Posted on April 18, 2009 – SpeedwayMedia.com
PHOENIX (Friday) Jack Roush was all smiles Friday afternoon as Carl Edwards clinched the pole for the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200, NASCAR Nationwide Series race at PIR, but it was Greg Biffle who would eventually take Jack to Victory Lane.
Biffle ran up front for the entire race and took the lead on lap 97. He maintained that lead all the way to the checkers. But the lead did not dispel some late race concerns for the Biff. With 20 laps to go, crew chief Eddie Pardue decided to have Greg stay out. “You know there’s that feeling you get when your leading the race with 20 to go and you look in the mirror and see the whole field pit behind you.” remarked Biffle after the race. ” You start to think, this is not good, but this tire we had here is good on the long run, and after giving it 5 or 6 laps under caution, it really comes back.” The win was Biffle’s 20th in the series and marked the 100th win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Roush Fenway Racing.
Edwards started on the pole, but lost the lead on the first lap to Joey Logano, but that would not last for long as Carl retook the lead. Running up front for first half of the race, leading 79 laps, Edwards appeared to be the odds on favorite to clinch the win. But as luck would have it, a broken valve spring would ruin his chances for a win. The problem would send Carl to the garage where Jack Roush was actually seen under the hood working on the car. Edwards returned to the track and finished the race in 33rd place, 24 laps down.
Following Biffle across the for second was Jason Leffler, with Brad Kesolowski third, Logano fourth and Kevin Harvick fifth. David Regan, Brendan Gaughan, Justin Allgaier, Mike Bliss and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 10.
Jack Roush celebrated the victory with Biffle but he was visibly upset with the problem with the 60 car. The poor finish for Edwards moved him out of first place in the series to second behind Kyle Busch.
