Flipping Edwards sweeps Atlanta
In his first full Nextel Cup season, 26-year-old sensation Carl Edwards scored his third win of the season and his second at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Edwards is the first NASCAR driver to win both Atlanta events in a single season, since Bill Elliott swept both races in 1992.
Edwards, who lead a total of 115 laps in the 325-lap race, said after the race: "I was worried that I would slip up and make a mistake, but the car was good enough that I didn't have to drive hard enough to be in danger. It was just fun."
The win elevated Edwards in the Chase for the Cup points standings from fifth to fourth, and he is now 107 points behind leader Tony Stewart, who finished today's Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 in ninth.
Stewart himself was remained philosophical about his race. "We did what we had to do today," he said. "We didn't have the best car, but we ran pretty well and we gained some points. Now, we just have to keep it going for three more races.
"I'd like to just win the next three races and know for sure I'd won the Championship that way. One race could take us to fifth in the points, so it's too early to get excited."
For the most part, though, Stewart's rivals in the Chase for the Cup did no better than himself. While Mark Martin (third), Matt Kenseth (fifth) and Greg Biffle (seventh) were able to improve their positions in the points standings, Jimmie Johnson finished 16th - increasing the gap from Stewart to 43 points.
Pole sitter Ryan Newman, who scored an unprecedented sixth consecutive pole at Atlanta on Friday, could do no better than 23rd and now lies in fifth position in the Cup standings.
Kurt Busch (36th), Rusty Wallace (37th) and Jeremy Mayfield (28th) are all out of a realistic shot at the title, with three rounds to go.
But winner Edwards believes his changes of clinching the title are only getting better. Asked if he believes he could win the Cup title, Edwards replied: "Absolutely, we're making a run; that's why we were here today.
"We had some bad runs at New Hampshire and Martinsville, tracks I'm just not as good at. But, if we can just do well at the track that we are good at, we'll do it.
"Anything can happen in racing, just anything. So we're not going to quit until the last race.
But even without the title, Edwards, who made his trademark back flip in victory lane, admitted to having a blast.
"I'm having so much fun, it's hard to explain it," he said. "They just keep giving me great cars with great engines."
Pos Driver Make Laps 1. Carl Edwards Ford 325 Chase 2. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 325 3. Mark Martin Ford 325 Chase 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 325 5. Matt Kenseth Ford 325 Chase 6. Jamie McMurray Dodge 325 7. Greg Biffle Ford 325 Chase 8. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 325 9. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 325 Chase 10. Elliott Sadler Ford 325 11. Michael Waltrip Chevrolet 325 12. Kyle Busch Chevrolet 325 13. Mike Bliss Chevrolet 325 14. Dale Jarrett Ford 325 15. Brian Vickers Chevrolet 325 16. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 325 Chase 17. Ricky Rudd Ford 324 18. Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 324 19. Denny Hamlin Chevrolet 324 20. Sterling Marlin Dodge 323 21. Casey Mears Dodge 323 22. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 323 23. Ryan Newman Dodge 323 Chase 24. Dave Blaney Chevrolet 323 25. Kyle Petty Dodge 323 26. Travis Kvapil Dodge 322 27. Scott Wimmer Dodge 321 28. Johnny Benson Dodge 321 29. Jeff Green Dodge 319 30. Bobby Hamilton Dodge 319 31. Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 316 32. Carl Long Dodge 311 33. Scott Riggs Chevrolet 291 34. Ken Schrader Dodge 277 35. Kasey Kahne Dodge 276 36. Kurt Busch Ford 270 Chase 37. Rusty Wallace Dodge 258 Chase 38. Jeremy Mayfield Dodge 226 Chase 39. Bobby Hamilton Jr. Chevrolet 219 40. Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet 176 41. Reed Sorenson Dodge 133 42. Kevin Lepage Ford 113 43. Mike Skinner Dodge 5 The Chase for the Cup - Standings: Pos Driver Points Change 1. Tony Stewart 6100 = 2. Jimmie Johnson 6057 = 3. Greg Biffle 6025 +1 4. Carl Edwards 5993 +1 5. Ryan Newman 5993 -2 6. Mark Martin 5957 +1 7. Matt Kenseth 5945 +2 8. Rusty Wallace 5843 -2 9. Kurt Busch 5840 -1 10. Jeremy Mayfield 5790 =
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