Carl Edwards returns to Nationwide and wins at The Glen
Credit: Jared Wickerham, Getty Images |
In his first Nationwide start since 2011, Edwards was one of 10 Cup drivers pulling double duty on the twists and turns at Watkins Glen International. Edwards' victory, his 38th in the Nationwide Series, is now third on the list of all-time victories in the series, breaking a tie with Kevin Harvick.
Edwards faced a hard charge from Brad Keselowski on the final restart after caution for debris, but Keselowski restrained his attempts to pass Edwards and settled for second. Explaining himself after the race, Keselowski said, "I didn't pull any aggressive moves out of the arsenal. That's intentional, obviously. I don't need to start any trouble over here in this series when I've got the Chase coming around." He continued, "Just banking up nice-guy points. So when the Chase comes, I can use them up. And I plan on doing that. Just banking 'em up."
Battling for the points, Sam Hornish Jr. had an outstanding day after running up front for the entire race. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. raced quietly in the top 10 with little mention on the television broadcast. Points leader Elliott Sadler finished in 12th, allowing the points gap to close slightly. Sadler leads Stenhouse by just 13 points.
Having a difficult day were Austin Dillon (third in points prior to the race) and Danica Patrick. Dillon's day was disastrous, plain and simple. From wrecking to incurring a penalty for missing the inner loop while avoiding a wreck, the No. 3 car blew a tire and fell apart in the closing laps after Dillon made contact with Michael Annett.
Patrick's day never had the chance to get started. She wrecked on Lap 1 and not of her own doing, Ryan Truex Jr. went into Turn 1 and got loose, heading across the grass then spun onto the track. Patrick was right there. With severe damage and a crinkled hood, she pitted for repairs, tried to get back on the track, but had to go behind the wall. headed behind the wall for repairs. Unfortunately for her, the No. 7 GoDaddy car didn't make it back in the race and she finished 43rd.
The points shifted a bit as a result of the action today: (1) Sadler (2) Stenhouse Jr. -13 (3) Hornish Jr. -24 (4) Dillon -29 (5) Allgaier -74 (6) Annett -109 (7) Whitt -161 (8) Bliss -205 (9) Scott -263 (10) Nemechek -291.
Race results:
- Carl Edwards
- Brad Keselowski
- Sam Hornish Jr.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ron Fellows
- Kyle Busch
- Kasey Kahne
- Paul Menard
- Justin Allgaier
- Brian Scott
- Michael Annett
- Elliott Sadler
- Miguel Paludo
- Mike Bliss
- Ryan Truex
- Victor Gonzelez Jr.
- Jason Bowles
- Mike Wallace
- Jeremy Clements
- Kenny Habul
- Kyle Kelley
- Joey Logano
- Austin Dillon
- Cole Whitt
- Tim Connolly
- Eric McClure
- Joe Nemechek
- Tony Raines
- Alex Kennedy
- Daryl Harr
- JJ Yeley
- Dexter Stacey
- Morgan Shepherd
- Eric Curran
- Timmy Hill
- Matthew Bell
- Chris Cook
- Alex Popow
- Josh Wise
- Jeff Green
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Stephen Leicht
- Danica Patrick
Carl Edwards returns to Nationwide and wins at The Glen
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Rating: