Edwards, Roush Fenway strike gold in California
FONTANA, Calif. - For Carl Edwards, it's a signal. At least one NASCAR Sprint Cup team is ready to take on Hendrick Motorsports.
Edwards, driving his Roush Fenway No. 99 Ford, won the rain-delayed Auto Club 500 yesterday, finishing ahead of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. In a race that resumed with the 88th of 250 laps, Edwards assumed the lead for good with 13 laps left.
"I hope it's an indication we've caught up with them," Edwards said after the eighth victory of his career. "They still were second and third and they were the guys to beat today. I hope this is a sign we're up to their standards, to their level."
Johnson took the green flag for the final restart in the lead with 26 laps left, but Edwards surged from third. He then showed fine form on his traditional victory backflip after capturing the checkered flag in a race that ended under caution when Dale Jarrett spun on the final lap.
Edwards had it all but wrapped up at that point, driving to a lead of more than four seconds over Johnson. It was his first victory at Fontana but his seventh top-10 finish in eight starts at the track formerly known as California Speedway.
Gordon, who dominated Sunday's rain-interrupted racing, was followed by Kyle Busch and Roush's Matt Kenseth, who had won the two previous February races at this track. Another Roush driver, Greg Biffle, won this event in 2005.
In the rain-delayed Nationwide Series race at Fontana, Tony Stewart led 136 of the 150 laps in winning his second straight series race, holding off hard-charging Kyle Busch. 