Despite woes, Edwards feels vindicated

HAMPTON, Ga. — Though his quest for a third consecutive Sprint Cup victory fell short when his Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion’s engine went sour, Carl Edwards was still smiling after Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.

Edwards was leading the race on lap 273 when his engine started smoking. Two laps later, it was pouring smoke, forcing Edwards to pit. He did not return and wound up a disappointing 42nd, dropping him to 17th in the series standings. Edwards led 33 laps and was leading by as much as five seconds before his engine gave way.

The driver believes the way he ran Sunday should help put last week’s controversial win at Las Vegas behind the team.

“It’s bleeding heavily from the engine,” said Edwards, whose team was accused of cheating by many in the garage this week. “I was just cruising along. It was really good. You can never say what would happen, but I think we would have won this race. There’s been a lot said this week about us, but I think we showed that we were fast and we’re going to be there all year.”

Part of the team’s penalty was the loss of crew chief Bob Osborne for six weeks, but former championship crew chief Robbie Reiser stepped in, though he had one major problem during the race.

“I think I called him Matt three times,” he said, referring to Matt Kenseth, with whom he worked with for 12 years before moving up to be Roush Fenway’s general manager. “You can’t work with somebody for 12 years and not call him something. (Edwards) got me back by calling me Bob all race.”

Sadler’s forgettable day

Elliott Sadler came into Sunday’s race ninth in points. He left 20th after a 43rd-place finish that included three separate spins. The final one on lap 257 finally put the Evernham Gillette racer out of his misery.

“We struggled from the minute we unloaded here on Friday,” he said. “Once the race started, it quickly became apparent we were going to be in for a long day. We tried air pressure, track-bar and shock adjustments throughout the race, but I just couldn’t get the rear grip I needed. At times, it felt like we were about to wreck almost every lap.”

Glad he listened

When Joe Gibbs Racing was trying to find a replacement for J.J. Yeley in its flagship No. 18 car, there was some flirtation with signing Dale Earnhardt Jr. After listening to drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, Gibbs decided to go after Kyle Busch.

Four races into the Sprint Cup season, he’s glad he listened.

“We always do things together here,” Gibbs said of his decision-making process. “We went to Tony and Tony said, ‘I’d go with Kyle.’ We went to Denny, and Denny said, ‘I’d go with Kyle.’ As we talked it over, Jimmy (Makar, competition director) and everybody else, we decided we better go with Kyle. We appreciate that. There were a lot of firsts today and it’s all because this team works together.”

Not only did Busch deliver Toyota its first Sprint Cup victory, but it was also M&M Mars’ first win with Gibbs and crew chief Steve Addington’s first win.