It has been a revolving door at the top of the scoring pylon thus far in the Coca-Cola 600, as Marcos Ambrose, Aric Almirola, Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Ambrose again, and now Biffle have taken turns out front in the first 30 laps of the 400-lap marathon that is NASCAR's longest night.
Almirola started on the pole in Richard Petty's famous No. 43, but teammate Ambrose took the lead on the opening lap. The Tasmanian played the role of team player, letting Almirola past to lead a lap and pick up a Sprint Cup point. He retook the lead before being chased down by Biffle, who started fourth. The Sprint Cup point leader gave up the lead shortly therafter as he struggled with debris on his grill and high engine temperatures, but chased Ambrose back down to reclaim the top spot.
At 30 laps, Biffle and Ambrose run one-two, ahead of Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, and Mark Martin. Rounding out the top-10 are Kasey Kahne, Almirola, Jeff Gordon (who started 23rd), Denny Hamlin, and Regan Smith. Defending Coke 600 champ Kevin Harvick sits just outside the top-10 in 11th place.