Edwards holds on for Nationwide victory

Carl Edwards won Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway and in the process sliced Clint Bowyer’s series points lead from 91 to 56 heading into the season finale next weekend.

SLIDESHOW: NASCAR Nationwide race at PIR

Edwards aims to maintain momentum at PIR

Edwards, the defending series champ, held off hard-charging Denny Hamlin at the finish line by a half-car length to earn his sixth Nationwide victory of the season in front of an estimated crowd of 37,500. Bowyer, who got caught up in an early wreck on a restart, recovered to salvage a fourth-place finish in the Hefty Odor Block 200 and limit the damage to his points lead.

Next Saturday’s Ford 300 for all the marbles just got a bit more interesting with the points tightening, and both championship contenders are confident they will be hoisting the series trophy at Homestead Miami Speedway.

“We can close 56 points (even) without Clint having trouble,” Edwards said.

“We’re plenty capable of running with him, and we can beat him,” Bowyer countered.

Edwards took the lead for good on lap 130 when quick work by his pit crew got him back on the track ahead of Kevin Harvick for the lead.

“Today, the unsung heroes were the pit crew, who got him out in first,” team owner Jack Roush said.

Edwards was cruising to an easy victory with four laps remaining when Marcos Ambrose hit the wall between turns 3 and 4 to bring out the caution flag and set up a two-lap sprint to the finish. The three leaders, Edwards, Harvick and Joey Logano, stayed on the track during the caution, while several drivers, including Hamlin and Bowyer, pitted for four tires.

The move nearly paid off for Hamlin, who rocketed from fifth to second on the final two laps thanks to the fresh rubber and was rapidly closing on Edwards at the finish line.

“We had an opportunity, we just came up short,” Hamlin said.

Harvick held on for third, and Bowyer moved from seventh to fourth thanks to the grip of fresh tires at the end.

That capped an adventurous day for Bowyer, who was involved in a chain-reaction fender-bender on a restart on lap 79. The impact crunched the front end of Bowyer’s No. 2 Chevrolet. “I thought we were doomed,” he said.

Bowyer’s pit crew pounded his hood down and covered several parts of the front end with duct tape, and his car ran like a champ the rest of the way.

“I’m happy,“ Bowyer said. “If you have a day like that and finish fourth, that’s what wins championships.”

Bowyer wasn’t the only one with car troubles. Edwards bent his gas pedal during qualifying earlier on Saturday. That made it extra tough on Edwards when mashing the gas.

Kyle Busch finished behind Bowyer in fifth.

Next Saturday at Homestead, Bowyer can win the championship by finishing eighth or better.

Edwards has more pressing business today. He’ll be aiming to cut Jimmie Johnson’s 106-point lead in the Sprint Cup’s Chase for the championship in the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.