Under blue skies Monday, some 21 hours after the race had started, Carl Edwards put the finishing touches on the rain-delayed Auto Club 500 at beleaguered Auto Club Speedway.
After caution flew on the final lap for Dale Jarrett's spin, Edwards crossed the finish ahead of runner-up Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, who atoned for disappointing finishes in the Feb. 17 Daytona 500.
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Kyle Busch claimed the Sprint Cup points lead with a fourth-place finish in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Matt Kenseth, who had won the previous two February races at the 2-mile track, ran fifth. Martin Truex Jr., Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman completed the top 10.
The sunshine that bathed Edwards' run to victory was a sharp contrast to the conditions that stopped the race shortly after 2 a.m. ET. After a rain delay that began at 9:12 p.m. Sunday, NASCAR's efforts to dry the track were frustrated by a high dew point, high humidity and seepage of water through the racing surface (read more).
Accordingly, the sanctioning body postponed the final 163 laps of the 250-lap race until 1 p.m. ET Monday, extending the red-flag period to 15 hours, 49 minutes and 54 seconds before the resumption.
"The track was a little bit different," Edwards said of the conditions on Monday. "It was fun to race here in the sun. ... If we have a 55-hour red flag, we're still going to go out there and race as hard as possible. We've all had to wait through rain delays when the anxiety builds up.
"I was lucky that [Johnson] was a little bit loose, because it would have been really, really tough to get by him if he wasn't loose."
Edwards restarted fourth on Lap 225 after a pit stop under caution for four tires. After dispatching Roush Fenway teammate Jamie McMurray, who had taken two tires, Edwards passed Gordon for second position on Lap 233 and overtook Johnson through Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 238.
Johnson regained the top position in Turn 3 and won a drag race to the finish line, but Edwards retook the lead on Lap 239 and expanded his advantage until Jarrett's spin on the white-flag lap froze the field.
"Nobody was going to beat the 99 today," Gordon said. "I blew up off Turn 2 on the final lap, so we were very fortunate."
Busch heads to Sunday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a six-point lead over Newman and a 19-point advantage over JGR teammate Stewart.
"Overall, it was a good points day for us," said Busch, who also claimed the points lead in the Craftsman Truck Series with a win in Saturday's San Bernardino County 200. "When you don't have a winning car, the mission is to get a top-five."
What had seemed an interminable Sprint Cup weekend finally came to an end Monday after two red-flag periods had interrupted Sunday's racing -- the first to cut grooves in Turns 3 and 4 to help drain seeping water from the racing surface and the second because of a downpour that ultimately forced the postponement after 87 laps were complete.
Gordon had the dominant car at that point, having led 57 of the 87 laps, but thanks to quick work in the pits under caution on Lap 83, it was Johnson who led the field to the restart on Lap 91 after the overnight stoppage.
Wet conditions in the corners created havoc in the early stages of the race, as Denny Hamlin hit a wet spot and slammed into the Turn 4 wall on Lap 14. On Lap 21, Casey Mears lost control of his No. 5 Chevy after his left-side tires rolled across a wet seam in Turn 1.
After bouncing off the wall, Mears collected the No. 88 Chevy of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. That wreck also crippled the cars of Reed Sorenson and rookie Sam Hornish Jr.
Notes: Dale Jarrett stayed on the track and led three laps under the third caution of the race, the first laps he has led since Oct. 8, 2006, at Talladega. ... Dario Franchitti also led a lap before pitting under caution on Lap 85. That's the first time the open-wheel star has led a Cup race.
After caution flew on the final lap for Dale Jarrett's spin, Edwards crossed the finish ahead of runner-up Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, who atoned for disappointing finishes in the Feb. 17 Daytona 500.
Want more? Get inside the walls of Roush Fenway Racing.
More
Kyle Busch claimed the Sprint Cup points lead with a fourth-place finish in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Matt Kenseth, who had won the previous two February races at the 2-mile track, ran fifth. Martin Truex Jr., Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman completed the top 10.
The sunshine that bathed Edwards' run to victory was a sharp contrast to the conditions that stopped the race shortly after 2 a.m. ET. After a rain delay that began at 9:12 p.m. Sunday, NASCAR's efforts to dry the track were frustrated by a high dew point, high humidity and seepage of water through the racing surface (read more).
Accordingly, the sanctioning body postponed the final 163 laps of the 250-lap race until 1 p.m. ET Monday, extending the red-flag period to 15 hours, 49 minutes and 54 seconds before the resumption.
"The track was a little bit different," Edwards said of the conditions on Monday. "It was fun to race here in the sun. ... If we have a 55-hour red flag, we're still going to go out there and race as hard as possible. We've all had to wait through rain delays when the anxiety builds up.
"I was lucky that [Johnson] was a little bit loose, because it would have been really, really tough to get by him if he wasn't loose."
Edwards restarted fourth on Lap 225 after a pit stop under caution for four tires. After dispatching Roush Fenway teammate Jamie McMurray, who had taken two tires, Edwards passed Gordon for second position on Lap 233 and overtook Johnson through Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 238.
Johnson regained the top position in Turn 3 and won a drag race to the finish line, but Edwards retook the lead on Lap 239 and expanded his advantage until Jarrett's spin on the white-flag lap froze the field.
"Nobody was going to beat the 99 today," Gordon said. "I blew up off Turn 2 on the final lap, so we were very fortunate."
Busch heads to Sunday's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a six-point lead over Newman and a 19-point advantage over JGR teammate Stewart.
"Overall, it was a good points day for us," said Busch, who also claimed the points lead in the Craftsman Truck Series with a win in Saturday's San Bernardino County 200. "When you don't have a winning car, the mission is to get a top-five."
What had seemed an interminable Sprint Cup weekend finally came to an end Monday after two red-flag periods had interrupted Sunday's racing -- the first to cut grooves in Turns 3 and 4 to help drain seeping water from the racing surface and the second because of a downpour that ultimately forced the postponement after 87 laps were complete.
Gordon had the dominant car at that point, having led 57 of the 87 laps, but thanks to quick work in the pits under caution on Lap 83, it was Johnson who led the field to the restart on Lap 91 after the overnight stoppage.
Wet conditions in the corners created havoc in the early stages of the race, as Denny Hamlin hit a wet spot and slammed into the Turn 4 wall on Lap 14. On Lap 21, Casey Mears lost control of his No. 5 Chevy after his left-side tires rolled across a wet seam in Turn 1.
After bouncing off the wall, Mears collected the No. 88 Chevy of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. That wreck also crippled the cars of Reed Sorenson and rookie Sam Hornish Jr.
Notes: Dale Jarrett stayed on the track and led three laps under the third caution of the race, the first laps he has led since Oct. 8, 2006, at Talladega. ... Dario Franchitti also led a lap before pitting under caution on Lap 85. That's the first time the open-wheel star has led a Cup race.
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