Edwards Wins While the Chase Field is Set

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Carl Edwards won the Federated Auto Parts 400 from Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night after holding off the rest of the field on a late-race restart.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Edwards took the lead with just 50 laps to go, and he held off a hard charge from Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman to win his second race of the season.  The win allowed him to get ahead of Jimmie Johnson in the points, and he finished the regular season as the points leader.  

Jeff Gordon started on the pole, and he led for the first 50 laps.  Brad Keselowski took the lead away from Gordon on lap 50, and he knew that he had to win.  The only way Keselowski was going to make the Chase was if he won this race.

On lap 66, Kurt Busch, another Chase contender, took the lead for the first time.  On lap 90, Joey Logano pitted, and that started a round of green-flag pit stops.  Busch pitted from the lead on lap 96.  After pit stops had cycled around, Keselowski was the leader again.

On lap 105, Matt Kenseth took the lead, but Busch took the lead again on lap 110.  Busch led until lap 136, when the first caution came out for debris.

Under the caution, the leaders came down pit road, and Jamie McMurray won the race off pit road.

McMurray led when the race went back green on lap 142, but Keselowski was able to get around McMurray for the lead after they raced side-by-side for a few laps.

On lap 207, the second caution of the night came out when David Stremme spun by himself.  Kurt Busch regained the lead on pit road when the leaders pitted for tires and fuel.

Busch led on the restart, but Keselowski worked his way around Busch for the lead just three laps later.  Keselowski would lead until the caution came out on lap 267 for debris.  Clint Bowyer won the race off pit road after the leaders pitted, and he led the field back to the green flag on lap 274.

Bowyer led until he had to make a green flag pit stop on lap 342.  That allowed Busch to take the lead, but the caution came out in the middle of green-flag pit stops.

The leaders that hadn't pitted under green came down pit road during the caution, and Edwards beat everyone off pit road.

Edwards took the green flag on lap 351, and he led until Newman took the lead with just nine laps to go.  With seven laps to go, Bowyer spun to bring out the final caution of the night.  The caution set up a wild shootout to set the field for the Chase, and the leaders came down pit road for one final pit stop.

Paul Menard won the race off pit road, but his car did not get going when the race restarted and that allowed Edwards to take the lead.  Newman tried as hard as he could to get up to the lead, but Edwards was able to hold Newman  and Busch off for the win.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Carl Edwards

2. Kurt Busch

3. Ryan Newman

4. Jamie McMurray

5. Paul Menard

6. Matt Kenseth

7. Martin Truex Jr.

8. Jeff Gordon

9. Mark Martin

10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

11. Kevin Harvick

12. Greg Biffle

13. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

14. Kasey Kahne

15. AJ Allmendinger

16. Juan Pablo Montoya

17. Brad Keselowski

18. Jeff Burton

19. Kyle Busch

20. Aric Almirola

21. Denny Hamlin

22. Joey Logano

23. David Gilliland

24. Brian Vickers

25. Clint Bowyer

26. Casey Mears

27. Marcos Ambrose

28. Travis Kvapil

29. David Ragan

30. Danica Patrick

31. Dave Blaney

32. David Reutimann

33. Tony Raines

34. Landon Cassill

35. Ryan Truex

36. J.J. Yeley

37. Ken Schrader

38. David Stremme

39. Joe Nemechek

40. Jimmie Johnson

41. Josh Wise

42. Reed Sorenson

43. Michael McDowell

 The win gave Edwards three more bonus points towards the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  After the race, the Chase field was set, with Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr. getting the two Wild Card spots.

Here are the updated standings:

1. Matt Kenseth          2015 points

2. Jimmie Johnson       2012

3. Kyle Busch             2012

4. Kevin Harvick         2006

5. Carl Edwards          2006

6. Joey Logano            2003

7. Greg Biffle              2003

8. Clint Bowyer          2000

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.   2000

10. Kurt Busch            2000

11. Kasey Kahne         2000

12. Martin Truex Jr.    2000

Next week, the series heads to Chicagoland Speedway for the first race in the Chase.  The Geico 400 will be Sunday at 2 p.m., only on ESPN.

Jeff Burton Will Not Return to Richard Childress Racing in 2014

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Richard Childress Racing announced on Wednesday that Jeff Burton would not return to the No. 31 car in 2014.  

Burton said he had already told Childress that he would like to run a partial schedule starting in 2015, or look into other opportunities when his contract expired after the 2014 season.  Childress and Burton made the mutual decision to speed that process up a year, according to a statement released by the team.

Burton did announce that he did not have any plans for next year as of this time.

"I don't know what I'm going to do next year," Burton told the media.  "We'll just have to muddle our way through it a little bit."

Burton said that he still enjoys racing, but that he's not sure if he can have a competitive ride for next year.

"I still love racing and I still have a passion for it," said Burton.  "But what opportunities are going to be there?"

Burton was contracted through the 2014 season, but he agreed to leave because he was only going to drive one more year, and they were not going to have the funding to be competitive.  

The team did not announce a replacement driver, though it is expected that Austin Dillon or Ryan Newman will fill the seat.  

Dillon, Childress' grandson, has been the most likely candidate to bring the No. 3 back to the Sprint Cup Series.  When it was announced last month that Kevin Harvick would be leaving for Stewart-Haas Racing, Dillon's name was the leading candidate to take over that car.  

