Carl Edwards takes Chase lead after strong performance at Dover – NASCAR news
Carl Edwards is now joint top of the Chase for the Sprint Cup alongside Kevin Harvick after he finished in 3rd place at the AAA 400 at the Dover International Speedway on Sunday, October 2, 2011.
Edwards had one of his better weeks last time out as he claimed a dominating victory in the Nationwide Series and had a strong car coming into the Sprint Cup race.
And he should have won the Sprint Cup race as well. He led 119 laps in the Sprint Cup race but was handed a pit-road speeding penalty at lap 246 which put him a lap down in 28th position. He then made an amazing comeback to finish
in 3rd position in the race.
Speaking after the race, Edwards said he was disappointed to have made the mistake, being in such a strong position in the race.
“It was a great day other than that feeling I had when I ruined it there on pit road,” Edwards said. “That’s about as small as you can feel in a race car.”
However, he was also mindful of the fact that he had been given a let off and it could have been so much worse for him, given his penalty. The J.J. Yeley crash brought out the caution a few laps later which allowed Edwards to catch up to the rest of the
pack and make his way up from there on.
“We were very, very fortunate,” Edwards said. “As frustrated as I am with myself for messing that up, I'm really, really grateful for the gift that was given to us with that caution and the ability to come back up there.”
Edwards was also pleased with his consistency this season. Despite having won just one race so far, he has the most top 10 and top 5 finishes this season. However, he was frustrated at the fact that the team has been in so many winning positions and has
failed to convert those good performances into wins.
Edwards was also hoping to get over his mistake and said that he wanted to minimise his mistakes. However, he said that he felt really disappointed having let the team down with his mistake and praised the effort all the team has put in the car and all the
support that they provided him throughout the season.
Edwards will get his chance to put things right in the next race at Kansas. The Hollywood Casino 400 at the Kansas Speedway is scheduled for Sunday October 9, 2011.
Tags: