Carl Edwards won back to back races at
California and
Las Vegas, making him the early championship leader in the Sprint Cup
Series. However, that took a major hit when he was dealt harsh penalties for
infractions after the Las Vegas race. Edwards got himself back in Chase
position after taking the victory at the
Samsung 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway
Sunday afternoon. He started the race in second and basically
dominated the event. He led 123 of the 339 laps, which was by far the most of
any driver. He held off the field after a green-white-checker finish, which
happened when
Martin Truex Jr. blew his engine in the closing laps. With the win,
Edwards moved from 14th to 10th in the points. Edwards gave a shout out to
crew chief Bob Osbourne after the race. Osbourne remains suspended for the
Las Vegas infractions.
The race was slowed by caution six times for 27
laps. The driver who had the worst day was
Jeff Gordon. He brought out the second caution on lap 110 after
hitting the wall. It seemed like nothing worked right all day for the #24
DuPont Chevrolet. He finished last in the 43 car field. It was only the
second time in his career that Gordon finished last. He also took a hit in
the points, dropping five spots to 14th position.
Edwards had to hold off the rest of the field for
the green-white-checker. But nobody had anything for the #99 Ford. Jimmie Johnson had a solid day, finishing second and leading 65 laps. He also moved
from 10th to 6th in the points. Kyle Busch finished third. Ryan Newman
finished the day fourth, but there may be trouble ahead for the #12
Alltel team. Reports surfaced
Sunday evening that his car failed post-race inspection. In an article
from Lee Spencer on Fox Sports, in the inspection, the height sticks on the
right rear of his car did not match. That could be seen as an attempt to gain
more downforce in the car. If recent penalties are an indication, then the
#12 team could be in major trouble. As it stands now, Newman is 8th in the
points. Any possible penalties would be announced later in the week.
Denny Hamlin finished fifth with Jeff Burton in
sixth. Burton stays in the points lead, 59 ahead of second place
Kevin Harvick. Rounding out the top ten were
Tony Stewart (7th), Mark Martin (8th),
Matt Kenseth (9th), and
Clint Bowyer (10th). At the finish, Bowyer made contact with another
car, making him brush the wall, possibly costing him a top five finish. Pole
sitter
Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 31 laps. But some handling problems took him
out of contention for the win. He finished a lap down in 12th place.
When you're making your second Sprint Cup start,
you hope that you are mentioned a lot in a good way.
Michael McDowell got a lot of mention this weekend and was shown in
highlight clips all over the country. But it wasn't in the way he wanted.
On Friday qualifying, he had a violent crash in turn one. After
getting loose, he hit the wall with violent force, then tumbled at least eight
times. As bad as it looked, he was able to walk away. It is a credit for the
safety of the cars, the safety equipment, and the SAFER barriers. McDowell
would finish the race in 33rd.
NASCAR will now get ready for a weekend at Phoenix. The Nationwide
Series will race
Friday night with the Sprint Cup racing
Saturday evening.