Newman, who currently drives the No. 39 for Stewart-Haas, will not be returning to that team next season, and he will most likely join Richard Childress Racing to take over the 31.

Burton will still drive the car for the remainder of the season, and he said he is looking to end his career at RCR on a high note.

"This is a scary time and also an exciting time," Burton said.  "I'm going to have a good time the next 11 weeks and race my ass off."

Kyle Busch Wins in Atlanta

Originally written for CLNS Radio.

Kyle Busch outran the rest of the field after a string of late cautions to win the Advocare 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Busch took the lead after his crew got him out of the pits first during a late caution on lap 288.  Busch was able to hold off the field on two quick restarts, and he pulled away from the rest of the leaders over the final 20 laps.

Busch had a bad car to start the race, but he said his team really helped make his car better.

"I can't say enough about this team," Busch told ESPN.  "Their work tonight definitely helped me out a lot.  The car wasn't good to start, but it was good at the end."

The win also helped Busch clinch a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  Last year, Busch missed the Chase, and he said he still remembers the feeling.

"This feels a whole lot different than 365 days ago, I can tell you that," said Busch.

Joey Logano had one of the fastest cars of the race, but he ultimately ended up settling for second place.  While he said he was happy he moved up two spots in the points standings, but he wished he could have won the race.

"Big picture's great, but I just feel like we had the race-winning Ford here," Logano told ESPN.  "It just took us about seven or eight laps to get going.  I just wish [the race] was five or six more laps."

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won his first career pole for the race, but he didn't stay up front for long.  When the green flag fell, Stenhouse was passed on both side by Juan Pablo Montoya and teammate Carl Edwards.  Montoya took the lead, and he pulled away from Edwards.

Logano took the lead for the first time on lap 25.  On lap 26, the competition caution came out due to the amount of rain that had fallen at the track during the weekend.  During the pit stops under the caution, Montoya regained the lead.

Montoya led the field back to the green flag on lap 30, but the race didn't stay green for long.  Jeff Gordon spun his tires on the restart, and the field stacked up behind him.  Kasey Kahne ran into the back of Jimmie Johnson, and it destroyed Kahne's radiator.

The race restarted on lap 39, and Edwards was able to work his way around Montoya for the lead going into Turn 2.  The caution came out for debris on lap 58, and Gordon won the race off pit road.  

Gordon led when the race restarted on lap 63.  On lap 76, the caution came out again for a flat tire from Paul Menard.  

When the race restarted on lap 82, Edwards was the leader.  He led until lap 119, when the leaders began making green-flag pit stops.  After the stops had cycled around, Logano was the leader.  

On lap 139, Clint Bowyer ran down Logano for the lead.  Logano got the lead back when Bowyer made a green-flag pit stop on lap 167, but Bowyer got the lead back again when Logano had to pit for fuel.  Bowyer led until lap 193, when his engine let go to bring out the fifth caution of the night.

Edwards won the race off pit road, and he led the field back to the green flag on lap 199.  Logano worked his way around Edwards for the lead on lap 204.  The caution came back out on lap 207 when Menard spun Denny Hamlin in Turn 3.  

The green flag came back out on lap 212, and Brad Keselowski was able to work his way around Logano for the lead.  

On lap 244, Keselowski's engine started to let go, and Logano was able to take the lead again. 

Logano made a green flag pit stop on lap 253, and that allowed Ryan Newman to take the lead.  Newman pitted on lap 255, handing the lead back over to Logano.  

The caution came back out on lap 288 after a rare mistake from Jimmie Johnson.  Johnson ran into the back of Burton when he tried to come to pit road, and Johnson spun out.  Kyle Busch won the race off pit road, the first time he led all night.

The green flag came out on lap 292, but on lap 293 the caution came back out.  Brian Vickers got loose coming out of Turn 4, and he spun down the frontstretch.  Busch led the field back to the green flag on lap 298, but the caution came out again when Burton got together with teammate Austin Dillon.

The green flag came back out on lap 305, and Busch had to hold off a strong challenge from Martin Truex Jr.  Busch was able to keep the lead, and he went on to win. 

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Joey Logano

3. Martin Truex Jr.

4. Kurt Busch

5. Ryan Newman

6. Jeff Gordon

7. Juan Pablo Montoya

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Brian Vickers

11. Jamie McMurray

12. Matt Kenseth

13. Marcos Ambrose

14. AJ Allmendinger

15. Greg Biffle

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

17. David Gilliland

18. Carl Edwards

19. Austin Dillon

20. Aric Almirola

21. Danica Patrick

22. Casey Mears

23. David Ragan

24. Paul Menard

25. Mark Martin

26. Dave Blaney

27. Travis Kvapil

28. Jimmie Johnson

29. David Stremme

30. J.J. Yeley

31. Timmy Hill

32. David Reutimann

33. Mike Bliss

34. Jeff Burton

35. Brad Keselowski

36. Kasey Kahne

37. Landon Cassill

38. Denny Hamlin

39. Clint Bowyer

40. Joe Nemechek

41. Josh Wise

42. Michael McDowell

43. Scott Speed

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Richmond to set the field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  The final race before the Chase, the Federated Auto Parts 400, can be seen Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EST, only on ABC.