- Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fusion, won the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Fort Worth, Texas. Edwards moved up four spots in the drivers’ standings to 10th place, and the win moved Ford back to the top of the manufacturers’ championship standings.
- Jamie McMurray was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Fort Worth, Texas, finishing fifth in the No. 16 Fusion. McMurray moved up seven spots to 33rd in the standings.
Edwards drove his No. 99 Fusion to victory lane after leading for a race-high 123 laps. His lead was as large as nine seconds during portions of the race, which did end under a green-white-checker “overdrive” finish. The victory was the 10th overall for Edwards and his third of this season through just seven races.
“That was a really good race car,” said Edwards of his Fusion. “It was extremely competitive out there. There were a lot of cars that were virtually the same speed, so it was really difficult to get the track position. But, once we got it, the car was really good in clean air. At the end, that (final) restart, might not look exciting to people watching, but it was real exciting for me in the race car to try not to spin those tires and hold off Jimmie [Johnson].”
Edwards’ Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth joined him the top 10 with a ninth place finish. Kenseth ran well all day, leading three times for a total of 68 laps. Combined with Edwards, the two Ford drivers led 191 of the 334 laps.
Ford has controlled the Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway since its opening, winning eight of the 15 races held on at that track.
In the NASCAR Nationwide Series race held Saturday in Texas, Jamie McMurray led the way for all Ford drivers, finishing fifth in the No. 16 Fusion. The key to his top-five finish was the decision to take two tires late during a caution with less than 10 laps to go.
“At the start of the day our car was really solid,” said McMurray. “Us and the 18 [Kyle Busch, race winner] were probably the two best cars, and we didn’t make that big of adjustments, but the car got loose in and tight off, and we had all the green-flag runs so you didn’t get a chance to make a lot of adjustments. But Eddie [Pardue, crew chief] made good decision at the end to put two tires on, and got us up front. And track position in any of these Truck, Nationwide or Cup races is huge.”
Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup and the NASCAR Nationwide Series will compete at Phoenix, Ariz., while the NHRA will be in Las Vegas, Nev.