Just when it seemed everything was going right for Carl Edwards, the rules got in the way.
Two straight victories gave Edwards a chance for two celebratory back flips and the points lead on the series. But he’s likely to flip after Wednesday when NASCAR penalized him for a problem with his oil-tank cover — darn those oil-tank covers — found after last week’s win at Las Vegas.
Edwards loses 100 driver points and team owner Jack Roush 100 owner points, and crew chief Bob Osborne was fined $100,000 and suspended six races. The team also loses the 10 bonus points given for a victory when the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set.
It was thought Edwards would get a penalty like the five teams that were hit with 25-point penalties and $15,000 fines for similar issues at Daytona in the season opener.
While almost any amount of money might be easily found in the Roush Racing coffers, the 25 points would have dropped Edwards only to second in points behind Kyle Busch.
But the team was hit for three separate rule infractions, with the point penalty the most significant. The 100-point drop instead dumps Edwards from first to seventh despite winning two of the three races.
“There are things beyond my control,” Edwards told the Arizona Republic Monday while testing at Phoenix International Raceway. “We have postrace inspection where part of our car didn’t conform to the rules. There’s always something like that that can get you.
“I try to focus on the things I can control and don’t worry about the rest. The No. 1 thing for me is to have fun and do the best I can and that’s what I work on.”
There is some good news. Fresh off winning twice in a row on the Sprint Cup Series, Edwards comes to Atlanta Motor Speedway, a track where he has good history. He won both races at the track in 2005 and was runnerup in last October’s event at Atlanta as well.
Busch now leads the series standings, followed by Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.
Sore stars
Two of the sport’s biggest names, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, were involved in rough accidents last week at Las Vegas.
In the closing laps, Gordon got together with Matt Kenseth and went hard into the inside wall of the track, causing a red flag. He wasn’t hurt, but said “that’s the hardest I’ve ever hit.”
Stewart wasn’t quite as lucky, winding up with a bruised foot after his Toyota went hard into the wall early on in the race.
Perhaps hurting worse long-term is the 43rd-place finish Stewart ended up with.
Both racers will be fine and in the car this weekend.
This week
The series comes to Atlanta for the Kobalt Tools 500 (1 p.m. Sunday, FOX-25, Cox channel 12.)
Defending series champ Jimmie Johnson hopes to end Hendrick Motorsports’ three-race losing streak. He won both Atlanta races last year.
Notes of note
Newman has won seven poles at Atlanta but never a race there ... Dawsonville, Ga., famous for being the home town of Bill Elliott, is just 58 miles from Atlanta. Elliott will bring the No. 21 car to the race, hoping for his first victory since 2003 ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved to 10th in the points standings with his runnerup finish last week. He was outside the top 10 all of last season ... Jeff Burton is chasing his third straight Nationwide Series win at Atlanta.
Christian Potts
366-3531
cpotts@normantranscript.com
Local Sports
March 5, 2008
Edwards hits a slick spot
Christian Potts' Victory Lane
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