Fort Worth, Texas – Carl Edwards gambled on a late pit stop for tires, charged from sixth to first in 11 laps and won for the second straight week.
The 26-year-old Roush Racing wunderkind is accomplishing things a driver with his limited experience isn’t supposed to – like thrusting himself into the midst of NASCAR’s Chase for the championship.
Brimming with confidence, Edwards told his team during the stop that if they could get him back out on the track in the top six, he could win it.
“All night the car had been awesome on the restarts,” Edward said. “The last restart it was really good, and I just felt like as long as they could get us out in sixth or better, no matter what happened, I just felt really comfortable for some reason.
“That’s how I saw my chances, so that’s what I told them, and they did the job.”
Edwards, who was racing in the Craftsman Truck Series before being promoted to the Nextel Cup midway through 2004 by team owner Jack Roush, would not be denied Sunday, passing teammate Mark Martin for the lead 2 laps from the end of the Dickies 500.
Meanwhile, Tony Stewart had a solid if unspectacular day. The 2002 champion finished sixth and saw his lead in the Chase drop from 43 points to 38 over Jimmie Johnson, who managed to pass Stewart 2 laps from the end and finish fifth.
Edwards, who has four victories in his first full season in Nextel Cup racing, jumped from a tie for fourth in the Chase, 107 points behind, to sole possession of third, 77 behind Stewart.
“Four wins, man, I can’t believe it,” said Edwards, who stuck a perfect landing on his now-traditional backflip from the window of his No. 99 Ford in Victory Circle.
“We’re not going to change a thing,” the winner added. “We’re out to win this championship, and we’ll do it by having fun. That’s way, if we lose it, we’re still going to have fun.”
Debris brought out the sixth and final caution flag of the 334-lap race on lap 319, and both Edwards, who was leading, and fifth-place Stewart pitted for right-side tires, while Martin and several other leaders stayed on track.
Edwards was sixth when the green flag came back out on lap 323. He got caught in traffic for a while, then quickly moved to third, passed teammate Matt Kenseth for second on lap 330 and erased a 12-car-length lead by Martin before passing him on the outside coming off turn two on the 1.5-mile oval on lap 333.
That wasn’t the only time Edwards mounted a charge, either.
After starting 30th in the 43-car field, Edwards led a total of 82 laps – all in the second half of the race. He was out front on lap 290 when Greg Biffle spun and brought out a caution. On the ensuing pit stop, Stewart jumped from fourth to first and Edwards slipped to fifth. But Edwards was able to catch Stewart quickly under green, easily passing him for the lead on lap 310.
“My hat’s off to Mark Martin,” Edwards said. “He almost won this race. It was only the tires that beat him; he had the best car.
“The tires were the deal. If we could get the tires, if I didn’t hit the bumps wrong and shoot the car up the racetrack, I knew we could get him.”
Martin wasn’t surprised that he got beat by Edwards, whom he saw coming fast in his rearview mirror.
“Carl was spectacular,” Martin said. “It was a great call.”
Biffle, who started the day third, led early in the race before losing a lap when he pitted with a vibration. He never recovered, finishing 20th and slipping to fourth in the standings, 122 points behind. Martin moved up to fifth, one point behind teammate Biffle and 12 ahead of Kenseth, who finished third and gave the Roush team its third 1-2-3 finish of the season.
“It would take a miracle for us to win the championship now,” Martin said.
Nextel Cup/glance
Key to victory: Carl Edwards gambled on a late pit stop for tires, then charged from sixth to first in 11 laps.
What you might have missed: Ryan Newman was the polesitter Sunday but didn’t lead a lap.
Back on track: Sunday, Checker Auto Parts 500, Phoenix International Raceway, 1 p.m., KUSA-9.
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