 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s lead is 3.62 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch.

Lap 180 -- Kyle Busch moves around Jeff Gordon, then Marcos Ambrose for second. Gordon follows to take third from Ambrose.

Lap 179 -- Kyle Busch is up to fourth place and on the move after his two-tire stop.

Lap 175 -- Kurt Busch hits the wall coming off Turn 4. He has a tire rub and smoke coming from it. He stays out.

Lap 172 -- GREEN FLAG: Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets the race going again. Kyle Busch restarts sixth as the first car that pitted.
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Marcos Ambrose
3. Jeff Gordon
4. David Stremme
5. Bobby Labonte

Lap 169 -- LEAD CHANGE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. stays out to lead.

Lap 168 -- Leaders pit although many cars from the back stay on the track:
• Kurt Busch gets two tires and a chassis adjustment
• Kyle Busch takes two tires and minor changes
• Mark Martin sticks with four tires while most take two
• Tony Stewart goes with two tires on his stop

Lap 167 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 5: Robby Gordon is in the Turn 4 wall with contact from Michael Waltrip. Waltrip was loose and over-corrected, hitting Gordon and sending him up the track.

Lap 162 -- Denny Hamlin tells his crew he may have a left-front tire going down. He makes contact with Jimmie Johnson as they both wiggle. He runs in 14th.

Lap 160 -- Juan Montoya is having a solid run and is now up to eighth position.

Lap 156 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch leads the field to green.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Mark Martin
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Tony Stewart
5. David Reutimann

Lap 152 -- Jimmie Johnson leads a group coming onto pit road:
• Jimmie Johnson gets four tires and fuel
• Jeff Gordon is in to get repairs to his fender and new tires
• Kevin Harvick gets the free pass

Lap 151 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 4: A.J. Allmendinger spins and backs into the wall in Turn 2. He has rear-end damage.

Lap 150 -- Jeff Gordon has a major tire rub on the left-front. Smoke is coming from the wheel every turn.

Lap 143 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch gets things going again.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Mark Martin
4. David Reutimann
5. Tony Stewart

Lap 140 -- Leaders head in for service:
• Tony Stewart is loose and gets an air-pressure adjustment
• Kurt Busch gets a clean windshield and no other changes
• Jimmie Johnson has problems with a lug nut and loses positions
• Mark Martin gets few changes and likes his car
• Greg Biffle has a slow stop and loses three spots, off sixth
• Martin Truex Jr. is out second despite David Stremme crossing his path

Lap 138 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 3: David Stremme loses it off of Turn 2 and goes for a spin into the grass.

Lap 135 -- After a slow start by the entire RCR team, Jeff Burton is now climbing and in 13th position.

Lap 130 -- Four of the five Roush cars run within seven positions of each other: Jamie McMurray (15th), David Ragan (16th), Carl Edwards (17th) and Matt Kenseth (21st). Greg Biffle runs third.

Lap 124 -- Tony Stewart works back into the top five by moving around Denny Hamlin for fifth.

Lap 120 -- Carl Edwards has fallen to 18th in the running order. He had been racing just outside of the top 10.

Lap 112 -- Martin Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne and Juan Montoya go three-wide trying to work through some slow traffic. They're racing for 11th.

Lap 109 -- GREEN FLAG: Kurt Busch gets the race going again.
1. Kurt Busch
2. Mark Martin
3. Greg Biffle
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Jimmie Johnson

Lap 105 -- LEAD CHANGE: Bobby Labonte makes his stop, giving the lead to Kurt Busch.

Lap 104 -- LEAD CHANGE: Bobby Labonte stays out and claims the lead.

Lap 103 -- Leaders hit pit road:
• Tony Stewart gets a full array of changes on his car and loses four spots
• Kurt Busch asks for no adjustments on his machine and is out first
• Mark Martin gets fuel and four tires
• Greg Biffle is out third, gaining three spots

Lap 102 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 2: Debris is on the track.

Lap 101 -- Kurt Busch catches Tony Stewart and passes him back to take second place.

Lap 100 -- Tony Stewart is on Mark Martin's tail as they work through slower traffic.

Lap 95 -- Tony Stewart slips around Kurt Busch to take second place.

Lap 94 -- After battling with Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin now has a slim lead on second and third place.

Lap 90 -- Mark Martin is working to put Kevin Harvick a lap down. Harvick is running in 35th.

Lap 85 -- Mark Martin continues to lead with a 0.808-second advantage on Kurt Busch.

Lap 80 -- Ryan Newman is up to 17th position. He started 30th despite having fast laps in practice on Friday.

Lap 76 -- Martin Truex Jr. is up to ninth position, his highest running position of the night. He started back in 26th.

Lap 73 -- Jimmie Johnson is now up to eighth position.

Lap 66 -- Jimmie Johnson is inside the top 10 for the first time in the race.

Lap 63 -- Tony Stewart takes third place from Denny Hamlin, sliding by in the low lane.

Lap 60 -- GREEN FLAG: Mark Martin gets the race going again.
1. Mark Martin
2. Kurt Busch
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Tony Stewart
5. Jeff Gordon

Lap 57 -- LEAD CHANGE: Michael Waltrip pits, giving the lead to Mark Martin again.

Lap 56 -- LEAD CHANGE: Michael Waltrip stays out to lead. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in for a second pit stop due to a lug nut issue.

Lap 55 -- Leaders head to pit road:
• Tony Stewart is loose off and gets adjustments: track bar, wedge, air pressure
• Kurt Busch gets an air-pressure change
• Mark Martin tells his crew the changes he wants and gets them
• Jeff Gordon is tight and gets proper adjustments to fix
• Jimmie Johnson's crew spills some fuel, sparking a minor fire
• Greg Biffle gains six positions on pit road

Lap 54 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 1: Sterling Marlin slides into the Turn 3 wall and has right-side damage. He had a tire go down.

Lap 50 -- Juan Montoya is running in 21st and has the fastest car this lap.

Lap 42 -- Tony Stewart squeezes around Jeff Gordon to take third place.

Lap 40 -- The highest-running of the four Richard Childress Racing cars is Jeff Burton in 21st.

Lap 35 -- Denny Hamlin continues his slow climb to the top, moving into seventh position after passing teammate Kyle Busch.

Lap 30 -- Regan Smith is hanging inside the top 10 in 10th after starting the race in ninth.

Lap 26 -- Tony Stewart is on Jeff Gordon's tail in a developing battle for third place. Both drivers began the race with loose cars as part of their strategies.

Lap 23 -- David Reutimann moves around Kyle Busch for fifth position. Busch is complaining of a tight race car.

Lap 20 -- Kyle Busch has fallen back to fifth position.

Lap 17 -- Kurt Busch passes Kyle Busch for second place.

Lap 15 -- Mark Martin continues to lead and has the fastest car on the track this lap.

Lap 10 -- David Reutimann has the fastest lap this time by. He runs in seventh.

Lap 5 -- Several battles have broken out in two-wide racing, beginning with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle for 14th.

Lap 1 -- Mark Martin pulls ahead to lead the first lap as Kyle and Kurt Busch fall in line.

8:45 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG: Mark Martin and Kyle Busch get the Subway Fresh Fit 500 under way from Phoenix International Raceway.

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