Final Lap at Martinsville Leaves Edwards in 20th Place
October 25, 200911:02 PM
Martinsville, Va. (October 25, 2009) – Carl Edwards and the No. 99 Aflac team put together a solid run at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, but bad luck on the final lap left them in 20th place. Edwards was in 12th place for a green-white-checker finish but his driveshaft gave up on the final lap which caused him to brush the wall in the last turn to finish 20th.
Edwards started the race in 29th place, but he did not stay back there for long. A two-tire pit stop on lap 46 helped him move up to 17th and he maintained that position while fighting a tight condition in the center of the corners. The crew worked on the car and eventually got it handling better for him.
His biggest jump in track position came on lap 178 when many of the leaders pitted under caution but crew chief Bob Osborne told Edwards to stay out on track. The call moved him up to eighth place for the restart on lap 183. His car was working well and he was as high as fifth by lap 202.
After falling back a bit, Edwards really hit his stride with 100 laps to go. He was back up in ninth place by lap 413 and moved into eighth with 75 laps to go. The field began to cycle through green-flag pit stops, and Edwards came to pit road on lap 429 for fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. He was back in seventh after a caution with 51 laps to go.
The longer he raced the Aflac Fusion became tighter. He was 11th with 25 to go when a caution for debris came on lap 485. Edwards pitted for four tires and a track bar adjustment to help the handling for the final 12 laps. He restarted 14th, but was up to 12th when the last caution of the race came on lap 496. Edwards stayed out and the race resumed on lap 500 with a green-white-checker finish. Edwards did all he could to get back in the top 10, but brushed the wall when the driveshaft broke on last turn of the final lap. He finished the race on the lead lap in 20th place.
Denny Hamlin won the race, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon. Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 10.
“That last restart I was just trying real hard and I got into turn three and it axle hopped,” Edwards said. “I think it was just that I was in the brakes too hard, but then when I tried to go again after I hit the fence the driveshaft was coming apart. I was trying so hard at the end. We’re at a point with our Aflac team in the Chase with not a lot to lose, so the guys worked hard. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Edwards and the No. 99 Aflac team remain 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings. Edwards now trails the leader, Jimmie Johnson by 413 points with four races remaining until the championship.
The seventh race in The Chase is next weekend at Talladega SuperSpeedway with the Amp Energy 500 on Sunday, November 1. ABC television and MRN radio affiliates will broadcast the race live at 12:00 p.m. (EDT).
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