News

February 28, 2010 8:43 PM

Edwards Earns 12th-Place Finish at Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nev. (Feb. 28, 2010) – After celebrating the birth of his daughter Anne on Wednesday, Carl Edwards came to Las Vegas hoping to continue the celebration in Victory Lane. After qualifying 12th and running in the top 10 much of the race, a long green-flag run after halfway hurt Edwards’ shot at a win. The Aflac/Kellogg’s Ford was very loose and Edwards lost track position, going a lap down before a caution came. With smart pit strategy at the end, Edwards got his lap back and rallied to finish the race in 12th place.

When the green flag dropped Edwards said the car was pretty good and he was up to fourth place by lap 44. The crew made minimal adjustments during the fist stop on lap 47 and Edwards was third when the race resumed on lap 53. Another caution followed a few laps later for a malfunction with the caution lights. Edwards gave up a few spots when the lights came out as some drivers slowed for the lights and some kept racing because the flagman did not display the yellow flag.

As the race progressed the car was still a bit loose in and off the corners, but neutral in the middle. Edwards was in fourth place when the next caution came on lap 89. After a 12.5-second stop he gained two spots to restart second on lap 93. After only 12 laps of green-flag racing the caution came again and crew chief Bob Osborne elected to take two tires on lap 109. Edwards was seventh for the restart since one team stayed out and a few others only took fuel.

When the race resumed on lap 114 the next caution did not come for 116 laps. During that long green-flag run Edwards’ Ford became much freer and he could not run the outside line that the leaders were able to run. By lap 190 he lost a lap to race leader Jeff Gordon and the crew hoped for a caution to get the “lucky dog” award. Edwards pitted under green on lap 214 and when the caution came 16 laps later Osborne instructed him to stay out in order to get his lap back. The strategy worked and Edwards restarted the race on the lead lap in 13th place on lap 234.

After making a track bar adjustment on the last stop, the car was handling much better. Edwards’ lap times improved greatly and he was gaining ground on the top 10. He moved into 12th with 18 laps to go and drove as hard as he could to gain more positions in the closing laps. He nearly got 11th place, but had to settle for 12th as the checkered flag fell.

Jimmie Johnson won the race, followed by Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth. Joey Logano, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle rounded out the top 10.

“At the beginning of the race I thought we were going to win it, but we just got so far off in the middle of the race,” Edwards said. “We are getting closer than we’ve been in a long time so that is really encouraging and the crew did a great job in the pits again today. I’m looking forward to Atlanta next weekend. I’ve always loved that track since I got my first Cup win there in 2005.”

Edwards and the No. 99 Aflac team are currently 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, 117 points behind leader Kevin Harvick. The next race will be Sunday, March 7 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Coverage will begin at noon (ET) on FOX.

Shelby American Results
Start: 12th
Finish: 12th
Laps: 267/267
Led: 0
Status: Running
High: 2nd
Low: 22nd
Fastest Laps: 6
Laps in top 15: 258/267
Points: 10th

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