Resurfaced Bristol Surface No Problem For Edwards

BRISTOL, Tenn. — The hardest part of Carl Edwards’s Saturday night may have been executing his signature stunt, because everything else came easy at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Edwards back flipped his way into The Chase for the Nextel Cup, dominating the closing stages of the Sharpie 500 for his first victory in what he called “the race.”
After Edwards crossed the finish line, all of the 160,000 fans in the darkness above knew what was coming. He didn’t disappoint, as Edwards nailed back flip No. 2 of the season and No. 6 of his Nextel Cup career.
“The reason it’s such a huge win is that it’s Bristol,” Edwards said. “It’s a short track. It’s really tough. It’s 500 laps. It’s grueling. This is what I always thought of as a Nextel Cup race. I’m living a dream.”

CRUSIN' CARL: Carl Edwards celebrates his Sharpie 500 victory Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Harold Hinson/HHP Photo)

Edwards passed Kasey Kahne for the lead with 166 laps to go and was hardly challenged despite a rash of late cautions. His Roush Fenway Racing Ford beat Kahne’s Dodge to the stripe by 1.405 seconds.
The Chase field will be seeded based on the bonus points earned through regular-season victories. Edwards now has 20 points, which would tie him with Kurt Busch for third place when The Chase begins Sept. 16, at New Hampshire. Only Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (four wins apiece) and Tony Stewart (three) have more.
“Jack (Roush) said it really well early in the season, ‘Those guys are faster than us now, but if we can peak at the right time, if we can be fast at the right time, we’re going to be great’,” Edwards recalled. “We’ve been moving in that direction. I feel like we stack up pretty well.”
Clint Bowyer finished third in a Chevrolet and moved closer to his first berth in the 12-driver, 10-race Chase. Tony Stewart ran fourth in another Chevrolet.

BIG NIGHT: Kasey Kahne led 305 laps to post his first top-five finish of the season Saturday night. (Erik Perel/HHP Photo)

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was in desperate need of a good showing and got it with a fifth-place finish in his Chevrolet. He entered the night 13th in the standings — 163 points behind 12th-place Busch. Unfortunately for Earnhardt, Busch ended up sixth. He gained a measly five points and must make up 158 more in the next two races.
“If I can’t make The Chase, I want to win a race,” Earnhardt said. “When we don’t make (The Chase) everybody makes a big deal out of it. They talk about it in pre-race. They talk about it in post-race. It’s a bummer when you see that and have to watch that and read it. You kind of want to go under the radar when you can’t get it done.”
The Sharpie 500 was the first Nextel Cup race on Bristol’s new concrete surface, and every driver expected much of the same style of racing that was seen in the earlier Craftsman Truck and Busch Series — multiple grooves and passing to the high and low sides. While the new surface did promote passing in the back of the pack, there was hardly any at the front.
Uncharacteristic to Bristol, the race saw several long green-flag runs.  Kahne started from the pole and led a parade, showing the way for 305 of the first 334 laps.
Then it was Edwards’s turn. He, Kahne and Earnhardt battled for the lead behind the lapped car of Michael Waltrip, and Edwards took advantage. He passed Kahne and briefly surrendered the lead during a series of rare green-flag pit stops. Edwards re-assumed the point on lap 371 and survived five restarts in the final 125 laps.
All totaled, two drivers — Edwards and Kahne — led all but 13 laps.
“Before, you had a track where you could have had the fastest car and be running 25th and it was hard to get to the front,” Edwards said. “Now you have a track, where if you have a really fast car, you can pass people and move around to get to the front.”