Carl Edwards' big gamble pays off
Pitting before the rain came gives Roush Fenway driver enough fuel to cruise to his fourth victory
Published: Mon, Aug. 04, 2008 12:30AM
Modified Mon, Aug. 04, 2008 05:37AM
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closeLONG POND, PA. -- With 70 laps left -- theoretically -- in Sunday's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500, Carl Edwards and his crew chief, Bob Osborne, were on top of the team's pit box arguing about who had fouled up.
"We were trying to blame each other," Edwards said of the discussion, which centered on their decision to make a pit stop with light rain falling and the race under the yellow flag. "I had to leave the pit box. I was afraid he was going to punch me in the neck."
A couple of hours later, Osborne was hugging that same neck after that pit call and a very strong No. 99 Ford carried Edwards to his fourth victory of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
TOP FIVE
1. Carl Edwards
2. Tony Stewart
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Kevin Harvick
5. David Ragan
RACE STATISTICSPOINTS STANDINGS
TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 49 minutes, 46 seconds AVERAGE SPEED OF RACE WINNER: 130.567 mph. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 3.858 seconds. CAUTION FLAGS: Seven for 31 laps. LEAD CHANGES: 25 among 13 drivers. LAP LEADERS: M.Martin 1-22; M.Waltrip 23; J.Johnson 24-35; M.Martin 36-53; C.Edwards 54; M. Martin 55-67; S.Riggs 68; C.Edwards 69-89; J.Johnson 90-110; C.Edwards 111-118; D.Earnhardt Jr. 119; M.Kenseth 120-121; C.Edwards 122-127; K.Kahne 128-154; G.Biffle 155-156; Ku.Busch 157-161; M.Kenseth 162; C.Edwards 163-165; J.Johnson 166; D.Ragan 167; J.McMurray 168-169; B.Elliott 170; K.Kahne 171-184; M.Martin 185-186; C.Edwards 187-200.
1. Kyle Busch3,059
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2,883
3. Carl Edwards 2,874
4. Jimmie Johnson 2,859
5. Jeff Burton 2,833
6. Jeff Gordon2,678
7. Kasey Kahne 2,592
8. Greg Biffle 2,589
9. Tony Stewart 2,569
10. Denny Hamlin 2,547
11. Kevin Harvick 2,520
12. Clint Bowyer 2,512
13. Matt Kenseth 2,501
14. David Ragan 2,466
15. Ryan Newman2,339
16. Brian Vickers 2,309
17. Martin Truex Jr. 2,264
18. Kurt Busch 2,135
19. Jamie McMurray 2,116
20. Bobby Labonte 2,084
21. Elliott Sadler 2,041
22. Travis Kvapil 2,016
23. Mark Martin 1,965
24. Casey Mears 1,964
25. Juan Montoya 1,952
26. David Gilliland 1,936
27. David Reutimann 1,863
28. Paul Menard 1,804
29. Dave Blaney 1,696
30. Robby Gordon 1,688
31. Reed Sorenson 1,666
32. Michael Waltrip 1,636
33. Sam Hornish Jr.1,607
34. Regan Smith 1,584
35. Scott Riggs 1,488
36. J.J. Yeley 1,263
37. P. Carpentier 1,230
38. Joe Nemechek 1,223
39. Michael McDowell 1,112
40. A.J. Allmendinger 1,096
41. Bill Elliott 705
42. Terry Labonte 632
43. Dario Franchitti606
44. Jeremy Mayfield 578
45. Kyle Petty 540
46. Mike Skinner 423
47. Aric Almirola 416
48. Dale Jarrett 367
49. Ken Schrader 298
50. Sterling Marlin268
LOOKING AHEAD
WHAT: Centurion Boats at the Glen
WHERE: Watkins Glen, N.Y.
GREEN FLAG: 2 p.m. Sunday
TV: ESPN
RADIO: WQDR-94.7
2007 WINNER: Tony Stewart
VICTORY LANE
SUNOCO RED CROSS PENNSYLVANIA 500
WINNER: Carl Edwards, 28, Columbia, Mo. CAR: No. 99 Roush Fenway Ford
2008 WINS: 4 CAREER WINS: 11
SUNDAY'S RESULTS
With starting position in parentheses, driver, make of car, laps completed, reason out (if any) and money won
At Long Pond, Pa.
1. (15) Carl Edwards, Ford, 200 laps, $241,875.
2. (20) Tony Stewart, Toyota, 200, $$196,536.
3. (1) Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, 200, $188,086.
4. (21) Kevin Harvick, Chevy, 200, $153,936.
