Carl Edwards Scores 2007 Chase Win In Dover

Dover International Speedway is a tough race track. Each fall Dover takes its toll on the Chasers as many Chase drivers seem to have trouble here. The 2007 Dodge Dealers 400 was no exception as Chasers were falling by the wayside throughout the race. Carl Edwards recovered from problems of his own and claimed the win during this grueling Dover race.

Qualifying

Jimmie Johnson started on the pole in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevy. Starting second was rookie of the year leader Juan Pablo Montoya. Row number two was made up of Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch while June winner Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top five.

Drop Of The Green

The race got off a slow start with two cautions in the first twenty laps. Then the drivers settled down and started to put some laps in the books.

Denny Hamlin won the Busch race on Saturday and jumped out to the early lead in this race. Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin were both working their way towards the front from their starting positions. Both drivers were passing cars nearly every lap as they battled towards the front of the pack.

Matt Kenseth took over the lead on lap 40 and continued to dominate much of the race.

Storylines

Last year Dover took its toll on Chasers as five of the ten Chasers had a problem of some type during the race. This year Chasers again had their share of problems.

• Carl Edwards had a sticky throttle cable early in the race. A sticky throttle cable is a scary thing. Kenny Irwin and Adam Petty were both killed as a result of stuck throttle cables. Carl Edwards pitted and spent some extra time on pit road to get it fixed. Carl was deep in the field and had to battle his way back through traffic.
• Kevin Harvick pitted under green because of a loose wheel. Harvick came down pit road under green and changed four tires. He returned to the race two laps down. Later in the race Harvick had to make another stop under green with a tire issue.
• Jimmie Johnson also had to make an unscheduled pit stop under green. Johnson had a flat tire after he brushed the wall and lost two laps before he could get back on track.
• Chaser Denny Hamlin made contact with Kyle Petty and both cars slammed the outside wall. Hamlin spent a long time in the garage getting his car fixed. This incident provided some extra-excitement as Kyle Petty took issue with Hamlin's driving and confronted Hamlin in the garage.
• In that same incident Chaser Clint Bowyer knocked the right front corner of his car in. Bowyer was running in the top five again after winning last week in New Hampshire. Bowyer got his damage recovered well enough to finish one lap down in twelfth.
• Matt Kenseth had dominated much of the race but broke a valve in the engine and it came apart with only 27 laps to go.

A big wreck with fourteen laps to go claimed even more Chasers. Kurt Busch ran over some debris and cut a tire while running in the top five on a restart. He bounced his Dodge off the wall and caused a huge crash that looked like "The Big One" at Daytona or Talladega.

Chasers involved in this crash included:

• Kurt Busch
• Jimmie Johnson
• Martin Truex Jr.
• Kyle Busch

Chasing The Checkers

Car Edwards was leading Mark Martin when the race ran into a number of cautions late in the race. Mark Martin's car was fast on long runs but he couldn't compete during the first few laps of green. That allowed Carl Edwards to get away on the final restart and roll home to the Dover victory.

Top Ten

1. Carl Edwards
2. Greg Biffle
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Mark Martin
5. Kyle Busch
6. Casey Mears
7. Jeff Burton
8. Jamie McMurray
9. Tony Stewart
10. Juan Pablo Montoya

The Points

After two races in the 2007 Chase for the Cup we have quite a battle brewing. Six drivers are withing just 18 points of the lead.

The top twelve are now:

1. Jeff Gordon -0
2. Tony Stewart -2
3. Carl Edwards -3
4. Jimmie Johnson -4
5. Kyle Busch -10
6. Clint Bowyer -18
7. Martin Truex Jr. -46
8. Jeff Burton -75
9. Kevin Harvick -115
10. Matt Kenseth -116
11. Kurt Busch -151
12. Denny Hamlin -158

Next Week

Round three of the 2007 Chase for the Cup is scheduled for Kansas Speedway. Kansas Speedway was long criticized for not providing exciting racing. That all changed last year as drivers were two and three wide all day long. The finish was exciting too as Tony Stewart coasted across the line out of fuel to take the win. The 2006 event had it all strategy, great racing and a thrilling finish. Hopefully the 2007 race will be just as exciting.