Stewart knocks out Edwards in the "Texas Title Fight"

Credit: Debbie Ross for Skirts and Scuffs

Eddie Gossage channeled his inner Don King and billed the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway as the "Texas Title Fight". Smoke vs. Cousin Carl. Tony Stewart, second in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, threw down the gauntlet last week and points leader Carl Edwards picked it up. Oh, he said he didn't, but his actions on the track told a different tale. So is it really any surprise that the No. 14 and the No. 99 stayed at the top of the leaderboard throughout the race? Or that after the last round of green flag pit stops, that Stewart and Edwards worked their way back to the front? Gossage couldn't have scripted it better.

And the winner of this round - Tony Stewart.

Credit: Debbie Ross for Skirts and Scuffs

In the end, Smoke proved that "it's not bragging if you back it up,"  and he took the checkered flag in front of Cousin Carl, with Kasey Kahne behind them just watching the show.

Kahne said "I'm just watching these guys race, and they're trying to win and I've got to try to win..."

Stewart led 7 times for 173 laps and milked every single bonus point he could...leading a lap, leading most laps, and of course, winning the race. When asked in victory lane if he had any other words for the competetion, Stewart said, "I don't think we have to say anything, he already knows. I let my actions on the track speak for themself."

Edwards, on the other hand, led only 3 times for 14 laps. Edwards' points lead is now down to only three, with just two races to go in the Chase. When asked if he still thought Tony was just "worked up" after the winning the race, he said, "Yeah, but I think he's calmed down a bit since then. Didn't slow him down any, though...I think I might have to take him some lunch before Phoenix. Maybe that will help. I hope this roll doesn't last much longer, otherwise this is going to be really tough."

Rounding out the top ten were Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Martin Truex, Jr., Clint Bowyer, and A.J. Allmendinger. Michael McDowell, substituting for Kyle Busch, came home in 33rd.

As the laps wound down, Jeff Burton was in the lead, easing off on the throttle to try to save fuel. His gamble didn't pay off, though, and he ran out on Lap 329, ending up in 27th. Edwards said, "I never cheered so hard for Jeff Burton in my life. I'd have loaned him some fuel if I could have."

The race average speed was 152.705 mph with a margin of victory of 1.092 seconds. There were 5 cautions for 21 laps and 23 lead changes among 10 drivers.


All cars cleared post-race inspection, the cars going back to NASCAR's R&D center are the 14 and the 48, along with the engines from the 14, 99 and 48. 

The unofficial finishing order according to NASCAR:

1 Tony Stewart

2 Carl Edwards

3 Kasey Kahne

4 Matt Kenseth

5 Greg Biffle

6 Jeff Gordon

7 Dale Earnhardt Jr.

8 Martin Truex Jr.

9 Clint Bowyer

10 A.J. Allmendinger

11 Marcos Ambrose

12 David Ragan

13 Kevin Harvick

14 Jimmie Johnson

15 Paul Menard

16 Ryan Newman

17 Trevor Bayne

18 Juan Montoya

19 Mark Martin

20 Denny Hamlin

21 Brian Vickers

22 David Reutimann

23 Regan Smith

24 Brad Keselowski

25 Casey Mears

26 Landon Cassill

27 Jeff Burton

28 Bobby Labonte

29 Andy Lally *

30 Kurt Busch

31 Travis Kvapil

32 David Gilliland

33 Michael McDowell

34 Mike Bliss

35 Dave Blaney

36 Jamie McMurray

37 Joey Logano

38 Geoffrey Bodine

39 Scott Speed

40 Josh Wise

41 Mike Skinner

42 Joe Nemechek

43 J.J. Yeley

* Denotes Rookie