Carl Edwards Back Flips His Way Into the Chase! - SCI August 27th Issue

Below is the content for the thread Carl Edwards Back Flips His Way Into the Chase! - SCI August 27th Issue, in the NASCAR Cafe forum.

Pages: 1

Aug 26, 07 at 1:02 am

Carl Edwards Back Flips His Way Into the Chase! - SCI August 27th Issue

webmaster

Administrator
Rank Image

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 56

Next stop on the Nextel Cup Schedule is California Speedway

There are only two more races until the Chase for the Championship gets underway. NASCAR has to be ecstatic with the standings heading into California Speedway next week. Currently, the biggest names in NASCAR, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr, are either locked into the chase or on the bubble.

Other drivers in the top 10 include previous champions Matt Kenseth (3rd place), Tony Stewart (4th place), Jimmie Johnson (6th), and Kurt Busch (12th). Given this star-studded cast who has everything to lose, next week's Sharp Aquos 500 is building up to be a can't miss race!

Of all the current drivers with two or more starts at California Speedway, the reigning Nextel Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson, had had the most success. In 9 starts at California, Jimmie has an average finish of 7th that includes one win in the 2002 Napa Auto Parts 500.

Other drivers to note:

Clint Bowyer - Average Finish 7th
Carl Edwards - Average Finish 8th
Denny Hamlin - Average Finish 9th
Matt Kenseth - Average Finish 10th
Jeff Gordon - Average Finish 11th

Next Week's Schedule:
(all times EST)

Nextel Cup at California Speedway - ESPN
08/31/07 - 03:10pm Sharp Aquos 500 Qualifying
09/01/07 - 05:10pm Sharp Aquos 500 Practice
09/02/07 - 05:00pm Sharp Aquos 500

Busch Series at California Speedway - ESPN2
08/31/07 - 10:20am Camping World 300 Practice
08/31/07 - 05:10pm Camping World 300 Qualifying
09/01/07 - 07:00pm Camping World 300

Craftsman Truck Series at Gateway International Raceway - SPEED
08/31/07 - 06:15pm Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 Practice
09/01/07 - 01:05pm Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200 Qualifying
09/01/07 - 04:30pm Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers Ram Tough 200

See complete 2007 NASCAR Schedule

Carl Edwards Back Flips Into the Chase

By capturing his second win of the year last night in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards locked himself in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship. Carl jumped to the lead 372 laps into the race following Kasey Kahne's early race domination. Once in the lead, Carl stuck it to the rest of the field but not so much on his back flip landing. The judges deducted a 1/2 point for the stumble on the landing.

The win for Carl is much needed and will play a huge role in the seeding for the Chase for the Championship. This year's Chase has been revised with one of the most important revisions being the initial seeding of the drivers. In previous season, drivers were seeded based on pre-Chase points standings. However, this year, looking to emphasize race wins, NASCAR will now seed drivers based on the total number of wins then followed by pre-chase points standings.

With two wins under his belt this season, Carl would be seeded 4th. And with a plethora of super speedways in the Chase, Carl will be well positioned to do what no other driver in history has done, win both the Nextel Cup and Busch series championships in the same year, as well as, be the only driver to win a championship in all of NASCAR's top three series.

Shop for NASCAR merchandise

Kahne Pulls of a Near Sweep

After suffering through a sub par season, Kasey Kahne almost scored a hole in one at Bristol Motor Speedway. Hot from winning an exhilarating Busch race on Friday night, Kahne started the Nextel Cup race in the pole position. And he would not relinquish that position for 334 laps.

In the end, Kahne finished in what would normally be considered the most undesirable spot after leading the most laps, 2nd place, but Kahne couldn't have been happier. Before Bristol, Kahne sat 27th in the points and had posted an average finish of 25th this year which included only two top ten finishes. Even Mark Martin, who has only raced in 17 of 24 races this season, was ahead of Kahne.

Kahne fans, which make up the same demographics as "So You Think You Can Dance", can only hope that Bristol is the basis on which Kasey can resurrect his season. He is much too talented of a driver to settle for 25th place finishes.
Shop NASCAR merchandise

Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway Recap

The beloved Bristol Motor Speedway stole the show Saturday night. Little did Bruton Smith and company realize that when they gave a face lift to the surface, that they overhauled the personality of the track as well. The brand new concrete surface, which features graduated banking in the turns and a smoother transition between the turns and straight-aways, allowed for three wide racing all the way around.

In previous races at Bristol, drivers caught outside the bottom grove were toast. Lead cars were typically the victim of the Bristol Bump and Run where the following car would bump the lead car up the track and out of the grove and then run on by. However, the addition of two more grooves of racing allowed for a much cleaner race.

Never before have I seen so few cautions and so many clean cars following 500 laps at Bristol. None-the-less, the action was still hot! Just ask Carl Edwards who sizzled during the second half of the race. Carl captured his second victory of the season and locked himself into the 2007 Chase for the Championship.

Other drivers to note:

Series leader, Jeff Gordon, fell victim to getting caught by a caution after pitting before the rest of the field cycled through their pit stops. This put Gordon a lap down where he was stuck for quite awhile in the near caution-less Sharpie 500. Gordon still maintains a comfortable lead in the points.

Matt Kensethis thankful he wasn't on the bubble heading into Bristol. If the former champion needed a strong finish at Bristol to qualify for the Chase, he would have found himself on the outside looking in. Matt finished in 39th, but still sits in a comfortable 4th place in the standings, and is officially qualified for the Chase.

Denny Hamlin suffered his first DNF ever in the Nextel Cup Series. Hamlin suffered a broken valve spring which lead to Hamlin's 43rd place finish. Hamlin dropped one spot in the standings to 3rd place, but is currently qualified for the Chase.

Dale Earnhardt Jr did all he could to help his team earn a spot in the Chase. Jr finished in 5th place. The only problem is, his bubble-buddies also had outstanding finishes. Earnhardt is still in 13th and over 150 points out of 12th.

Pages: 1