Backstretch Motorsports

FORT WORTH, TX. — “It ain’t over til it’s over,” baseball legend Yogi Berra once said.

NASCAR driver Carl Edwards is a believer. First at last weekend’s Atlanta Motor Speedway battle and today at Ft. Worth.

The Missouri native, who cut his racing teeth on dirt tracks throughout the Midwest, dominated the field Sunday to win the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

A huge, sun-baked crowd watched Edwards skillfully cut into Jimmie Johnson’s lead in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship with two races to go in the 2008 season.

Edwards coaxed his Roush Ford home on fumes ahead of the field after a series of caution flags put him behind when all the top-running cars took two tires while Edwards took four.

While those cars had to stop for gas, Edwards stayed on the track and held off on the gas pedal for the final dozen laps.

He trimmed some of Johnson’s point lead, starting the day 183 points behind, and ending the day 106 points behind. Johnson managed to finish 15th, which was his worst performance in this championship run. He is trying to make it three in a row, which would make him the first driver since Cale Yarborough did it 30 years ago, back in the Junior Johnson days.

It was Edwards’ eighth win of the year and the Office Depot driver charged around the 1-1/2-mile trioval as if his Ford was on rails.

Jeff Gordon finished second, also gambling on going the distance at the end without stopping for gas.

Trailing Edwards and Gordon were Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex, Jr., Matt Kenseth and David Reutimann.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., wound up 20th.

The win was Ford’s 10th of the season and has sparked interest in the NASCAR Manufacturer’s Championship with Chevrolet and Toyota also holding 10 wins for the year. The circuit heads to Phoenix, Ariz., next week before winding up at Homestead-Miami Speedway the following weekend.

Pole-sitter Gordon shot under the green flag at the start and built a sizeable lead over Bowyer. Young Brad Keselowski flirted with the third turn retaining wall within a few laps of the start but managed to keep his machine out of harm’s way. Bowyer, in the meantime, reeled in Gordon and passed him for the lead on the 16th lap. Earnhardt, who started fifth, passed Gordon a straightaway later.

Reutimann was impressive early as was Juan Pablo Montoya, both moving quickly into the top 10 spots.

By lap 30, Reutimann had moved from 12th to second behind Bowyer. Edwards had moved from 16th to third and Montoya had raced from 26th to 10th.

It was Bowyer, Reutimann, Edwards, McMurray and Earnhardt out front, followed by Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Johnson, Biffle and Montoya.

Reutimann took the lead from Bowyer on lap 49. Once the leaders pitted, Bowyer regained the lead over Edwards and Reutimann.

On lap 57, Reed Sorenson had engine problems and brought out the caution for the first time.

When the race resumed on lap 65, it was Edwards out front and Bowyer second. Biffle was next, followed by McMurray, Reutimann, Montoya, Gordon, Truex, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne and Kenseth. Earnhardt dropped to 16th by making an extra stop, and Johnson dropped back to 21st.

On lap 96, leader Edwards put points leader Johnson a lap behind. Johnson apparently had some sort of problem but maintained radio silence. After the next round of pit stops, Johnson went back out in 30th position but was still not making much progress catching the leaders.

Edwards was clearly the class of the field and had moved into position by lap 143 to put a lap on two-time champion Tony Stewart, who got his lap back one lap later when the second caution of the day waved, making Stewart the “lucky dog” winner.

The race was restarted on lap 148 with Edwards still in front. Biffle trailed followed by McMurray, Brian Vickers, Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Reutimann, Montoya, Truex and David Ragan.

Edwards had a five-second lead at the halfway point. Johnson was running 23rd one lap down.

NASCAR Race Number 34
Unofficial Race Results for the Dickies 500 - Sunday, November 2, 2008
Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX - 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 334 Laps - 501 Miles - Purse: $7,319,807

