Lap 200 — CHECKERED FLAG: After his last win, also at Michigan, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said: “It’s a special day for my family. ... And it makes me feel good. I know I can’t tell my father ‘Happy Father’s Day,’ but I get the opportunity to wish it upon all of the other fathers out there, and I genuinely mean that when I say it — because that’s what today is all about.” Well said, even four years later. Happy Father’s Day, everyone.
Lap 199 — WHITE FLAG: One more.
Lap 197 — He’s all alone ... up to almost six seconds in front.
Lap 195 — “Five more, buddy,” says a voice over the radio...
Lap 194 — It’s a one-man race now. Can it happen?
Lap 191 — If Dale Earnhardt Jr. stays strong, his finish will match the most top-10 finishes he had in ALL of 2011.
Lap 189 — JuanMontoya and Marcos Ambrose looking to hold on to top-10 finishes. Good stuff, guys.
Lap 188 — Junior REALLY wide open now, pushing lead over Tony Stewart to almost five full seconds...
Lap 186 — Dale Earnhardt Jr. is looking at a near-2.5 second lead now...
Lap 185 — The field cruising by a very dinged-up Kurt Busch.
Lap 183 — Junior creeps lead near 2.0 seconds...
Lap 181 — TNT commentators talking about the winless streak ... still 19 left.
Lap 180 — Dale Jr. builds lead to 1.6 seconds...
Lap 177 — Stewart-Biffle-Johnson-Kenseth round out the current top five.
Lap 174 — Junior back up to first ... more than a one-second lead up in front.
Lap 169 — Landon Cassill up to fifth place as green-flag pits sort spots out. Oh yeah, baby.
Lap 168 — Kes does not pit, neither does Jeff Burton, and the Blue Deuce leads ... for now.
Lap 167 — Jamie McMurray does the same as he heads to pit road for right-sides and fuel.
Lap 166 — As Greg Biffle goes in, Clint Bowyer gives up his brief lead for a pit himself.
Lap 165 — Greg Biffle stay out to lead during green-flag pits by a portion of the field.
Lap 158 — Jimmie Johnson not giving up yet, coming from the back to start for a seventh-place run at the moment.
Lap 157 — Jeff Gordon still in third, followed by Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer...
Lap 155 — Tony Stewart tells crew over radio that he’s not going anywhere. He closes in second place.
Lap 154 — Dale Jr. has lead 55 laps today — best of the race.
Lap 150 — Junior leads the field with just a quarter left of racing at MIS ... what say you?
Lap 149 — Carl Edwards is in the top 10 after a rough 40th start. Nice work.
Lap 147 — Nice runs so far outside the top 10? Jamie McMurray in 13th, Regan Smith 14th, Casey Mears 20th and Austin Dillon 25th.
Lap 144 — Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson are charging hard in sixth and eighth, respectively.
Lap 142 — Dale Jr. takes the lead again, but Tony Stewart moves into second with another strong restart. His secret: an extra nap, he tells his crew via radio. Life lesson.
Lap 141 — GREEN FLAG: Here they go again to green after three cautions in the last 20 laps.
Lap 137 — Junior-Gordon-Bowyer-Stewart-Biffle will restart in the top five.
Lap 136 — Pretty sure Denny Hamlin’s hat he wore in that TNT interview has HIS OWN autograph on the back ... that’s either the coolest or dorkiest thing ever. Thoughts?
Lap 135 — Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. get back in the swing of things under caution after just sandwiching Denny Hamlin.
Lap 134 — YELLOW FLAG NO. 8: Denny Hamlin just imploded like Lindsay Lohan’s career, and even caught fire. His boys put him out, but now he’s REALLY out.
Lap 133 — Junior takes the lead after a three-wide green-flag run.
Lap 132 — GREEN FLAG: Joey Logano took all the bad luck on the last restart, so Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon will re-scuffle for the lead on this restart.
Lap 128 — The lineup to restart will be Junior-Gordon-Montoya-Bowyer-Stewart.
Lap 127 — YELLOW FLAG NO. 7: CRUNCH. Mr. Momentum, Joey Logano, just ate some serious wall. He takes Kasey Kahne with him. The driver of the No. 20 will be taken away by ambulance — just a precaution.
Lap 126 — GREEN FLAG: Junior will battle Jeff Gordon for the lead. Bad luck stay away...
Lap 123 — Mark Martin gets the free pass, while Juan Pablo Montoya finally pits under caution — goodbye lead.
Lap 121 — YELLOW FLAG NO. 6: Kurt Busch takes issue with the track, spinning out for his second time for the day’s sixth yellow.
Lap 120 — Who’s your padre! Juan Montoya leads.
Lap 118 — Kevin Harvick gets a chassis adjustment in the pits ... Dale Jr. goes for four tires in his wake.
Lap 116 — Following Kes, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman lead a big field into the pits.
Lap 115 — Brad Keselowski grabs a green-flag pit stop for a “really loose” car. “This ain’t right,” he says. Ugh.
Lap 114 — Ryan Newman, repping those US Army dads, has made up a whopping 37 spots (!) up to sixth place.
Lap 112 — Junior and Smoke are WAY up front in one-two. Third and the rest may need a caution.
Lap 109 — Got ‘em. Junior is back atop the leaderboard.
Lap 106 — BANG! POW! ZAP! Dale Jr.’s Batman car is back up closing in on leader Tony Stewart. Holy paint job, Junior! Ok. Now, I’m really stopping...
Lap 104 — In case you were wondering, and you were, older bro Kurt Busch is still out there despite early spin ... in 32nd.
Lap 103 — Candy-colored shirts are everywhere! It looks delicious, but Kyle Busch’s car look like melted chocolate in that garage.
Lap 100 — Halfway through, and it’s Stewart-Junior-Bowyer(!)-Gordon-Biffle in the top five.
Lap 97 — Tony Stewart is still in the lead, seven-tenths of a second in front of Junior.
Lap 92 — Jeff Gordon pulls into fourth. Watch out for banana peels, third place and fifth!
Lap 89 — Too bad for Trevor Bayne. He is way out, by the way, and missed a good chance after some real fast practices.
Lap 88 — Boom. Just like that, Tony Stewart — who is taking no prisoners — makes the move for the lead after the restart.
Lap 87 — GREEN FLAG: Junior was so far ahead of the field that he could have had a sandwich before coming off pit road in the first spot. A vegemite sandwich? Ask Marcos Ambrose, who is close behind him on the restart.
Lap 86 — Remember those blistering tires? Kyle Busch knows about them now, as he’s heading into the garage with a blown tire.
Lap 85 — NASCAR clean-up crew picking up debris with their hands to help get this thing restarted.
Mark Martin @55MarkMartin Broke our motor with 10 to go running 7th. RT @GavinLanders: What happened to @55MarkMartin ?
