Carl Edwards’ late surge wins Richmond Nationwide race

By RALPH N. PAULK
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Published: September 8, 2008

Just call Carl Edwards the Comeback Kid.

As he did in a Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago, Edwards hung around with the lead pack last night, then rushed to the lead and ran away over the waning laps to win the Emerson Radio 250 Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway.

Edwards, who will start the Sprint Cup postseason in second place, snatched the lead from Clint Bowyer five laps after the 218 restart. Bowyer had led a race-high 195 laps before relinquishing the lead.

Edwards, though, had to fend off second-place Scott Wimmer and the third-place Bowyer on restarts after three late cautions. The last caution came on Lap 239, but Edwards easily pulled away shortly after the restart on Lap 241.

“I didn’t know the car was going to be that good at the end,“ Edwards said. “It was a good win, because Bowyer did a good job early.“

Edwards, winning a Nationwide Series race for the fourth time this season, cut into Bowyer’s points lead only slightly. Bowyer holds a 207-point lead, but Edwards has seven races left to earn back-to-back points titles in the series.

Edwards led twice for 34 laps, including the last 28. He won with an average speed of 90.782 mph.

Denny Hamlin, who qualified for the Sprint Cup championship chase with a third-place finish in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 earlier in the day, finished fourth. David Ragan was fifth, followed by Greg Biffle and rookie Joey Logano.

Logano, whose Sprint Cup debut was postponed when qualifying was washed out by Tropical Storm Hanna, couldn’t find a good enough grip or rhythm to contend for his second career victory. He started on the pole with the No.20 Toyota, but his crew struggled to find the right adjustment on the three-quarter-mile oval.

No one, though, was more disappointed than Bowyer. He seemingly had the checkered flag within reach before a restart on Lap 218. At that point, Kevin Harvick was his nearest pursuer.

Harvick, who had been running second, was penalized for a pit road violation. As NASCAR officials sent Harvick to the tail end of the longest line, Edwards inherited second and tucked in behind Bowyer to make his run for the lead.

Bowyer’s No.2 Chevrolet looked unbeatable. That was until it became loose in the corners.

“It was a bummer,“ said a visibly unhappy Bowyer, who has only one Nationwide win. “It was just one slip-up, and that’s all there is.

“I want to win races. I want to win the championship. We’re in contention for two championships, so we have to keep doing what we’re doing.“

Wimmer, the only non-Cup driver to finish in the top five, had the speed on the short runs. But he didn’t have enough to stay close to Edwards, who cruised across the finish line 1.5 seconds ahead of Wimmer.

“We were real fast on the short runs,“ Wimmer said. “The guys did all they could to get us up there. Those [Cup] guys had a little advantage having run laps [in the Cup race].“