NASCAR: Edwards nudges Busch to win Toyota Owners 400

Omnisports

April 24, 2016 9:11 AM

Carl Edwards said he didn't want to hit Kyle Busch but his crew chief Dave Rogers was yelling at him to go get the race win at Richmond.

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Carl Edwards captured his second straight race win of the NASCAR season in Sunday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway but it came at the expense of his team-mate Kyle Busch.

A caution flag reset the field with 36 laps to go as Busch led the field with Edwards and Jimmie Johnson lurking behind. As the leaders hit lapped traffic with just under 10 laps remaining, Edwards closed the gap to just 0.20 seconds as he waited to make a final move.

The race-winning manoeuvre did not occur until the final turn, though, when Edwards nudged Busch's car just enough to get him loose, allowing Edwards to roar past and take the checkered flag.

After the race, Edwards explained the controversial move, he said: "Kyle’s an amazing team-mate and it’s like he got really slow there at the end. Something happened that last lap.

"It was like his rear tyres went off or something. He went down into [turn] one and I dove it in and I got to him and I thought, ‘Man, I’ve got something.’ And he went to get down to the bottom and park it in three and four and I had already decided to go down there so I thought, ‘Man, I’m going to give him a little nudge,’ and we both have got wins and we’re racing for fun getting these trophies and just an awesome day."

Edwards said he didn't want to wreck Busch but his crew chief Dave Rogers was yelling at him to go get the race win.

He added: "So going into the white flag Dave said something on the radio basically like, ‘Get your butt in gear and go get him'. So, I thought, ‘Heck, I’ll drive down there in turn one really far and it looked like Kyle, his car got real slow that last lap like his tires were just burnt up."

The win marked the fourth consecutive win for Joe Gibbs Racing and moved Edwards into first place in the point standings, seven points ahead of Kevin Harvick.

Johnson, who led 44 laps on the day, finished third followed by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne and Harvick.

"We kind of lost our way in the middle part of the race," Johnson said. "But we had good pit stops and some great adjustments at the end got us into the top three.”

Making his first start after missing eight races due to a back injury, Tony Stewart was able to battle back from a blown tyre to finish 19th. Stewart, who was granted a waiver from NASCAR, can still make NASCAR's version of the play-offs as long as he can win a race and finish in the top 30 in the point standings.

The Sprint Cup Series will be back in action next Sunday from Talladega for the Geico 500 as fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks to claim a fourth race win.

Omnisports