Edwards Stretches Fuel for 2008 Texas Chase Victory

Carl Edwards had the fastest car for most of the 2008 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway but had to rely on pit strategy to get the victory. Edwards was putting around at half throttle at the end but he claimed the win and cut deeply into Jimmie Johnson's point lead with just two races remaining in the 2008 Chase.

Qualifying

Winless so far in 2008 and winless in his career at Texas Jeff Gordon got off to a good start by taking the pole. Martin Truex Jr. started second.

Row two was made up of Clint Bowyer and Jamie McMurray while Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five.

Drop Of The Green

Jeff Gordon got a good start and had a commanding lead at the end of lap one over Clint Bowyer. Bowyer tracked down Gordon and took over the top spot.

Bowyer then battled David Reutimann for the lead as the race ran gren through the first round of pit stops.

Storylines

On lap 263 David Gilliland appeared to blatantly wreck Juan Pablo Montoya on the backstretch. As a result Gilliland was parked by NASCAR for his aggressive driving.

I understand that emotions can run high when you believe another driver has done you wrong. Certainly Juan Montoya has upset a number of drivers during his NASCAR career. This move by Gilliland was dangerous and NASCAR can not allow this to happen again.

Texas Motor Speedway is no place for revenge. Speeds are high and Texas has claimed lives in its past. NASCAR needs to be clear with Gilliland that this move was unacceptable.

Chasing The Checkers

Carl Edwards had dominated most of the race but took four tires when others only took two. This put him back in the pack for the first time.

Jamie McMurray took two tires and held the lead as the race was winding down. Clint Bowyer spent most of the day in the top five and was closing in from second place.

As the laps wound down it became apparent that fuel mileage was going to be a factor in this one. Bowyer pitted with 14 laps to go and McMurray followed him one lap later.

Carl Edwards found himself back out front with eleven laps to go and the rumor on pit road was that he was going to try to go the distance without stopping. Edwards was running slowly to try to stretch the fuel as much as possible.

It was an unusual sight to have the leader win the race as one of slowest cars on the track but Carl Edwards worked the strategy perfectly and made it back to the checkered flag to claim the win.

Top Ten

1. Carl Edwards
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Greg Biffle
6. Kyle Busch
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. Matt Kenseth
10. David Reutimann

The Points

Carl Edwards' second win in a row chopped a bunch of points off of Jimmie Johnson's point lead. Edwards is now 106 points behind Johnson with just two races to go in the 2008 Chase.

If Johnson has two more races like this Texas performance then his third consecutive championship may be in danger.

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Carl Edwards -106
3. Greg Biffle -143
4. Jeff Burton -212
5. Jeff Gordon -255
6. Clint Bowyer -267
7. Kevin Harvick -279
8. Matt Kenseth -393
9. Tony Stewart --404
10. Kyle Busch -428
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -429
12. Denny Hamlin -431