Backstretch Motorsports

Starting from the rear of the field under a penalty for adjustments outside of impound, Carl Edwards methodically weaved his way through tight quarters Richmond International Raceway traffic to win tonight’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

After his Dan Stillman led crew got his No. 60 Ford off pit road in the top spot under caution, Edwards ran away from Kevin Harvick over the final 20-lap green-flag run.

This is his fourth victory, 22nd top-10 finish in 2009 and his 24th victory in 168 NASCAR Nationwide Series races, three of those coming here at the classic .75 mile venue.

The Ford Fusion driver from the Roush Fenway Racing stables, still nursing a broken right foot, was not able to perform his signature backflip victory celebration, but his worst-to-first gutsy performance on track more than made up for that in the eyes of the 70.000 spectators in the frontstretch viewing area.

“That was a great effort all around”, said Edwards, ” my car was fast, drove really well, my guys did a great job on pit road, that made my job easy. It was total team effort.”

At lap 202, Edwards had a front row seat for the culmination of a side-by-side dual between then race leader Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick that saw Hamlin’s Toyota get out of control and nudge into Harvick’s Chevrolet, sending the Chesterfield, Va hometown favorite to the pits for repairs to his Joe Gibbs Racing entry.

The No. 20 Z-Line Camry had led the night’s high of 101 laps and would be relegated to 17th finish position.

“I just got loose up there (in the high groove). explained a disappointed Hamlin. “I knew I was slower than the 33 (Kevin Harvick) and the 60 (Carl Edwards), but I was just trying to hold on and that’s all I could do. I just got loose and I needed the whole race track to save it, but unfortunately Kevin (Harvick) was there. I’m glad it didn’t ruin his night and I’m sure he didn’t need that caution at the end. It was a good day for the Z-Line Toyota, but I just got a little loose.”

Harvick, last week’s NNS winner at Atlanta, continued on unscathed and went on to post the runner up position at fall of the checkered flag.

Finishing third was Kyle Busch is the No. 18 Z-Line Toyota from JGR, followed Brad Keselowski and David Reutimann to round out the top five.

Justin Allgaier (eighth) was the highest finishing rookie.

Busch now leads the point standings by 201 points over Edwards.

