Edwards Wins Ford 300 Nationwide Race, Bowyer Takes The Series Title
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Nov 15, 2008
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Carl Edwards did everything he could do Saturday night.
But Clint Bowyer did everything he needed to, finishing fifth in the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, good enough to thwart Edwards’ bid for a second consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series title.
“We’ve been consistent,” Bowyer said after climbing out of his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. “We did the things it takes to win championships. I want to thank Richard for giving me the opportunity.”
Edwards wrested the lead from Kyle Busch late in the race and stayed out front to the end of the 200-lap event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He earned his seventh Nationwide victory and kept Busch from recording a record 11th series win.
Edwards did all he could in his No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, other than getting the five-point bonus for leading the most laps, but it wasn’t enough.
“We’ve raced a long time, we’re both from the Midwest and he’s a good competitor,” Bowyer said of Edwards. “He’s last year’s champion and it feels really good to beat him.”
“Man, that’s a great win, to be able to hold off that 18 (Busch’s No. 18 Toyota), as strong as that group has been,” Edwards said. “It’s no good to finish second, but I know Clint will be a great champion.
Click Here To View The Race Results
Going into the race, Bowyer led Edwards by 56 points and knew all he needed to do to claim the title, no matter how well Edwards ran, was finish eighth or better.
Edwards, who took the lead from Busch on Lap 167, held off Busch, Brad Keselowski and Jason Leffler after a caution flag for debris turned the race for the title into a five-lap shootout.
Edwards started the race on the outside of pole-sitter Joey Logano, who led until surrendering the lead to Jeff Burton on Lap 22.
Looking to lead the most laps for five bonus points, Edwards got to the front on Lap 39. With Bowyer struggling in 11th place, Edwards, who had won three of the previous seven races to bite into a 207-point deficit, temporarily owned a four-point lead in the series standings.
. Midway through the race, Edwards had led the most laps (32), 11 more than both Logano and Ryan Newman.
“Tonight went as well as it could have. No matter how (Sunday) goes, I can go into this offseason knowing we’re going to be tough next season. We’ve grown a lot and had a lot of fun.”
Click Here To View The 2008 Driver Standings
Brad Keselowski ran third and claimed third in the final series standings. Jason Leffler finished fourth in Saturday’s race, followed by Bowyer, Scott Wimmer, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelly Bires and Joey Logano.
Logano’s 10th-place result was enough to secure the owners’ championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, which used four different drivers in the No. 20 Toyota this year. Logano, Busch, Hamlin and Tony Stewart combined for nine wins in the car, with Stewart accounting for five. The No. 20 car finished 12 points ahead of the No. 2 Chevrolet, driven exclusively by Bowyer.
UPDATE: November 15, 2008 10:43 pm
Carl Edwards did everything he could do Saturday night.
But Clint Bowyer did everything he needed to, finishing fifth in the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, good enough to thwart Edwards’ bid for a second consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series title.
Edwards wrested the lead from Kyle Busch late in the race and stayed out front to the end of the 200-lap event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He earned his seventh Nationwide victory and kept Busch from recording a record 11th series win.
Brad Keselowski ran third and claimed third in the final series standings. Jason Leffler finished fourth in Saturday’s race, followed by Bowyer, Scott Wimmer, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelly Bires and Joey Logano.
FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 2 60 Carl Edwards Ford 2 11 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 3 6 88 Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 4 15 38 Jason Leffler Toyota 5 13 2 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 6 27 21 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 7 8 32 Denny Hamlin Toyota 8 7 5 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 9 21 47 Kelly Bires Ford 10 1 20 Joey Logano Toyota 11 19 33 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 12 30 0 Josh Wise Toyota 13 33 99 David Reutimann Toyota 14 10 1 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 15 22 66 Steve Wallace Chevrolet 16 28 64 David Stremme Chevrolet 17 12 42 Juan Montoya Dodge 18 34 7 Mike Wallace Toyota 19 5 17 Jamie McMurray Ford 20 31 9 Chase Miller * Dodge 21 35 25 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Ford 22 14 27 Jason Keller Ford 23 3 6 David Ragan Ford 24 38 4 Patrick Sheltra Dodge 25 41 1 Danny Efland Chevrolet 26 36 81 D.J. Kennington Dodge 27 37 22 Marc Davis Dodge 28 26 12 Justin Allgaier Dodge 29 43 0 David Green Chevrolet 30 18 150 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 31 25 59 Marcos Ambrose Ford 32 40 24 Eric McClure Chevrolet 33 24 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 34 9 40 Bryan Clauson * Dodge 35 4 29 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 36 29 103 Michael Annett Toyota 37 20 111 Scott Lagasse Jr. Chevrolet 38 39 161 Brandon Whitt Ford 39 16 331 Kenny Hendrick Chevrolet 40 42 52 Brad Teague Chevrolet 41 23 149 Kertus Davis Chevrolet 42 17 90 Terry Cook Chevrolet 43 32 91 Todd Bodine Chevrolet
