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- Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fusion, won Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Fort Worth, Texas. Edwards gained 77 points on leader Jimmie Johnson and remains second in the standings, 106 points out of first place. Ford moved up one spot in the manufacturer standings to second place, two points behind Chevrolet and one point ahead of Toyota with only two races remaining.
- Carl Edwards was also the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Forth Worth, Texas, finishing second in the No. 60 Fusion after starting the race from the pole position. Edwards gained 24 points on point leader Clint Bowyer and remains second in the standings, 91 points out of first place.
- Colin Braun was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Fort Worth, Texas, finishing fifth in the No. 6 F-150. Braun remains 13th in the standings.
- Robert Hight, driver of the AAA of So. Cal. Mustang, was the runner up in the NHRA race in Las Vegas, Nev. Hight moved up two spots in the standings to third place, 39 points behind leader Cruz Pedregon with only one race to go.
DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 3, 2008 – Carl Edwards easily had the fastest car at the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Fort Worth, Texas, but he needed to be the slowest car at the end to clinch his eighth victory of the season on an important weekend for Ford Racing.
Edwards went the final 69 laps without refueling and coasted to his second straight win, gaining 77 points on Jimmie Johnson and pulling to within 106 points of first place with only two races to go.
Edwards had the fastest car all day and led for 212 of the 334 laps, but a late pit stop, in which he took four tires, put him back in the field after many other drivers opted for two tires to save time. Crew chief Bob Osborne calculated that the No. 99 Fusion could stay on the track as long as Edwards conserved fuel, and as car after car came off the track to fuel one more time, Edwards moved his way back into the lead and held on for the win.
As he crossed the finish line, Edwards yelled into his radio, “Right there! That’s Ford fuel mileage. Great job!” He even had enough fuel to do a donut in the grass and drive his car into Victory Lane.
“I never had Bob yell at me for going too fast, but he did tonight,” said Edwards. “I was just so nervous that we were missing something. I thought there was no way we could go this slow, save this much fuel, and still be leading this race, so they did a really great job. That was cool. Of all the ways you can win a race, fuel mileage isn’t the most exciting one, but we had, I believe, a dominant car all day. The car was very fast. We got behind on that last pit stop and it was still very cool to win the thing.”
Since the Chase began, Edwards has put his Fusion in the top three spots in six of eight races. He has finished in the top five in half of the 34 races this season.
With a Fusion in the Winner’s Circle, Ford moved up one spot in the manufacturer standings to second place, one point ahead of Toyota and just two points behind Chevrolet.
Just one week after Jack Roush put all five of his Fusions into the top 10 in Atlanta, he was able to follow up that performance by putting all of his cars in the top 11 spots. After Edwards, Jamie McMurray took third place, Greg Biffle finished fifth, Matt Kenseth was ninth and David Ragan just missed out on the top 10 with an 11th-place finish.
Biffle, who remains third in the standings, also gained on Johnson, shaving 42 points off of his deficit to pull within 143 points of first place. Kenseth moved up one spot in the standings to eighth place, while Ragan retains his huge lead for 13th place, the top spot outside of the Chase.
Edwards also had a great points race one day earlier in the Nationwide Series race. Edwards started the race from the pole and finished in second place, just 0.253 seconds behind winner Kyle Busch.
Edwards’ effort was a huge help in his bid to repeat as Nationwide Series champion as he gained 24 points on leader Clint Bowyer to remain in second place and pull to within 91 points of the lead with only two races remaining.
David Ragan and Marcos Ambrose also had good showings and joined Edwards in the top 10. Ragan came away with a fifth-place finish and moved up one spot in the standings to fourth place, while Ambrose took ninth place and remains 10th in the standings.
In the Craftsman Truck Series race, Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Colin Braun was the top Ford driver in the race, taking his No. 6 F-150 to a fifth-place finish. Travis Kvapil was seventh, while Rick Crawford, who started from the pole, finished 11th.
Ford drivers also moved up in the standings at the NHRA race in Las Vegas, Nev. Robert Hight was the runner up in the race, defeating Tony Bartone in the first round, teammate Mike Neff in the second round and Tony Pedregon in the third round before losing to Cruz Pedregon in the final. The strong performance moved Hight up two spots in the standings to third place, 39 points behind leader Cruz Pedregon with just one race to go.
“We picked up three rounds today,” said Hight. “I’m greedy. I would have liked to have picked up four, but there’s always a bright side. The biggest thing for me is we have a shot at Pomona this year… Basically, [Tim] Wilkerson or Cruz could go to the semis and lose and if I win the race, I’d be the champion.”
Including Hight, all four John Force racing cars made it out of the first round. John Force made it all the way to the semifinal, while Ashley Force and Mike Neff each made it into the second round.
Ashley Force remains sixth in the standings, John Force moved up one spot to seventh and Neff remains in ninth place.
Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be in Phoenix.
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Ford Racing Technology
Ford Racing Technology, based in Dearborn, Mich., is responsible for major racing operations in North America, including NASCAR (Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series, Craftsman Truck), Grand American sports car racing, NHRA drag racing, USAC midget car racing and the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup. Ford Racing also oversees the development and marketing of Ford Racing Engines and Performance Parts, the outreach programs with all Ford Clubs and Ford enthusiasts, and the marketing of the Ford Racing brand through initiatives such as Team Ford Racing. For more information regarding Ford Racing’s activities, please visit www.fordracing.com.