NASCAR Nation

Carl Edwards seemed to be having a pretty rough weekend north of the border Saturday in Montreal. After drawing a late qualifying slot, Edwards could garner only second best to Marcos Ambrose after dealing with miserable track conditions.
And to make matters worse, as Edwards and Ambrose were set to make their Rolex Grand Am Daytona Prototype division start, Edwards wrecked the car on the warm-up lap prior to the start of the race.
Sunday appeared to be shaping up to be another long, disappointing day for Edwards until the final lap of the NAPA Auto Parts 200. Then it became Ambrose’s disappointment.
Edwards drew even with the car of Ambrose, and when Ambrose made contact with the rumble strip in the final turn, it was all the margin of error that Edwards needed to sneak by and capture the victory.
“I can’t believe I won the race,” Edwards said. “I just figured he’d take off and run away with it. I guess that goes to show you never give up.”
Edwards led only three of the race’s 76 laps, as opposed to the 60 laps led by Ambrose. He finished second, and was visibly disappointed.
“I made a mistake on the last corner, the last lap and lost the race because of it,” said Ambrose. “It’s disappointing but you have to take the lumps as they come. I’m racing against some pretty awesome drivers in some great equipment. We led a lot of laps and I’m starting to get annoyed with this track, to be honest with you. That’s three years in a row that I have seemed to have given it away.
Andrew Ranger, the defending NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion and Canadian native, finished third. He was followed by Jacques Villeneuve in fourth and Brad Keselowski in fifth.
Points leader Kyle Busch finished 10th, allowing Edwards to narrow the points lead to 192 points with only 10 races remaining.
On a side note, the race Sunday lasted three hours, 49 minutes, 19 seconds, making it the longest race in Nationwide Series history.
Camping World Truck Series: Kyle Busch passed leader Todd Bodine with 19 laps to go to win the EnjoyIllinois.com 225 at Chicagoland Speedway last Friday night.
“It was a fun night,” Busch said. “My parents are from just outside Chicago and my girlfriend is from just over the border in Indiana, and it was cool to come back and win before the home folks in the Midwest.”
The win in a truck at Chicagoland makes the track the fifth track which Busch has won a race in each of the three national series. The track joins Auto Club Speedway, Bristol, Dover, and Phoenix.
Bodine was second, followed by Colin Braun in third, Rick Crawford in fourth, and Johnny Sauter in fifth. Points leader Ron Hornaday finished 11th and holds a 220 point lead over Matt Crafton with nine races remaining.
Coming Up: The Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series head to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the track’s inaugural Cup race under the lights. Don’t miss any of the action as the Race for the Chase draws to an end.
Bruce Knoll, 17, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com
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