Pole sitter Carl Edwards has led every lap thus far, and he leads Martin Truex, Jr. comfortably through the first 70+ laps.

But, the big story, of course, is the battle between Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Gordon started third, and Johnson started sixth, but it wans’t long before Johnson was right on Gordon’s tail. Gordon tried to hold him off as long as he could, but Johnson passed him eventually to take third spot.

After the first round of pit stops, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman both moved up double digit spots, and they’re solidly in the top ten. As for Johnson and Gordon, Johnson quickly moved back into third, after passing Newman, and Gordon moved into 5th.

It appeared early that Gordon may have to battle again today as he has the last few weeks, as he reported that he was dealing with a loose car before he pitted. But, the pit stop looks to have fixed what was bothering him, and he’s not only caught Newman, but has passed him for fourth.

There’s quite a gap between the first three cars and Gordon, but the #24 has one of the fastest cars on the track, so it might just be a matter of time before the two championship chasers are fighting for position once again.