Hampton, Ga. – Lap after lap, Carl Edwards cruised close to the outside walls on his way to another victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
While just about everyone else in the 43-car field for Sunday’s NASCAR Nextel Cup race tried to run well below those unforgiving walls, Edwards purposely hugged the concrete at speeds approaching 200 mph.
“I like running at the top of the racetrack,” Edwards said after completing a season sweep on the 1.5-mile, D-shaped oval. “It’s a blast.
“I used to race at this track in Holt Summitt, Mo., and the fast line used to be with the right-side tires up on the guardrail. We won two track championships there just driving it on the guardrail.”
But, now, instead of racing at an obscure dirt track, Edwards is competing in NASCAR’s top stock car series and vying for a championship in his first full season.
“I was worried that I would slip up and make a mistake, but the car was good enough that I didn’t have to drive hard enough to be in danger,” Edwards said.
The victory in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 helped Edwards make up some ground in the Chase for the championship, moving him from fifth into a tie for fourth with Ryan Newman. Both trail leader Tony Stewart by 107 points, with three races remaining in the 10-event season-ending playoff.
“Absolutely, we’re making a run,” Edwards said when asked if he believes he can win the title. “That’s why we were here today.
“Anything can happen in racing, just anything. So we’re not going to quit until the last race.”
Edwards, who barely held off veteran Jimmie Johnson for his first Cup victory on the Georgia track in March, had a dominating car through the second half of the 325-lap race, beating four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon to the finish line by 2.713 seconds, half the front straightaway on the 1.5-mile oval.
Stewart finished ninth and increased his lead atop the standings from 15 to 43 points over Johnson, who finished 16th.
Edwards, who did his calling-card back flip off the window ledge of his No. 99 Ford after the race, led eight times for 115 laps, including the final 36. He was one of four Chase contenders finishing ahead of Stewart, tightening the overall points battle.
The 26-year-old Edwards, who is not eligible for rookie of the year because he ran 13 races at the end of the 2004 season, also won in June at Pocono and has refused to buckle under the pressure of the Chase.
“They just keep giving me great cars with great engines,” Edwards said.
Edwards’ Roush Racing teammates Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle finished third, fifth and seventh.
Nextel Cup/glance
Keys to victory: Carl Edwards had a dominating car through the second half of the race. Edwards lost a lead of more than six seconds when the last of nine caution flags waved for debris on lap 283, but he was able to regain control.
What you might have missed: Dale Earnhardt Jr., who dominated the early part of the race, led a race-high 142 laps.
Back on track: Sunday, Dickies 500, Texas Motor Speedway, 1 p.m., KUSA-9
