Elliott Sadler, driver of the #19 Air Force Ford, lays on the track after he hit the wall in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. (Photo: Getty Images)

On Lap 120, Gordon caught Johnson. Two laps later, he passed him, just as a caution waved for debris, sending the field onto pit road for gas and tires. Biffle took the lead on pit road with another two-tire stop, Gordon coming out second ahead of Hamlin, Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya.

On the restart, the field went three-wide, Biffle holding the lead over Gordon, Hamlin and Johnson. But one lap later, Gordon took the point, only to have Hamlin go right by him.

Photos: Elliott Sadler Crash At Pocono

Johnson then passed Gordon for second, the two dicing furiously for the runner-up spot as Hamlin quickly pulled away to a 1.528-second lead in just two laps. Gordon was able to retake second, but by then Hamlin was gone.

Johnson, meanwhile, started to fade, and at Lap 140, Hamlin led Gordon by 2.086 seconds, followed by points leader Harvick, Johnson and Stewart.

On Lap 146, the caution came out for debris in Turn 1 again. Dale Earnhardt Jr. took over the lead with a two-tire stop, ahead of Stewart, Harvick, Gordon and Hamlin.

Gordon took second on the restart and then passed Montoya just before the start-finish line, only to be overtaken by Montoya on the outside in Turn 1. The two fought furiously for several laps, Gordon finally taking the lead in Turn 3 on Lap 155.

On Lap 159, Earnhardt spun at the exit of Turn 1 to bring out another caution flag. With rain looming, the leaders stayed out, but a number of cars on the back half of the lead lap pitted.

Gordon got an excellent restart on Lap 164 and held the lead, as the battle formed up behind him. Two laps later, Kurt Busch got turned around between turns 1 and 2 in a violent crash. Johnson turned Busch, which sent him first into Clint Bowyer and then into the infield, where he collected the outside wall hard and then the inside berm of the track.

“I got wrecked on the straightaway,” Busch said. “Jimmie Johnson drove straight through us.”

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Also caught up in the incident was Saturday’s Truck Series race winner Elliott Sadler, who hit the ARMCO barrier so violently that it literally tore the engine out of his No. 19 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. That caused a red flag, just as rain began to fall.

“Definitely the hardest hit I’ve ever had in a race car,” said Sadler. “These new cars are built to be safer and if I can get out of that and walk through that, I think it did its job.”

After a 29-minute rain delay, the cars restarted and the leaders came down pit road on Lap 171. Sam Hornish Jr. stayed out and took the lead. For the third time in the race, Biffle took two tires, coming out second ahead of Edwards and Martin. Several cars behind them took gas only, with Stewart 10th, the first car on four tires. Gordon was 13th.

But before the green could fly, the rain fell again. After circulating under caution for eight laps, the red flag came out as the jet dryers took to the track again.

The race restarted on Lap 181, Biffle jumping into the lead on the opening lap. Gordon was up to ninth by Lap 184, steadily making progress as the laps wound down. By this point, Biffle’s lead was 1.834 seconds over Hornish, with Edwards third and Stewart fourth.

Stewart quickly dispatched Edwards for third, but couldn’t make any headway with Hornish. By now, though, Biffle had checked out, opening a 4.547-second lead over Hornish on Lap 190.

Finally, on Lap 192, Hornish began to fade, falling to fifth in a single lap. But no one was in a position to catch Biffle as his Ford powered to victory.

LINK > UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: SUNOCO RED CROSS PENNSYLVANIA 500 - POCONO RACEWAY
PDF > UNOFFICIAL DRIVER POINTS: SUNOCO RED CROSS PENNSYLVANIA 500 - POCONO RACEWAY

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEED.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.