Edwards Ends Winless Drought At Phoenix
Avondale, AZ (Sports Network) - Carl Edwards snapped a 70-race winless streak in the Sprint Cup Series by taking Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Edwards passed Denny Hamlin for the lead with 47 laps remaining, and then conserved enough fuel to claim his first win in NASCAR's top-tier series since the 2008 season-ending race at Homestead, FL. Edwards also won the Nationwide Series race at Phoenix on Saturday.
Hamlin, who dominated most of the race by leading 190 laps, was forced to pit from second with 14 laps remaining. Hamlin wound up finishing 12th and saw his points lead shrink from 33 points to 15 over Jimmie Johnson, who had enough gas to get him across the finish line in fifth.
Kevin Harvick overcame a pit-road mishap late in the race to finish sixth. Harvick had a missing lug nut during his stop and had to pit again. He is now 46 points behind Hamlin, making it the closest Chase championship battle heading into next Sunday's season-finale at Homestead.
Ryan Newman finished second, while Joey Logano took the third spot and Biffle came in fourth.
