Edwards rallies late for 13th at Fontana
CEDHOnline.com - February 22, 2010
Auto Club Speedway
Entering the race after a 9th place finish in the Daytona 500, Carl Edwards was looking forward to a solid run at Auto Club Speedway where he has performed well in the past. Edwards started 31st and would settle for a 13th place finish in the 500-mile event at Fontana.
Edwards wasted no time at the start of the race to move forward. In the first 25 laps of the event, Edwards picked off 15 positions and looked to have a very competitive car as he was challenging to make way into the top-10. Edwards told crew chief Bob Osborne that the car had good balance but lacked grip in the corners. The team worked on the car and by lap 95, had cracked the top-10. When the team pitted after a caution flag on lap 92, Edwards came in and returned to the track in the 8th position when the race restarted on lap 98.
Edwards complained as the race went on that the car was tight in the corners and loose off. On lap 142, Edwards lost track position when he didn't get the clutch peddle in all the way and the tires spun while the crew was working on the car. He went back to the 19th position at the time and the race was back underway on lap 146. With 75 laps remaining in the event, he progressed up to 14th. The car remained tight in the center and loose off the corner. The team brought him in under the green flag on lap 182 for another track bar adjustment and air pressure adjustment. The car began to get better until lap 193 when rain brought out the caution flag. After the shower left, Edwards was in the 11th position with just 50 laps remaining in the event.
A few laps after the restart, Edwards and Denny Hamlin made contact while going three wide which sent him back to 22nd position. He fought his way back through the field and was up to 14th when the final yellow fell on lap 225. The crew made a solid 12.9 second stop which gave Edwards three positions on the track and put him up to 11th on the track.
In the end there was hard racing and Edwards fell back to 13th on the track and settled for the team's effort.
“Our Aflac Ford just wasn’t quite fast enough,” Edwards said. “We probably ended up where we belonged today. Our pit crew did a great job again today and they really helped me out on pit road. I think we’re making progress but we’ve still got some work to do to get the car where we need it to be. Hopefully it will come together at Las Vegas next week.”
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