Carl Edwards Wins the 2008 Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway
Posted by GEORGE November 4, 2008 8:31:58 AM
It wasn't just a good race for "Cousin" Carl Edwards at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, it was a GREAT race and a must-win for Edwards. Carl and his crew wavered during the closing laps of the Dickies 500, but in the end, they made the correct gas mileage call, and Carl easily took the checkered flag.
Edwards gained a huge number of points on leader Jimmie Johnson, and like the fighter Edwards is, he will battle right down to the wire. But to win the fight, you have to do well in all the battles, and unfortunately, Edwards was knocked down in earlier rounds in The Chase leaving him too far behind in the points.
It's not important where Jimmie Johnson finishes in the last two races. What is important is where Jimmie finishes in relation to Carl Edwards. As long as Johnson is within a few places of Edwards at Phoenix and Homestead-Miami, Jimmie wins the championship. If Johnson finishes in the top ten in both races, it will be good enough to take the championship.
As far as championship fighters go, Carl Edwards has proven that he is one of the best, and he just might win the next two races in a row. A NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship is surely in Carl's future, just not this year. The "Cat in the Hat," Jack Roush, has the second-best team in NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing, and they are proving it during this Chase season.
I'm becoming more impressed with Clint Bowyer as each race goes by. I stated a year or so ago that all Bowyer really needed was more of a killer instinct, and I see more of it this season in Clint. He's driving with more authority, and he seems more sure of himself, especially in his post-race interviews. He's losing that good old Kansas boy demeanor, and he's projecting more of a hard-nosed approach to his job. Next year will be the year that Bowyer shows what he's made of.
Mergers and more mergers are in the works for many NASCAR owners and their teams. There are too many being talked about to even list right now, as teams seek backers for their programs. I'll wait until it settles down a bit, and then we'll talk about it.
Our NASCAR tour group is off to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend for the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil. This is a "no holds barred" sort of track that will deliver some fantastic tri-oval, one mile racing. Warm Arizona weather and racing at PIR is hard to beat!
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