Edwards wins Nationwide debut at Road America
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| Carl Edwards celebrates his victory. Outstanding crowd at the race today. We have not seen a crowd this large since the CART years of the 70's at Road America. |
| Mark Scheuern/AR1.com |
After Thursday's first NASCAR Nationwide Series practice at Road America, Edwards poked fun at himself for how bad he was on the 4.048-mile road course, even though he was the fifth fastest driver. But Edwards proved to be a quick study, as he dominated the Bucyrus 200 to win the first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America.
"The corner workers, I could tell they were shaking their heads at me and the rest of us. It was ugly," Edwards said of Thursday's day-long practice. "But as a driver, this track is pretty tough. It's a long track, there's a lot going on. … I thought about it a lot going back and forth (to Sonoma, Calif. for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race) on the airplane. Last night, laying in my motorhome, I ran laps in my head. I really tried to give my guys the best focus I could give them."
Plus, Edwards credited road-course veteran Boris Said and a Road America driving instructor for providing tips on how to get around the mammoth track.
And then, Edwards and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer got some motivation from Roush Fenway Racing teammate Paul Menard, who was blistering fast on Thursday.
"To be honest, Drew was mad that he was faster than us," Edwards said.
So the team worked on getting the No. 60 Ford better, and by the time Edwards showed up for Saturday's qualifying and race, he was the class of the field. Edwards put down a blazingly fast lap to claim the pole in qualifying, and then he led 35 of the race's 50 laps.
"First of all, my guys built an amazing racecar," Edwards said. "That car was really, really fast. It was just a joy to drive."
But the race wasn't without some drama. Road-course races are usually filled with fuel-mileage strategy, and this one was no different. Edwards gave up the lead to pit for fuel under caution with 19 laps to go and restarted 13th.
"I was nervous about that," Edwards said. "Once I got to the fast section at the back of the track, my car didn't handle as well without fresh air on the nose. That was a little wild. … I saw the race slipping away at that point. I was pretty nervous."
Brad Coleman inherited the lead, but the race got physical in the closing laps, and Coleman got punted out of the way in Turn 1 by Brad Keselowski. In the melee, Edwards moved up quickly, following Jacques Villeneuve toward the front.
After another yellow, Edwards charged inside Villeneuve into Turn 1 and got the lead. From there, he pulled away to 4.3-second victory over runner-up Ron Fellows. Brendan Gaughan was third, with Keselowski fourth and Owen Kelly fifth.
Villeneuve suffered a broken alternator wire in the closing laps and finished 25th.
Results
| FIN | ST | CAR | DRIVER | MAKE | SPONSOR | PTS/BNS | LAPS | STATUS |
| 1 | 10 | 60 | Carl Edwards | Ford | Fastenal | 195/10 | 50 | Running |
| 2 | 9 | 88 | Ron Fellows | Chevrolet | AER Manufacturing | 170/0 | 50 | Running |
| 3 | 20 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Toyota | South Point Hotel & Casino | 165/0 | 50 | Running |
| 4 | 25 | 22 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | Discount Tire | 160/0 | 50 | Running |
| 5 | 19 | 27 | Owen Kelly | Ford | K1 Speed | 155/0 | 50 | Running |
