The Bank of America 500 is fewer than 20 laps old, and already a pair of cautions have flown at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
First, Matt Kenseth cut a tire on his No. 17 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford and spun in turn four. He kept the car off the wall, but he lost lap in the process.
Then, on the restart from that accident, the field stacked up near the middle of the pack, causing a melee that damaged, among others, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, and Unadilla's David Ragan.
Greg Biffle has led all but two laps, those led by second-place starter Mark Martin. The pair of former Roush-Fenway drivers raced door to door for nearly five straight laps before Biffle finally cleared Martin off the fourth turn on that fifth circuit and pulled away to hold the lead.
Bowyer assumed second-place from his Michael Waltrip Racing teammate, with Martin holding third. Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson round out the early top-five runners.