After a very strong showing at Daytona International Speedway last weekend for Ford Racing which included a win, second and a third; Ford was running high.
Carl Edwards broke his own track record in qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway on Satruday and looked like the car to beat.
After leading early Edwards got shuffled back on pit strategy and was on hsi way to the front until contact with Kyle Busch. Edwards hit the curb and made contact with Jeff Gordon.
Edwards was forced to garage to make repairs and was surprised by his early exit. Later returned to the track but not after trying to figure out what happened.
"I was just out there with a smile on my face, having fun," Edwards said. "I didn't see that coming at all. Kyle's too good a race car driver to slide across like that. But I did just watch the tape and I can't tell if it was just a misjudgement on his part or just frustrated. It's just racing. Man, it's just so frustrating."
Edwards finished 28th.
Last week’s winner Trevor Bayne tried to pass Travis Kvapil but misjudged and over corrected and hit the wall hard on lap 49. The damage ended Bayne’s day before lap 50.
For Ford it didn’t get much better as the day worn on.
Matt Kenseth had contact with Brian Vickers and sent Vickers sideways in front of the entire field on lap 67.
Vickers placed the blame on Kenseth but Kenseth wasn’t sure why after the race.
"I was surprised when I got out of the car and everybody said he was mad at me," Kenseth said. "I'm not sure for what. Maybe I'll watch the replay and see something different, but from where I was he kind of held me close to the middle of the corner on the restart, which you should, and I came off the corner and I never even felt us touch. I know I left plenty of room to the wall and I looked in my mirror and saw everybody crashing."
In total 12 cars were involved and took out many possible contenders for the win.
After a long green run David Ragan cut a tire on lap 127 making hard contact and ending his day, he finished 36th.
AJ Allmendinger was Ford’s highest finisher in ninth with Kenseth in 12th, Marcos Ambrose in 16th and Greg Biffle in 20th.
Ford’s statement at DIS was overshadowed by what was looking like another banner day for the manufacturer and its teams.
The biggest hit was in the points as Edwards went from point’s leader to 12th. David Gilliland went from second to 10th. Ragan dropped 12 spots to 25th in the standings.
Ford will look to rebound this weekend at Las Vegas after a race their drivers would like to forget.
Photo:NASCAR.com
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