5. (16) David Ragan, Ford, 200, $111,725.
6. (30) Clint Bowyer, Chevy, 200, $111,950.
7. (7) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 200, $122,316.
8. (2) Mark Martin, Chevy, 200, $126,933.
9. (41) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 200, $93,675.
10. (4) Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 200, $126,311.
11. (5) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 200, $120,591.
12. (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevy, 200, $83,500.
13. (9) Greg Biffle, Ford, 200, $83,475.
14. (6) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 200, $115,850.
15. (17) Martin Truex Jr., Chevy, 200, $103,308.
16. (19) Travis Kvapil, Ford, 200, 62, 115, $99,589.
17. (34) Chad McCumbee, Dodge, 200, $89,133.
18. (18) Tony Raines, Chevy, 200, $66,975.
19. (31) AJ Allmendinger, Toyota, 200, $70,425.
20. (37) Bill Elliott, Ford, 200, $86,645.
21. (39) Jeff Burton, Chevy, 200, $112,208.
22. (33) Casey Mears, Chevy, 200, 54, 97, $84,050.
23. (14) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 200, $105,341.
24. (35) Michael McDowell, Toyota, 200, $86,833.
25. (36) Regan Smith, Chevy, 200, $76,850.
26. (26) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 200, $110,875.
27. (29) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 200, $95,295.
28. (8) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 200, $76,200.
29. (40) Scott Riggs, Chevy, 199, $82,108.
30. (28) David Reutimann, Toyota, 199, $68,200.
31. (24) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 199, $79,208.
32. (25) Terry Labonte, Dodge, 199, $64,375.
33. (11) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 199, $103,611.
34. (3) David Gilliland, Ford, 199, $74,472.
35. (32) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 199, $91,039.
36. (27) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 199, $81,600.
37. (38) Robby Gordon, Dodge, 198, $71,425.
38. (10) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 198, $63,300.
39. (43) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, out of fuel, 196, $71,175.
40. (13) J.P.Montoya, Dodge, engine, 146 $90,933.
41. (23) J. Nemechek, Chevy, accident, 138, $62,880.
42. (22) Paul Menard, Chevy, accident, 137, $70,730.
43. (42) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, engine, 24, $62,999.
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"It was a little stressful at moments," Osborne admitted.
Edwards was leading when the rain started. As the cars rolled around behind the pace car, the driver and crew chief were discussing whether they thought it would rain enough to halt the race for good or only temporarily.
"I was planning on pitting," Osborne said. But he wanted input from the driver. "Carl said, 'What would you do if you thought we would get the track cleaned off and keep running?' He said, 'I would come in for two tires.' "
Edwards said he and Osborne were both "about 51 percent on the side of coming in." So Edwards stopped, leading a large group behind him.
Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin were among a group of 19 cars that did not stop, figuring the rain would either halt things there or eventually shorten the event.
When it did start raining harder, NASCAR brought the cars to pit road. The more it rained, the more Edwards and Osborne second-guessed themselves -- well, actually, each other.
"Carl and I, we argue on a regular basis," Osborne said. "We argue, we get mad, we walk away, and then we come back together and cooler heads prevail. We have arguments and discussions, but then we have handshakes and hugs and we come to terms with what we want to do. Ninety percent of the time it works out for us."
This would wind up falling within that majority. After just more than 41 minutes, the race resumed. Another light shower passed quickly during a subsequent yellow, and when Kahne pitted on lap 185 and Martin came in a lap later, Edwards inherited the lead.
By that time he was way ahead of second-place Tony Stewart. But there was one more bit of stress to endure. Osborne came over the radio to ask Edwards how much fuel the driver had been saving.
The need to conserve fuel was news to Edwards.
"I said, 'None!' " Edwards said.
It was OK, Osborne said later. By his calculations, Edwards had enough fuel to go 201 laps. He'd only brought up the subject in case there was a green-white-checkered finish.
While everything worked out for Edwards and Osborne, there were those who fell on the other side of the equation. Jimmie Johnson held on for third despite having to coast out of the final turn.
Kahne made it back to seventh, and Martin wound up eighth after having to make their late stops.
The biggest hits, though, were suffered by the Busch brothers. Kurt was leading when he ran out of gas on lap 162. He finished 38th.
Points leader Kyle Busch, who was on the same cycle as Edwards and Stewart, coasted to pit road two laps from the finish and couldn't get his car restarted after having fuel added. He wound up 35th and then was dropped to 36th by NASCAR because he wasn't able to serve a pit-road pass-through penalty for a commitment line violation before the race ended.
dpoole@charlotteobserver.com or (704) 358-5134
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