The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series shifts gears from the short track at Martinsville, to the high speed banks of the Texas Motor Speedway. With two races left before the Homestead finale, the pressure is weighing on the shoulders of the seven remaining drivers. Jimmie Johnson won last week to advance to Homestead. Austin Dillon won the pole with Joey Logano to his outside. The biggest problem for the drivers wasn’t the track itself, but mother nature. There race was delayed for close to 2 hours because of a rain shower the engulfed the speedway. Eventually, the AAA Texas 500 got underway as Carl Edwards wins the rain shortened Chase race.
Carl Edwards Wins a Wet Race at Texas; Advances to Championship 4
Race Recap
Logano passed Dillon to jump to the early lead. Martin Truex Jr quickly caught up to Logano as the two battled for a majority of the race. Logano would go on the lead the most laps of the race with 178. Pit road would play a big part of the race. The the teams of Logano, Truex Jr, and, Edwards work consistently to get their drivers out first.
Pole sitter Dillon ran into trouble when he was bumped by Kevin Harvick. Dillon went into the wall and would pick up heavy right side damage. Behind Dillon, Casey Mears spun and his front end exploded after digging into the grass. Brian Scott was also spun, but Mears took the worst of it. On the penultimate restart, Edwards pulls ahead. He lead the rest of the way until the rain returned. The rain came down and came down in buckets. Edwards was declared the winner with 48 laps remaining. As Carl Edwards wins, he secures his ticket to Homestead.
Here is the Top 5 from the AAA Texas 500:
- #19 Sportclips Toyota- Carl Edwards
- #22 AAA Ford- Joey Logano
- #78 Bass Pro Shops/ Tracker Boats Toyota- Martin Truex Jr
- #24 Kelley Blue Book Chevy- Chase Elliott
- #18 M&M’s Toyota- Kyle Busch
Final Thoughts
It was a wet and wild one in the Lone Star state. Such a race gives the drivers everything they could ask for. The Texas race sees thrills, spills and a surprise winner. Edwards, who was more that 30 points in the negative, needed a win. As Carl Edwards wins Texas, he shakes up the Chase field. Texas’s high banked corners cause lots of trouble for the some drivers. Paul Menard, Dillon, and Scott all went for spin cycles after getting a little to high in the corner. With there now being 2 more spots available, next week’s race at Phoenix will prove important to the drivers below the cut line.
Chase Standings after Texas:
- #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy- Jimmie Johnson (advanced)
- #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota- Carl Edwards (advanced)
- #22 Team Penske Ford- Joey Logano +1
- #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota- Kyle Busch +1
- #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota- Matt Kenseth -1
- #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota- Denny Hamlin -2
- #4 Stewart Haas Racing Chevy- Kevin Harvick -18
- #41 Stewart Haas Racing Chevy- Kurt Busch -34
The Sprint Cup Series is back in action Sunday November 13th at Phoenix International Raceway for the Can-Am 500. This race is a must win for Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick. Two spots, six drivers, and one more race to decide who will join Johnson and Edwards come Homestead to race for the Sprint Cup.
