Around Iredell Sports

2008 Apr-09

Edwards gets back in the groove

A familiar face – at least this season – has put Mooresville’s back in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ winning groove.

Mooresville’s Carl Edwards rip-roared his way to a season series-leading third win and accounted for the fifth time in seven races total that a local entry graced the finish line following his dominating display in this past weekend’s Samsung 500 at wild west Texas Motor Speedway.

Guns flaring, Edwards shot for the skies with the replica pistols awarded to the race winner after making the mere mild move from his outside pole position starting spot to add to his single-season win total and get an area driver back in the first-place saddle following a two-race and near month-long dry spell of such showings.

The win capped a strong showing at the 1.5-mile oval track put forth by Edwards leading up to the actual race itself. He very nearly captured the pole before being nudged for those honors later in qualifying by fellow Mooresville pilot Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the overall preferred starting slot.

The leading entry within the multiple-car Roush Fenway Racing outfit then established his rule throughout the event, riding in the lead for a field-best 123 of the total of 339 laps, the latter number extended in the sport’s version of overtime when a late caution forced the running of additional laps to complete the race.

Edwards steered his No. 99 Ford to the race lead a total of three times, doing so for the third and final time on Lap 233 of the overall 339-lap affair. He built sizable leads on the filed during most of that time, only allowing the best of them to make one final run when the sixth and final caution flag waved clearing space for a final two-lap surge.

It proved sweet redemption indeed as Edwards won for the first time since his second of back-to-back wins in Las Vegas early last month. It was after that race that his efforts were dampened somewhat by penalties assessed in the form of a fine and suspension for his crew chief and points deductions for his team and owner after his Ford failed to pass post-race inspection.

This time around, there was no denying the premier entry in the field. He rode point more than any other entry in the field, bagging bonus points for serving as a race leader, leading the most laps and also gathering in a win. For all that, he was able to move into 10th-place overall in the updated championship points standings.

Edwards’ win, after which he once again performed his trademark back flip from the driver’s side window of his car prior to the visit to Victory Lane, helped cement the area’s return to the forefront after a lengthy period covering the past two series events. He was one of five different drivers with immediate Mooresville ties to take at least one turn as a race leader, and his placement as the race winner allowed him to lead a group of three entries logging in with top-five finishes in the final pecking order.

In addition to the race winner, Mooresville’s Earnhardt Jr, the pole-sitter out of the Hendrick Motorsports camp, Mooresville’s Kyle Busch with Joe Gibbs Racing, Mooresville’s Martin Truex Jr. with local-based Dale Earnhardt Inc., and Mooresville’s Matt Kenseth with Roush Fenway Racing all took at least one turn as a race leader to also bag that feat’s available bonus points.

With his win, the 10th of Edwards career, he was able to lead a charge of local entries that found a total of three of them placing among the top four spots and five total fashioning placements of 10th or better.

Also in the first five: Mooresville’s Kyle Busch followed up a third-place starting nod by checking in fourth, taking a turn as a race leader and combining the efforts to help account for his current third place rank in the updated championship points standings.

Lake Norman’s Ryan Newman with Mooresville’s Penske Racing saddled up with a fourth-place finish, also right where he started, and used the performance to boost his current standing of ninth in points.

In the second five: Mark Martin with DEI chimed in with an eighth-place finish after starting 31st, making the second biggest jump from start to finish in the process; and Kenseth wound up placing ninth after starting eighth, using the effort to enhance his now 13th-place spot in points.

In the second 10: Earnhardt Jr. wound up 12th after starting on the pole and is now fourth in points; Mooresville’s Jamie McMurray with Roush Fenway Racing checked in 14t after starting 32nd; Mooresville’s David Gilliland with Yates Racing wound up 15th after starting 41st; Brian Vickers with Mooresville’s Red Bull Racing finished 16th after starting 36th; Mooresville’s Paul Menard with DEI wound up 17th after starting 19th; Mooresville’s Travis Kvapil with Yates Racing landed 18th after starting 38th; and Bobby Labonte with Mooresville’s Petty Enterprises checked in 20th after starting 30th.

Elsewhere: Mooresville’s Casey Mears with Hendrick Motorsports placed 22nd, right where he started; Mooresville’s Kurt Busch with Penske Racing settled for 23rd, also where he began and is 15th in points; Mooresville’s Kasey Kahne with Gillette Evernham Racing wound up 25th after starting 10th; Mike Skinner with Red Bull Racing chimed in 29th after starting ninth; Sam Hornish Jr. with Penske Racing limped home 32nd after starting 17th; Mooresville’s Regan Smith with DEI wound up 35th after starting 34th; Truex Jr. placed 36th after starting 12th and is 16th in points; Mooresville’s Joe Nemechek with Furniture Row Racing wound up 37th after starting 43rd; and Mooresville’s Greg Biffle with Roush Fenway Racing checked in 39th after starting 16th and resides eighth in points.

Area teams and drivers now steer their attentions towards this weekend’s race, the Subway Fresh Fit 500, set for Phoenix International Raceway Saturday night.

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