FORT WORTH, Texas — Carl Edwards isn’t going to have to look far to find out where Tony Stewart is at the start Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway.
Edwards, whose NASCAR Sprint Cup lead is a mere eight points with three races left, will be starting directly behind his closest chaser.
“Five hundred miles, we’ll see what happens,” Edwards said after qualifying seventh Friday, when his teammates at Roush Fenway Racing claimed the top three spots. “You couldn’t pick a better place to just race it out. This is gonna be a good one. I love this place.”
Stewart will start fifth, in the row ahead of Edwards.
This race is being billed as a “Texas Title Fight” after Stewart got out of his car in Victory Lane at Martinsville last weekend and said Edwards “better be worried.”
Greg Biffle took the pole with a lap of 193.736 mph. Biffle was the last to run a qualifying lap and just beat out David Ragan (193.729).
Childress to add third car in 2012.
Richard Childress is bringing back the No. 3 car full time into the NASCAR Nationwide Series next season, with his grandson, Austin Dillon, moving up from trucks.
Dillon has used No. 3 in the Truck Series, where he is the season points leader, but this will be the first time the No. 3 will be regularly used on a car since Cup champion Dale Earnhardt’s death at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500.
“Dale made that number famous,” said Childress, who drove the No. 3 himself from 1976-81 before Earnhardt.
Childress said there are no intentions now to take the No. 3 back to “Cup with Austin someday,” although Dillon could drive some races in NASCAR’s top level next season.
Before deciding to use the No. 3 again, Childress spoke with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Patrick sets her debut.
Danica Patrick will make her Sprint Cup debut in the season-opening Daytona 500 in February, her first of 10 races in NASCAR’s highest division for Stewart-Haas Racing next season.
Team co-owner Tony Stewart said the team is set on eight of Patrick’s 10 races. Her second scheduled race will be May 12 at Darlington.
Harvick wins Truck Series race.
Kevin Harvick won the NASCAR Truck Series race at Texas after his championship-contending truck driven by Ron Hornaday Jr. was knocked out of the race by a retaliating Kyle Busch.
Harvick wrapped up the season owners’ title, finishing ahead of series points leader and pole-sitter Austin Dillon.
Hornaday was knocked out of the race on the 15th of 148 laps when Busch retaliated for contact between them by pushing the four-time champion into the wall.
