Edwards Best Out West

Carl Edwards was on top in a long weekend at California. In another race out west, he found himself in victory lane again. Carl Edwards had another convincing win on Sunday at the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas. After back to back wins, he now finds himself early in the 2008 season in a position that he never has before.

For many after Fontana, the talk was about the weather, track, and needless waiting.  Maybe a bit more than Carl Edwards winning the race.  No doubt though, he was the center of attention after winning the UAW-Dodge 400 at Las Vegas, capturing both races in the early season western trip.  Edwards led 86 of the 267 laps, the most of any driver on the day.  Also with his back to back wins, Edwards is now the early leader in the Sprint Cup standings.  It's the first time he's led the points in his Cup career.

 

The race featured a Las Vegas record eleven cautions.  The number actually could have been more, but some drivers made some great saves to keep them out of trouble.  Tire problems were the cause for a few of the cautions.  A blown tire sent Tony Stewart hard into the wall on lap 108.  He suffered a bruised foot in the wreck, but was fine otherwise.  On lap 256, Kurt Busch also had a blown tire that sent him into the wall hard.  Busch appeared to be a bit groggy after the crash, but he also escaped serious injury.

 

It would come down to the final laps.  A restart with five laps to go had Edwards ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon behind.  On the restart, Earnhardt spun his tires, forcing Kenseth high and Gordon low.  Coming out of turn two, it appeared like Gordon lost control, spinning himself and Kenseth.  Gordon then made hard contact with an opening of the inside wall.  The impact was so hard, that his radiator flew out from his car.  Thankfully, Jeff was able to walk away.  He finished 35th.  Kenseth was able to continue, but he finished 20th.

 

After a red flag, Edwards was able to hold off Earnhardt and third place finisher Greg Biffle.  Richard Childress teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton finished fourth and fifth respectively.  Kasey Kahne finished sixth, David Ragan seventh, Travis Kvapil eighth, Denny Hamlin ninth, and Saturday's Nationwide Series winner Mark Martin rounded out the top ten.  Jimmie Johnson was looking for his fourth straight Las Vegas win.  But, a penalty and other car issues made him a nonfactor.  He finished 29th, two laps down.

 

The NASCAR series will head back east for a weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway next week.

By:  CrimsonCowboy