(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
With some timely help from mother nature and a lighting fast pit stop, Carl Edwards is finally getting another chance to win a Sprint Cup Series championship.
On what turned out to be the final stop of the night, Edwards’ No. 19 Sport Clips crew got him out in front of Martin Truex Jr. and from there he would separate himself from Joey Logano and the field until the rains came on Lap 293 and ended the race.
Edwards gave all the credit to his crew chief Dave Rogers and his pit crew after the victory.
“(Crew chief) Dave (Rogers) and the guys got me off pit road first. That’s what won it for us,” Edwards said. “Our pit crew has worked really hard this year, so I can’t thank them enough.”
For Edwards, this was his third win of 2016 and the 28th of his Sprint Cup Series career.
“This is huge. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. That’s all we said was needed, just a shot,” Edwards said. “Now we’re going to go to Homestead, we’re going to do what we need to do. This was a great test. We came here and did what we needed to do, we performed, and I really believe we can do that at Homestead.”
Logano had to settle for second after a dominating night which saw him lead a race high 178 laps, however he came up just short of catching Edwards when the rains came.
“We were making up about three-tenths a lap when the caution came out, it is what it is,” said Logano. “We are disappointed with second which is a good thing. I think we are in right now but it sure would have been nice to be locked in. It sure would make it easier next week.”
Martin Truex Jr. finished third followed by Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch.
Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman completed the top-10 finishers.
Austin Dillon looked set for a promising top-five run, till he got loose while racing Kevin Harvick, making significant contact with the outside retaining wall. Dillon was not pleased afterwards, stating Harvick must’ve been upset he was being outrun by a silver spoon kid. Harvick apologized for the incident.
Notable finishers include: Jimmie Johnson 11th, Ryan Blaney 12th, Brad Keselowski 14th, Kyle Larson 15th, Kurt Busch 20th, Danica Patrick 24th, and Tony Stewart finished 31st in his final start at Texas Motor Speedway.
With only one race remaining in the Round of 8, Johnson and Edwards are now locked into the Championship 4, leaving two more spots to be decided between six drivers. Logano and Kyle Busch currently hold down the final two spots, one point ahead of Kenseth and two spots ahead of Hamlin. Harvick sits 18 points back of Kyle for the final spot, while Kurt Bushc sits 34 points back of Kyle.