| 6 | 2 | 18 | Brad Coleman | Toyota | SafeWay Driving Centers | 155/5 | 50 | Running |
| 7 | 4 | 7 | J.R. Fitzpatrick | Chevrolet | Schick Hydro | 146/0 | 50 | Running |
| 8 | 22 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Toyota | Great Clips | 147/5 | 50 | Running |
| 9 | 16 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Toyota | 5-Hour Energy | 138/0 | 50 | Running |
| 10 | 12 | 99 | Trevor Bayne | Toyota | OutPetCare.com | 134/0 | 50 | Running |
| 11 | 13 | 16 | Colin Braun * | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | 130/0 | 50 | Running |
| 12 | 6 | 33 | Ron Hornaday | Chevrolet | Longhorn Smokeless Tobacco | 127/0 | 50 | Running |
| 13 | 28 | 11 | Brian Scott * | Toyota | BigSpot.com | 124/0 | 50 | Running |
| 14 | 17 | 90 | Patrick Long | Toyota | System High Corporation | 126/5 | 50 | Running |
| 15 | 31 | 10 | Tayler Malsam | Toyota | Iron Horse Jeans | 118/0 | 50 | Running |
| 16 | 8 | 98 | Paul Menard | Ford | MasterCraft / Menards | 115/0 | 50 | Running |
| 17 | – | 31 | Stanton Barrett | Chevrolet | Lilly Trucking / 4Caring.org / Taleo Grill | 112/0 | 50 | Running |
| 18 | 37 | 01 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | J Davis Motorsports.com | 109/0 | 50 | Running |
| 19 | 39 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Chevrolet | Victory In Jesus | 106/0 | 50 | Running |
| 20 | 32 | 35 | Tony Ave | Chevrolet | TriStar Motorsports | 103/0 | 50 | Running |
| 21 | 29 | 28 | Kenny Wallace | Chevrolet | Anderson's Maple Syrup | 100/0 | 50 | Running |
| 22 | 23 | 70 | Mark Green | Chevrolet | Roth Maple Syrup | 97/0 | 50 | Running |
| 23 | 14 | 05 | Victor Gonzalez Jr. | Chevrolet | State Water Heaters / 31-W Insulation | 94/0 | 50 | Running |
| 24 | 26 | 15 | Michael Annett | Toyota | Germain.com | 91/0 | 50 | Running |
| 25 | 7 | 32 | Jacques Villeneuve | Toyota | Dollar General | 93/5 | 50 | Running |
| 26 | 21 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. * | Ford | CitiFinancial | 85/0 | 50 | Running |
| 27 | 40 | 24 | Eric McClure | Ford | Hefty Odorblock | 82/0 | 46 | Running |
| 28 | 42 | 23 | Alex Kennedy | Chevrolet | HelpTruckers.com | 79/0 | 46 | Running |
| 29 | 1 | 20 | Matt DiBenedetto | Toyota | Pizza Ranch | 76/0 | 44 | Running |
| 30 | 33 | 09 | Robb Brent | Ford | RAB Racing | 73/0 | 43 | Running |
| 31 | 34 | 40 | Mike Bliss | Chevrolet | Sheboygan Chevrolet | 70/0 | 38 | Accident |
| 32 | 5 | 21 | Tim George Jr. | Chevrolet | Sargento Foods | 67/0 | 36 | Accident |
| 33 | 35 | 81 | Michael McDowell | Dodge | Mobile-Shop.com | 64/0 | 34 | Engine |
| 34 | 11 | 43 | Kevin O'Connell | Ford | Taleo Grill | 61/0 | 34 | Engine |
| 35 | 3 | 12 | Justin Allgaier | Dodge | Verizon Wireless | 58/0 | 30 | Running |
| 36 | 36 | 34 | Tony Raines | Chevrolet | Long John Silver's | 55/0 | 29 | Engine |
| 37 | – | 159 | Kyle Kelley | Chevrolet | UPR.com / Apex / Jamison | 52/0 | 29 | Accident |
| 38 | 41 | 87 | Antonio Perez | Chevrolet | FrontRowJoe.com | 49/0 | 10 | Engine |
| 39 | 27 | 156 | Joey Scarallo | Ford | Cobblestone Inn & Suites | 46/0 | 8 | Brakes |
| 40 | – | 26 | Brian Keselowski | Dodge | K-Automotive Motorsports | 43/0 | 3 | Transmission |
| 41 | 38 | 61 | Josh Wise | Ford | Specialty Racing | 40/0 | 1 | Brakes |
| 42 | 30 | 92 | Andy Ponstein | Dodge | K-Automotive Motorsports | 37/0 | 1 | Susp. |
| 43 | 15 | 104 | Kevin Lepage | Chevrolet | J Davis Motorsports.com | 34/0 | 1 | Rear End |
* Denotes Rookie