Edwards survives two wrecks to finish ninth in the Daytona 500
CEDHOnline.com - February 14, 2010
Daytona International Speedway
Carl Edwards restarted third on the final restart of the Great American Race only to get pushed back by the No. 31 of Jeff Burton on the start to a ninth place finish in the event.
Edwards started the event off in the back of the field because of an engine change. He began to tell crew chief Bob Osborne that the car was 'a bit' tight. He came down pit road running in 28th on the first caution flag on lap nine. After Osborne decided to make some adjustments on the car, Edwards said his car had an almost perfect balance. He was running in the ninth position by the 48th lap of the race.
Edwards was in ninth at the halfway point of the event and it looked as if he had another strong car on the high banks of Daytona. On lap 116, Edwards cracked the top-five. The team brought Edwards down pit road on lap 118, and once again a quick stop by Aflac crew got Edwards out in fourth place. But just after, NASCAR red flagged the race fo over an hour to repair a pothole in the race track in turn two. The officials had trouble getting the patch to set on the asphalt. The race resumed on lap 126, Edwards lost some grip and was beginning to get loose. On lap 144, the crew made adjustments on the car and it began to get better as Edwards back up to fifth on lap 154.
Another red flag waved on lap 162 for another hour. When the repairs were finished the No. 99 Ford made its last pit stop as the racing went back underway on lap 169. When racing resumed Edwards was trailing his teammate Greg Biffle and had teammate David Ragan right behind him.
Edwards was then faced with a decision to pit or not pit when a caution flag fell on lap 195, while running 18th. Osborne decided to gamble and keep Edwards out. The gamble moved Edwards up to 11th. Another caution flag fell on lap 199, when Bill Elliott and Joey Logano brought out the caution. The race resumed on 208, with Edwards in 8th place.
Another caution flag ocurred after the race restarted and Edwards lined up third behind Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray, however, on the green flag came out he had no help and slipped out of the draft and fell back to ninth where he finished.
“I thought we were going to have a shot at the win if Jeff Burton would have gone with me,” said Edwards. “We just got hung out at the end and fell back to ninth. I’m disappointed to not get a better finish, but I’m also happy about how well we ran today and what a great job the guys did in the pits. They gained spots for me on pit road all day and if they keep that up every week we’ll be in a great position to win some races. I’m really looking forward to going to California next week.”
Edwards leaves Daytona in tenth place in the standings, 52 points behind leader Jamie McMurray.
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