Carl Edwards booked his place in the 2007 Nextel Cup ‘Chase for the Championship' with his second win of the season in Saturday's Sharpie 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
On a balmy mid-summer night at the repaved and re-banked half-mile Bristol oval Edwards led 182 of the 500 tortuous tours including the final 129 laps to hold off polesitter and early race dominator Kasey Kahne.
From sixth on the starting grid Edwards came to the fore during the early laps of a race that saw just three caution periods during the first 250 laps but then six further yellow flags in the final 250 laps. However Kahne led 305 of the first 335 laps in the #9 Gillet-Evernham Motorsports Dodge and looked virtually unbeatable as Edwards fought over second place with, among others Dale Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte.
With the drivers taking their time to get used to the new track surface and the new, Homestead style progressive banking that made the track a little more forgiving and much better in terms of side by side racing Kahne's early dominance belied an evening that saw more overtaking and side by side racing down the order than any Bristol race in many years.
Kahne jetted off at the start and build an early lead although by lap 30 he was mired in traffic, which allowed Edwards, front row starter Juan Montoya, Ryan Newman and David Ragan to create a five-car train at the head of the field. Edwards got the better of the traffic to take a brief lead although Kahne returned the favour when Edwards got trapped behind slower cars on lap 65.
For the rest of the first stint Kahne had to fend off the close attentions of Newman as a rare round of green flag pitstops approached but the yellow flags came out just before the leaders were due to pit on lap 125 when Johnny Sauter clouted the turn two wall just in front of the leaders, almost collecting an unsighted Kahne in the process.
