Post by dalejrfan on Jun 18, 2005 23:15:23 GMT -5
SPARTA, Ky. - Carl Edwards raced to his third NASCAR Busch Series victory of the year Saturday night, passing Martin Truex Jr. with a little more than lap to go in the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway.
Edwards, who won the Nextel Cup event last Sunday at Pocono after missing the rain-delayed Busch Series race in Tennessee, worked his way back to the front of the field after dropping to ninth following a four-tire pit stop with 31 laps left.
Edwards led 150 of 200 laps in his Roush Racing Ford on the 1 1/2-mile oval, finishing 0.69 seconds ahead of Truex's Chevrolet.
The Nextel Cup driver took a chance with 31 laps left when he made the four-tire stop under a green flag. After dropping to ninth, he worked his way to fourth, and got a break with 15 laps left when a collision between Greg Biffle and Tyler Walker brought out a caution.
Edwards needed less than a lap to pass Reed Sorenson and Clint Bowyer after the restart with eight laps left, and was pulling up on Truex when Biffle's car caused another caution with seven laps to go.
After the restart with two laps left, Truex blocked Edwards on the high side of the track, but Edwards ducked underneath and took the lead.
"Man, he was awesome from the start of the race," Truex said. "We had the second-best car all night and we knew it. Carl's car was so much faster than our car that he could run anywhere on the track - top, middle, bottom. It didn't matter. It looked like he was running out there on cruise control."
Still, Edwards said Truex was a worthy opponent.
"He pulled out every trick he could," Edwards said. "He waited on the start, faked me in one and then ran me down the track on the back straightaway. He did everything he could. He's an awesome competitor. It was fun."
Edwards said the final pit stop was his call, and he nearly regretted the decision.
"I was not going to be able to catch Martin," Edwards said. "It was not a good decision without the cautions."
Edwards, who won a Craftsman Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway in 2003, also has won Busch Series races this season at Atlanta and Richmond. He also won the latter race in dramatic fashion, with a last-lap pass of Elliott Sadler.
Edwards and Truex are the only three-time series winners this year.
Bowyer finished third, followed by Sorenson, Paul Menard, Sterling Marlin, J.J. Yeley, Stacy Compton, Casey Atwood and Jon Wood.
Sorenson remained atop the series point standings, 36 points ahead of Truex and 41 ahead of Bowyer. Edwards, who led the standings before missing the rain-delayed race at Nashville Superspeedway, is 76 points behind Sorenson.
There wasn't much that didn't go right for Edwards on Saturday. He set a Busch Series track qualifying record and started on the pole after a fast lap of 181.287 mph.
He knew early that he had the best car. During the first caution of the race, 23 laps in, Edwards said, "Right now, I've got one of those cars that you get every once in awhile. It's perfect."
Edwards' average speed was 117.097 mph - the slowest in the event's five-year history. The race featured 10 cautions, a track record.
Edwards, a two-time winner this year on the Nextel Cup series, was one of five Cup regulars to drive Saturday. Marlin overcame a spinout on lap 81 to eventually lead five laps and finish sixth. Rusty Wallace, running in only his second Busch Series race of the year, was 24th, and Biffle, who exited the race during the final caution, was 30th.
Kentucky native Michael Waltrip dropped out early. Cars driven by Waltrip and Johnny Sauter touched on the sixth lap, costing Waltrip three laps, and on lap 13, Waltrip made contact with the wall in the fourth turn.
"Johnny Sauter spun," Waltrip said. "I hit him and must have broken something in the front of the car. I couldn't drive it after that."
Edwards, who won the Nextel Cup event last Sunday at Pocono after missing the rain-delayed Busch Series race in Tennessee, worked his way back to the front of the field after dropping to ninth following a four-tire pit stop with 31 laps left.
Edwards led 150 of 200 laps in his Roush Racing Ford on the 1 1/2-mile oval, finishing 0.69 seconds ahead of Truex's Chevrolet.
The Nextel Cup driver took a chance with 31 laps left when he made the four-tire stop under a green flag. After dropping to ninth, he worked his way to fourth, and got a break with 15 laps left when a collision between Greg Biffle and Tyler Walker brought out a caution.
Edwards needed less than a lap to pass Reed Sorenson and Clint Bowyer after the restart with eight laps left, and was pulling up on Truex when Biffle's car caused another caution with seven laps to go.
After the restart with two laps left, Truex blocked Edwards on the high side of the track, but Edwards ducked underneath and took the lead.
"Man, he was awesome from the start of the race," Truex said. "We had the second-best car all night and we knew it. Carl's car was so much faster than our car that he could run anywhere on the track - top, middle, bottom. It didn't matter. It looked like he was running out there on cruise control."
Still, Edwards said Truex was a worthy opponent.
"He pulled out every trick he could," Edwards said. "He waited on the start, faked me in one and then ran me down the track on the back straightaway. He did everything he could. He's an awesome competitor. It was fun."
Edwards said the final pit stop was his call, and he nearly regretted the decision.
"I was not going to be able to catch Martin," Edwards said. "It was not a good decision without the cautions."
Edwards, who won a Craftsman Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway in 2003, also has won Busch Series races this season at Atlanta and Richmond. He also won the latter race in dramatic fashion, with a last-lap pass of Elliott Sadler.
Edwards and Truex are the only three-time series winners this year.
Bowyer finished third, followed by Sorenson, Paul Menard, Sterling Marlin, J.J. Yeley, Stacy Compton, Casey Atwood and Jon Wood.
Sorenson remained atop the series point standings, 36 points ahead of Truex and 41 ahead of Bowyer. Edwards, who led the standings before missing the rain-delayed race at Nashville Superspeedway, is 76 points behind Sorenson.
There wasn't much that didn't go right for Edwards on Saturday. He set a Busch Series track qualifying record and started on the pole after a fast lap of 181.287 mph.
He knew early that he had the best car. During the first caution of the race, 23 laps in, Edwards said, "Right now, I've got one of those cars that you get every once in awhile. It's perfect."
Edwards' average speed was 117.097 mph - the slowest in the event's five-year history. The race featured 10 cautions, a track record.
Edwards, a two-time winner this year on the Nextel Cup series, was one of five Cup regulars to drive Saturday. Marlin overcame a spinout on lap 81 to eventually lead five laps and finish sixth. Rusty Wallace, running in only his second Busch Series race of the year, was 24th, and Biffle, who exited the race during the final caution, was 30th.
Kentucky native Michael Waltrip dropped out early. Cars driven by Waltrip and Johnny Sauter touched on the sixth lap, costing Waltrip three laps, and on lap 13, Waltrip made contact with the wall in the fourth turn.
"Johnny Sauter spun," Waltrip said. "I hit him and must have broken something in the front of the car. I couldn't drive it after that."