Edwards, who dominated in 2007, put in a performance much like last season in winning Saturday’s Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway. His second victory in five races moved him within 113 points of leader Clint Bowyer, who finished 10th.
Edwards was leading with one lap to go when Danny Efland’s accident froze the field and handed Edwards a victory in the Carfax 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.
The victory gave Ford its first Nationwide win at the track since 2001 when Ryan Newman drove a Penske Racing ride to a win there for the former track owner.
“I’m just so happy that we won this thing,” Edwards said after doing his traditional victory backflip off his car. “We’ve been close before. I don’t know if we would have been able to get by Tony or not. He was pretty quick.
“The car was awesome all day. There were a couple of cars that were real fast — Tony and Brian Vickers. But my pit crew just did a great job there at the end. I don’t know what kind of problem Tony had on pit road, but it was sure a lot easier to pass him there than it would have been on the racetrack.”
“For me, it’s just an honor to be a part of the resurgence of Ford Motor Company,’’ said Edwards. “I’ve been fortunate enough to talk with Jim Farley and the folks up there who are in charge of making sure this company works and it’s a great future that they have,”
“...So it’s really neat to be a part of that and to be driving a Ford and winning in it, and to do it right here knowing that those guys are up in Detroit cheering at their TV’s, that’s really cool,” he added.
It was the 19th victory for team co-owner Jack Roush at Michigan, but the first in the series previously sponsored by Busch since 1998.
“We’ve certainly had more than our share of good finishes here, and it seems like it’s a track where we always race well,” said Roush, whose headquarters are in nearby Livonia. “It’s a very good feeling.”
Brian Vickers finished second, followed by Tony Stewart, who ran his last Nationwide event for Joe Gibbs Racing. Mark Martin was fourth, and Greg Biffle came home fifth.
Stewart made his ninth and final start in Gibbs’ No. 20 Toyota. Five of those starts have ended in Victory Lane.
“It’s not like I won’t ever get to see those guys [the No. 20 crew] again, but I know it’s the last time I’m going to drive that car for those guys,” Stewart said. “When you’re that successful, you hate to see it end.”
Vickers gave up time to Edwards on short runs but gained as his tires began to wear. Though the race went green for the final 25 laps, Vickers wasn’t able to make a substantial dent in Edwards’ advantage.
“You don’t want to come across greedy, but I’m getting sick and tired of not winning one of these races,” said Vickers, who will start from the pole in Sunday’s Cup race. “We feel like every race we’ve been in we’ve led, but we haven’t led the right lap.”
Asked what the difference was between Edwards’ Ford and his Toyota, Vickers said, “I really feel like it was the power difference between the Ford and the Toyotas with the new (restrictor) plate. Carl just got too far out ahead of us at the end and we didn’t have enough time.”
Stewart wound up third, followed by Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Mike Bliss and 18-year-old rookie Joey Logano.
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