Carl Edwards put the bumper to Kyle Bush going into turn 1 to get by for the lead with about 30 laps to go. The #99 was the only car in the field that seemed equal to the #18. Kyle Bush lead over 400 laps once he got to the lead.
“I feel like I was extremely justified to do what I did,” Edwards said after his bump in Turn 1 on Lap 470 ended Busch’s streak of 415 laps led and propelled Edwards toward his third victory in the past four Sprint Cup races.
“I needed to do it and that’s the way it went,” the unrepentant Edwards said.
“Let’s make it real clear: I’m not apologizing for it and that’s it. I feel like the score is even and it just cost him more than it cost me at the time, and that’s the way it is.”
“Kyle had the fastest car on the long runs all night,” Edwards said. “My only chance to get him was on the restarts.”
“A real smart racer explained it to me this way after he wrecked me and I was real mad,” Edwards said. “He said, ‘I just had to look at your rear bumper and decide, would you do this to me? And you had before, so it was a real simple decision.’ ”
Edwards shared an incident the took place at the spring cup light race in Richmond. Edwards said Busch “just smoked the back bumper of my car and sent me up the race track.”
“Afterward, he said, ‘Sorry man, my car was just faster,’ ” Edwards recalled. “So, in my mind, I had to ask myself when I went down there in the corner, ‘Should I lift and brake early and do the best I can, or should I just kind of give him a little tap and see what happens?’
“That’s the way it went and that’s the decision I made.
“I’d do it again.”
Grumpy’s note: I can respect a guy who just comes right out and admits his decision and lives with it. The crowd registered its approval of the win and lustily booed the #18 for hitting the #99 on the cool down lap. Carl took care of business by turning Rowdy around much to the delight of the crowd.
Despite the number of laps lead by Bush, the field had some great moments all during the race. Some fans are critical of the new racing surface at Bristol. i guess they might prefer a yellow flag every 25-30 laps and a field of wrecked cars to enjoy a race. I was happy to see some long green flag runs. Drivers had to do their job. Drive the car, set up the pass and then pull it off.
And now, the NA$CAR traveling circus heads out to the land of fruit and nuts. A double header at Fontana for the last time on Labor Day weekend. Check your medicine cabinets for the No Doz.
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