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GIMPY EDWARDS WINS LATE

 
Published Sept. 13, 2009|Updated Sept. 14, 2009

Carl Edwards grabbed the lead from Kevin Harvick on pit road with 24 laps to go late Friday and won the NASCAR Nationwide series race at Richmond.

The victory in the Virginia 250 finished off a remarkable race for Edwards, who had to start at the back of the field after his team made adjustments to his Ford after the field was impounded.

The work and penalty were worth it as Edwards steadily worked his way into contention, first challenging Denny Hamlin for the lead with 70 laps to go.

"I thought I'd lost the race," Edwards said. "I got in deep behind Denny, he checked up a lot more than I thought he was going to, I hit him and I let off and (Harvick) got by me."

Edwards faded afterward, but when a caution for debris on the track flew on the 226th lap, the leaders all headed for pit road, and Edwards beat Harvick back to the track.

"My guys are the ones that made this one happen, the guys in the pits," Edwards said.

Racing with a broken right foot, Edwards opted for a standard victory lap rather than his usual backflip.

"It's not the weak link right now. It's not holding me up any and it feels good, so it shouldn't be an issue," Edwards said after using crutches to get to the media center.

Harvick finished second, followed by points leader Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Zephyrhills' David Reutimann.

The victory allowed Edwards to gain 20 points on Busch in the standings, but he still trails by 201 with eight races remaining, and Busch would have to falter badly.

"These guys have picked up some grip somewhere," Busch said. "I don't think we've lost anything. These guys have just gotten better. We've got to do some homework."

For much of the race, Hamlin - a local favorite after spending most of his youth in Virginia - looked like the guy to beat, though several bad pit stops cost him position. Once he went in as the leader and came out third, and another time he went in running second and emerged sixth.