FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Kevin Harvick won another race and runaway points leader Carl Edwards finally wrapped up his first NASCAR Busch Series championship Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.
Edwards, who built a lead of more than 800 points in the first half of the season, stumbled through the second half of the year before putting away the title with an 11th-place run in the O’Reilly Challenge. He leads runner-up David Reutimann by an insurmountable 552 points with two races to go.
“It’s really amazing to be a Busch Series champion,” said Edwards, who has won four times this season.
Bowyer remains in hunt for Chase title. All the attention heading into today’s Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway is focused on series leader Jeff Gordon and runner-up Jimmie Johnson, just nine points off the pace.
Virtually everyone has conceded the title to Gordon or reigning champion Johnson. That’s fine with the third-place Clint Bowyer.
“Jimmie and Jeff, they deserve it,” said Bowyer, almost an afterthought despite being within striking distance of the lead, 111 points behind Gordon after seven races of the Chase.
“You just go out and try and beat them,” Bowyer said. “If you can, you can and if you can’t, you can’t. You can’t wreck your race car trying to do something that is not there.”
Today’s races
NASCAR NEXTEL CUP
Dickies 500
Site: Fort Worth, Texas
TV: KMGH-7, 1 p.m.
Track: Texas Motor Speedway (oval, 1.5 miles, 24 degrees banking in turns)
Race distance: 501 miles, 334 laps
Next race: Checker Auto Parts 500, Nov. 11, Avondale, Ariz.
On the Net:
NHRA Automobile Club of Southern California Finals
Site: Pomona, Calif.
TV: ESPN2 5 p.m., taped
Track: Pomona Raceway
On the Net:
