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Edwards Still In Chase - Barely

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 10, 2008

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Trailing by 141 points in the Sprint Cup Chase, Carl Edwards knows he needs a miracle to deny Jimmie Johnson his third straight championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway this week.

Edwards lost ground Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, finishing fourth as Johnson won the race.

"The thing we've got to do is we just have to keep our heads up and go to Homestead," Edwards said. "It's still possible. It's not probable."

Johnson can wrap up the title by finishing 36th or better on Sunday. But Edwards noted that Johnson's teammate, Jeff Gordon, had engine problems Sunday.

"I can guarantee you that we're just going to go there and give it 100 percent, and hope that something happens," Edwards said. "We saw what happened with Gordon today. You never know what could happen."

GORDON FLAMES OUT: Fighting engine problems all day, Gordon didn't contend for his first victory of the season.

Gordon's engine began to smoke with 43 laps remaining. Gordon said it was "probably a valve or something."

"I felt it early on," Gordon said. "It was starting to lose some power, and I didn't pay too much attention to it because I was still getting plenty of RPM and the car was still running good. Then all of a sudden it started really going down, and I felt it lose a cylinder."

Gordon didn't finish for the sixth time this year.

THE HEIDI RACE: With 34 laps remaining, ABC cut away from the race in the Eastern and Central time zones, opting to show "America's Funniest Home Videos" as scheduled.

At that point, two red flags had delayed the race by about 45 minutes.

ESPN2 carried the race's conclusion in the Eastern and Central time zones, and it remained on ABC in the West.

Drivers didn't know about the move until after the race.

"It seems a little odd to me, as big as NASCAR is and as many people watch this sport," said Jamie McMurray, who took third. "I just can't believe that 'America's Funniest Home Videos' would take priority over us. I mean, I like that show, but I'd rather watch the race."

EARLY PIT STOP: Fifteen minutes before the race started, David Ragan walked into the Phoenix International Raceway press room. He had to use the restroom and it was the closest available toilet to the track.

Ragan bantered with reporters as he waited in line.

GOING GREEN: For the first time in a NASCAR event, a hybrid will be the pace car when the Chase concludes at Homestead-Miami Speedway this week.

The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, featuring the debut of Ford's next-generation hybrid system, will pace the Ford 400 along with the Fusion Sport.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Fusion Sport both will be in NASCAR-inspired camouflage for the race. The cars won't be officially unveiled until the Los Angeles International Auto Show three days later.

The Associated Press

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