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The longest race of the Sprint Cup season had plenty of minidramas along the way, from the dominance of Roush Fenway Racing drivers Edwards and Matt Kenseth in the first half and Greg Biffle in the late stages to the emergence of the Nascar tempest Kyle Busch and his ultimate demise. Pit stops and cautions rearranged the leaders again and again in the final 100 laps, with Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne taking turns at the front of the field. Busch, occasionally maddening but almost always riveting, was once again in the middle of the hunt. He was ticketed last Tuesday for going 128 miles per hour in a 45-mile-an-hour zone near Charlotte and was fast again Sunday night. He led for 55 laps in the second half of the race, but took a spin through the grass on the front stretch late, recovering long enough to crash into the wall going into Turn 2 with 57 laps to go. Busch finished 32nd. Kenseth and Edwards, the Cup points leader, were the dominating drivers in the first half. Edwards, who won the nonpoints All-Star race on May 21 here, led 61 laps early. But he gave way to Kenseth, who led 103 laps as the Roush Fords continued to show their mettle, particularly on the 1.5-mile ovals. Kenseth wound up 14th and Edwards 16th. At various times, Edwards, Kenseth, Busch and Biffle all showed they could have won. As did Earnhardt, who spent most of the second half of the race in the top 10. Biffle led 50 laps in the latter stages and was in a battle with Kahne for the win in the final laps, each driver hoping to have just enough fuel to make it. But that was before the engine blew on Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet with five laps to go in regulation. The caution flag came out and extended the race, dooming Biffle, who gave in and dipped down to pit road for gas. Earnhardt and crew chief Steve Letarte gambled, deciding to stay out and go for the victory. And perhaps Nascar envisioned that storybook ending, too, because officials opted not to throw a caution flag when a wreck occurred behind the leaders on the final restart. They held off to see if the track would clear and it did, leaving Earnhardt's fans waiting to see if he would earn his first checkered flag since winning at Michigan in June 2008. "We weren't supposed to make it," he said. "We played our hand and that's what we were gonna do. I tried to save a ton of gas. "I'm disappointed we didn't win. I know all our fans are disappointed to come so close. If we'd have won that race it would have been a gift. We were a top-5 car but never really did put ourselves in the lead." It should be at least some comfort to Earnhardt's fans that Earnhardt is solidly fourth in the points this year on his way to making the season-ending playoff Chase for the first time since 2008. Biffle led 50 laps in the latter stages and was in a battle with Kahne for the win in the final laps, each driver hoping to have just enough fuel to make it. But that was before the engine blew on Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet with five laps to go in regulation. The caution flag came out and extended the race, dooming Biffle, who gave in and dipped down to pit road for gas. Earnhardt and crew chief Steve Letarte gambled, deciding to stay out and go for the victory. And perhaps Nascar envisioned that storybook ending, too, because officials opted not to throw a caution flag when a wreck occurred behind the leaders on the final restart. They held off to see if the track would clear and it did, leaving Earnhardt's fans waiting to see if he would earn his first checkered flag since winning at Michigan in June 2008. "We weren't supposed to make it," he said. "We played our hand and that's what we were gonna do. I tried to save a ton of gas. "I'm disappointed we didn't win. I know all our fans are disappointed to come so close. If we'd have won that race it would have been a gift. We were a top-5 car but never really did put ourselves in the lead." It should be at least some comfort to Earnhardt's fans that Earnhardt is solidly fourth in the points this year on his way to making the season-ending playoff Chase for the first time since