From the Crossville Chronicle – Crossville, TN. Wednesday August 6, 2008
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.com
In a rain delayed race at Pocono, Pennsylvania, Carl Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne got into a heated debate over the decision to pit when a caution for rain came out. Edwards, who based his call on his experience as a licensed pilot insisted on pitting as he predicted the rain would pass and the race would continue.
After making the stop, which Osborne opposed, Nascar put out the red flag stopping the race because of the heavy downpour. But about 40 minutes later the race resumed and went on to it’s full distance. That forced the 17 cars ahead of Edwards that did not pit to make 2 more stops while Edwards needed only one. The conversation between Edwards and Osborne became strained again late in the race as there was a misunderstanding between the two about the actual fuel believed to be in the car. With seven laps to go, Osborne asked Carl how he was doing on conserving fuel. Edwards responded that he was not trying to conserve and asked if there was a concern. After that exchange, Edwards did back off allowing Tony Stewart to close the 7 second gap to about 4 seconds.
At the finish both Edwards and Stewart were good on fuel, however 3rd place Jimmy Johnson coasted across the finish line out of gas while his teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr both ran out and lost several positions coasting to the finish. The win moved Edwards up two positions to third in the standings a mere nine points behind second place Earnhardt.
On Saturday, Canadian Ron Fellows claimed victory in the rain shortened NAPA 200 Nationwide race at Montreal. The race made history as it became the first Nascar race run with ‘Rain Tires’ provided by Goodyear. The tires have been around for a long time, but this was the first actual race where they were used. If you wondered how long they have waited to use these tires, the ones used Saturday were manufactured by Goodyear for Nascar seven years ago.
Both series head for another Road Course this week at Watkins Glen, NY, while the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series take to Nashville Super Speedway Saturday at 7:00 pm.
On the local scene, Crossville Raceway will be hosting the Southern Regional Racing Series with the Sears of Crossville $3,000 Super Late Model race along with the full weekly program on Friday night.