NASCAR Race Number 27
Unofficial Race Results for the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 - Friday,
September 11, 2009
Richmond International Raceway - Richmond, VA - .75 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 250 Laps - 187.5 Miles - Purse: $1,154,651
Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 39 60 Carl Edwards Scotts Wild Bird Food Ford 250 190 5 119.3 $41,245 Running 1 24
2 18 33 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Chevrolet 250 175 5 121.0 $30,575 Running 2 25
3 2 18 Kyle Busch Z-Line Designs/Racing For Kids Toyota 250 170 5 124.7 $26,600 Running 1 30
4 5 88 Brad Keselowski Lipton Chevrolet 250 165 5 123.6 $26,893 Running 1 70
5 15 32 David Reutimann Dollar General Stores Toyota 250 155 101.7 $20,050 Running
6 6 1 Martin Truex Jr. Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevrolet 250 150 104.5 $18,550 Running
7 9 11 Trevor Bayne Ridemakerz Toyota 250 146 107.2 $25,928 Running
8 19 12 Justin Allgaier # Verizon Wireless Dodge 250 142 91.0 $24,688 Running
9 29 66 Steve Wallace 5-hour Energy Chevrolet 250 138 87.3 $23,468 Running
10 8 99 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 250 134 96.9 $17,575 Running
11 4 29 Clint Bowyer Holiday Inn Chevrolet 250 130 90.9 $17,725 Running
12 10 16 Greg Biffle CitiFinancial Ford 250 127 95.9 $16,650 Running
13 3 98 Paul Menard Richmond/Menards Ford 250 124 83.9 $17,000 Running
14 25 6 Erik Darnell # Northern Tool/Discount Tire Ford 250 121 87.2 $23,018 Running
15 16 27 Jason Keller Depend/Family Dollar Ford 250 118 77.0 $25,818 Running
16 24 40 Mike Bliss Westerman Companies Chevrolet 250 115 76.4 $22,893 Running
17 1 20 Denny Hamlin Z-Line Designs/Operation Helmet Toyota 250 122 10 121.4 $19,450 Running 3 101
18 17 5 Scott Wimmer Fastenal Chevrolet 249 109 75.0 $22,768 Running
19 23 26 Michael McDowell # Fischer Honda Dodge 248 106 67.1 $23,018 Running
20 35 09 Travis Kvapil Zaxby’s Ford 248 103 60.5 $23,518 Running
21 12 62 Brendan Gaughan # USfidelis Chevrolet 248 100 68.6 $22,618 Running
22 38 34 Tony Raines Long John Silver’s Chevrolet 248 97 67.8 $22,518 Running
23 31 81 Bobby Hamilton Jr. DH Girffin Companies Dodge 248 94 62.7 $22,833 Running
24 41 01 Mike Wallace Union Bank & Trust Chevrolet 248 91 58.2 $22,318 Running
25 36 15 Michael Annett # Pilot Travel Centers Toyota 247 88 55.4 $22,418 Running
26 27 28 Kenny Wallace U.S. Border Patrol Chevrolet 246 85 52.4 $22,168 Running
27 32 31 Travis Kittleson Bob Steele Chevrolet Chevrolet 246 82 47.6 $15,650 Running
28 37 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Mahindra Chevrolet 246 79 44.4 $21,993 Running
29 42 24 Eric McClure Hefty Ford 245 76 39.7 $21,943 Running
30 30 72 Benny Gordon VSI/Samuel & Sons/9/11 Memorial Ford 245 73 56.9 $15,375 Running
31 40 10 Justin Marks Braun Ability Toyota 245 70 49.5 $22,088 Running
32 14 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips/Comcast Toyota 227 67 75.3 $21,703 Running
33 34 61 Matthew Carter Specialty Racing Ford 77 64 29.4 $21,643 Handling
34 43 96 Dennis Setzer ConelyAuto.com Dodge 47 61 35.4 $15,140 Vibration
35 22 70 Shelby Howard ForeTravel Motorcoach Chevrolet 40 58 60.5 $21,558 Accident
36 33 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet 32 55 44.3 $21,498 Overheating
37 26 07 Josh Wise SK Motorsports Chevrolet 23 52 39.5 $21,438 Electrical
38 7 49 Mark Green GetMoreVacations.com Chevrolet 22 49 35.6 $14,890 Brakes
39 11 91 Justin Hobgood MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 18 46 38.5 $14,845 Parked
40 28 0 J.C. Stout sponsordavis.com Chevrolet 17 43 32.7 $14,805 Electrical
41 13 47 Coleman Pressley ConstructionJobs.com Toyota 16 40 34.6 $21,233 Overheating
42 21 90 Johnny Chapman MSRP Motorsports Chevrolet 8 37 28.8 $14,725 Overheating
43 20 78 Kevin Lepage Derrike Cope Inc. Dodge 0 34 29.0 $14,677 Accident
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 70,000, Carl Edwards won the Virginia 529 College Savings 250, his 24th NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following car dropped to the rear of the field for the reason indicated: #60 (unapproved adjustments).
Failed to Qualify: (4) 73 Derrike Cope, 05 Casey Atwood, 89 Morgan Shepherd, 52 Chris Lawson.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 50 Mins, 53 Secs. Average Speed: 101.458 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.170 Seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 25 laps: Laps: 3-8 (#15, 61, 78 accident turn 4 [None]); 42-45 (#70 accident turn 2 [01]); 127-132 (Debris [27]); 138-141 (#38 accident turn 4 [5]); 226-230 (Debris [16]).
Lead Changes: 7 among 5 drivers: D. Hamlin 1-42; B. Keselowski 43-112; K. Busch 113-142; D. Hamlin 143-200; K. Harvick 201; D. Hamlin 202; K. Harvick 203-226; C. Edwards 227-250.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) K. Busch 4,379;(2) C. Edwards 4,178;(3) Brad Keselowski 4,082;(4) J. Leffler 3,599;(5) J. Allgaier # 3,152;(6) S. Wallace 3,132;(7) J. Keller 2,991;(8) B. Gaughan # 2,957;(9) M. Bliss 2,950;(10) M. Mcdowell # 2,902.
Coors Light Pole Award : Denny Hamlin, #20 (124.384 mph) Featherlite Most Improved Driver : Jason Keller, #27 (22 Places)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Kyle Busch, #18 Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Trevor Bayne, #11
Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Justin Allgaier, #12 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Carl Edwards, #60
WIX Lap Leader Award : Not awarded, #
Next Race: Sep. 26, 2009 - Dover International Speedway