Carl Edwards wins NASCAR race at Michigan
MOTOR RACING ROUNDUP
As the Chase looms, Edwards gets his fifth victory of this season's NASCAR Sprint Cup series, which completes a sweep of two weekend races at Brooklyn, Mich. Kyle Busch finishes second.
Carl Edwards sent a not-so-subtle message to Kyle Busch Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
"We're gearing up for the Chase," Edwards said after pulling away from runner-up Busch for his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory of the season. "I'm feeling stronger than ever. We're here to win championships. That's what we're shooting for."
With only three races remaining until the start of the 10-race Chase for the Championship, Edwards closed the gap on series leader Busch with his second victory in the last three races. Edwards also completed a rare weekend sweep on the two-mile Michigan oval at Brooklyn, Mich., adding the victory in the 3M Performance 400 to a victory Saturday in the Nationwide Series event.
When the 12-man Chase begins next month at New Hampshire, all of the eligible drivers will be seeded, with 10 bonus points added to their base total of 5,000 for each victory. Edwards lost one 10-point bonus because of a penalty early in the season, but would still be just 40 points behind Busch if the Chase began next week.
"The greatest part is we didn't give up more bonus points to Kyle," Edwards said. "He's just so strong. Every time I win and he finishes second that's really a 20-point spread for us."
Said Busch: "We've got to live with it. Hopefully, we can make it up someplace else."
Busch was just ahead of Edwards when they pitted under caution on Lap 180 of the 200-lap event, but Edwards won the race out of the pits.
"It just came down to when he beat us off of pit road," Busch said.
David Ragan and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had stayed on track and were running 1-2, but Edwards passed them on the restart on Lap 183 to retake the lead, then held off Busch on two more restarts, including the final one with two laps left.
Edwards became the second driver to win both races on the same weekend at Michigan. Mark Martin did it in 1993.
Earnhardt Jr., who appeared to have one of the strongest cars in the early going, bounced off the wall in heavy traffic moments after being passed by Edwards on the late restart. He pitted and wound up finishing 23rd.
Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon were involved in a three-wide bumping incident with Tony Stewart. Johnson had to pit immediately with a cut tire, lost a lap and wound up 17th after spinning through the grass on the final lap.
