ATLANTA -- Jack Roush can only hope this week is a lot less stressful than the last. The good news for Roush and company was there wasn't any controversy in Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
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| Carl Edwards: ' I believe we had the car that was the class of the field.' (US Presswire) |
The team came close and Carl Edwards was in position to win his third consecutive race. But a blown motor ended that dream and sent Edwards home a disappointing 42nd.
"I don't know what happened, but the oil tank lid was on. I just appreciate my fans for sticking with us this week," Edwards joked, referring to the infamous post-Las Vegas controversy.
"It's been a long week with a lot of stuff said, but I think we showed them here today, other than something coming apart in the engine, I believe we had the car that was the class of the field. I'm just really happy to be driving it. It's too bad we broke."
Before his engine went sour, Edwards had a rocket ship of a racecar. He was able to drive the No. 99 Ford almost anywhere he wanted on the multiple groove track, and the slick conditions that plagued other drivers didn't seem to bother him.
"It just felt good to be able to drive to the front that easy," he said. "We had that good of a racecar. I appreciate all of my fans staying with me this week after that incident with our bolt coming loose. Man, that's a race-winning car right there. That's easy. I was just cruising around, so we've got a lot of good things to look forward to. "
Edwards did his best to not let the controversy of the week get in the way of doing his job.
"I just go drive as hard as I can," he said. "I wanted to win this race just as bad as I win every race. It's just great to have cars that will go as fast as I want to go. I'm sure it's just a part failure or something, but I really wanted to win. We'll try just as hard next week."
With Edwards on the sideline, Roush looked to two other from its stable to secure good finishes.
Greg Biffle continued his recent hot streak with a fourth-place finish and was in the thick of the battle near the front most of the day.
But with Joe Gibbs racing teammates Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart working together in front of him, Biffle had no chance of running down the lead for the win.
"Tony did a great job of protecting Kyle Busch," Biffle said. "They're teammates and Tony ran me pretty hard there, but he's racing for position as well.
