Carl Edwards overhauled polesitter Mark Martin on lap 30 and steadily pulled away until the competition caution at lap 50. NASCAR scheduled the caution in response to rain that fell earlier today.
Hometown hero Denny Hamlin had climbed up to the second position after starting seventh. Kevin Harvick ran third, ahead of Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne. Martin Truex Jr. and A.J. Allmendinger were sixth and seventh, while Martin had backslid to eighth. The top-10 was rounded out by Brad Keselowski and the ailing Marcos Ambrose, who has been battling a sore back and has Trevor Bayne standing by to relieve him should he not be able to go the distance.
There has not been the anticipated amount of early-race action as drivers mostly spent the opening 50 circuits feeling out their race cars on the clean surface in the cool air. Most drivers reported their machines being loose and having a hard time entering and exiting the corners.