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 16 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 334 195 10 $496,300 Running 5 212
2 1 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont/Nicorette Chevrolet 334 175 5 $389,961 Running 1 15
3 4 26 Jamie McMurray Crown Royal Ford 334 170 5 $228,025 Running 1 56
4 3 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 334 165 5 $219,300 Running 2 36
5 19 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 334 160 5 $177,775 Running 2 2
6 29 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 334 155 5 $166,675 Running 2 2
7 23 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet 334 146 $191,311 Running
8 2 1 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 334 142 $165,358 Running
9 6 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 334 138 $170,016 Running
10 12 44 David Reutimann UPS Toyota 334 139 5 $128,400 Running 2 5
11 18 6 David Ragan AAA Ford 334 130 $124,875 Running
12 20 8 Mark Martin U.S. ARMY Chevrolet 334 127 $147,033 Running
13 38 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 333 124 $156,783 Running
14 14 5 Casey Mears CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet 333 121 $120,700 Running
15 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 333 118 $156,861 Running
16 8 20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Toyota 333 115 $149,811 Running
17 17 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 333 112 $139,566 Running
18 13 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 332 114 5 $112,125 Running 1 5
19 37 25 Brad Keselowski GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 332 106 $99,775 Running
20 5 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet 332 108 5 $113,675 Running 1 1
21 24 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie Toyota 332 100 $121,158 Running
22 11 15 Paul Menard Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet 332 97 $110,675 Running
23 21 77 Sam Hornish Jr. # Penske Truck Rental Dodge 332 94 $146,250 Running
24 28 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 331 91 $133,116 Running
25 10 66 Scott Riggs State Water Heaters Chevrolet 331 88 $118,508 Running
26 36 10 A J Allmendinger Country Crock Dodge 331 85 $101,550 Running
27 15 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Toyota 331 82 $115,408 Running
28 31 12 Ryan Newman alltel Dodge 331 79 $139,925 Running
29 41 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 331 76 $112,408 Running
30 32 96 Ken Schrader DLP HDTV Toyota 331 73 $108,950 Running
31 39 21 Bill Elliott Little Debbie Ford 330 70 $115,595 Running
32 42 28 Travis Kvapil Academy Sports + Outdoors Ford 330 67 $127,264 Running
33 33 84 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 330 64 $99,350 Running
34 25 01 Regan Smith # DEI/The Principal Financial Group Chevrolet 329 61 $105,600 Running
35 30 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Tools Dodge 329 58 $122,795 Running
36 22 7 Robby Gordon Mapei/Menards Dodge 329 55 $113,772 Running
37 9 41 Reed Sorenson Target Dodge 328 52 $123,239 Running
38 27 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Chevrolet 328 49 $95,825 Running
39 35 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge 328 46 $132,561 Running
40 43 02 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 327 0 $95,425 Running
41 40 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 267 40 $95,205 Engine
42 34 38 David Gilliland CitiFinancial Ford 266 37 $95,005 Parked
43 26 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco/Havoline Dodge 262 34 $123,098 Accident
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 165,000 - Carl Edwards won the Dickies 500, his 15th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag the following drivers droppped to the rear for the reasons indicated: #20 Stewart, #7 R. Gordon (backup car);#83 (engine change).
Failed to Qualify: (5) 70 Tony Raines, 40 Bryan Clauson, 45 Chad McCumbee, 13 Max Papis, 08 Johnny Sauter.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 28 Mins, 26 Secs. Average Speed: 144.219 MPH Margin of Victory: 8.310 Seconds
Caution Flags: 5 for 26 laps: Laps: 58-64 (Oil on track); 145-148 (Debris); 241-245 (Debris); 248-251 (#28,47 accident frontstretch); 264-269 (#38,42 accident backstretch).
Lead Changes: 16 among 9 drivers: J. Gordon 1-15; C. Bowyer 16-48; D. Reutimann 49-52; D. Earnhardt Jr. 53; C. Bowyer 54-56; C. Edwards 57-111; D. Reutimann 112; B. Vickers 113-117; C. Edwards 118-144; G. Biffle 145; C. Edwards 146-240; Kyle Busch 241; C. Edwards 242-263; Kyle Busch 264; J. McMurray 265-320; G. Biffle 321; C. Edwards 322-334.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) J. Johnson 6,366;(2) C. Edwards 6,260;(3) G. Biffle 6,223;(4) J. Burton 6,154;(5) J. Gordon 6,111;(6) C. Bowyer 6,099;(7) K. Harvick 6,087;(8) M. Kenseth 5,973;(9) T. Stewart 5,962;(10) Kyle Busch 5,938;(11) D. Earnhardt Jr. 5,937;(12) D. Hamlin 5,935.
DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Clint Bowyer, #07 DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99
EA Sports Move of the Race : Carl Edwards, #99 Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Jeff Gordon, #24 (182.927 mph, Lap 2)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Carl Edwards, #99 Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : David Reutimann, #44
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Kevin Harvick, #29 (.200 seconds) Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Sam Hornish, #77
Sunoco Diamond Performance : Carl Edwards, #99 USG Improving the Finish : Jeff Burton, #31 (25 Places)
WIX Lap Leader : Clint Bowyer, #07 (36 Laps) Coors Light Pole Winner #24 Jeff Gordon (188.469 mph)
Next Race: Nov. 9, 2008 - Phoenix International Raceway