NASCAR: Richmond International Raceway results in 3 minutes
Carl Edwards bumped Kyle Busch out of the way in the final turn Sunday and won the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Busch had appeared to have the race under control after a restart with 37 laps left. But Edwards, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, gradually closed in on him and nudged Busch out of the way as the came out of Turn 4 of the final lap.
Busch’s No. 18 Toyota wobbled after the contact, but Busch was able to finish second. Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimme Johnson and Kasey Kahne finished third and fourth, respectively. Kevin Harvick was fifth and Denny Hamlin finished sixth.
It was the second consecutive victory for Edwards, who also won last week at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
“I got to him and thought, I’ve got something here,” said Edwards. “Then I thought, I’m gonna give him a nudge.”
Busch didn’t directly answer questions about how he felt about Edwards tactics after the race.
“It’s racing, I guess,” Busch said.
Turning point
On the 1,600th and final turn of the race, Edwards got to the rear of Busch’s Toyota and made contact. The bump was strong enough to move Busch out of the way and Edwards went on to his second straight victory.
Three who mattered
Carl Edwards: Second straight victory came at the expense of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Busch, but while Edwards didn’t want to have to win that way, he didn’t apologize for it.
Kyle Busch: Nearly had third victory in last four races, but was moved out of the way by Edwards instead.
Kasey Kahne: Was fourth, his best finish of the season and best since a fourth at Kansas last October.
Observations
▪ Carl Edwards said his final bump of Busch came from the two of them having fun racing. By the look on Busch’s face after the race, he didn’t think so. The Tuesday team meeting at Joe Gibbs Racing should be fun, interesting.
▪ Every car in the field finished the race. Reed Sorenson was 40th and last, 10 laps down. Twenty-six cars finished on the lead lap, as well.
▪ Tony Stewart, running for the first time this season after missing the first eight races with a broken back, was 19th.
▪ Edwards’ victory came on the first last-lap pass for the lead in the Richmond track’s Cup history.
They said it
“It’s really difficult. I didn’t want to touch (Busch) at all.” -- Edwards.
Next race
Geico 500
Where: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
When: 1 p.m. Sunday.
TV: Fox.
Radio: Motor Racing Network.
This story was originally published April 24, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "NASCAR: Richmond International Raceway results in 3 minutes."