Kyle Busch holds off Carl Edwards during the Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway. (Drew Hallowell/Getty Images Photo)
The Roushkateers gave it a valiant shot on Sunday, but couldn’t knock off the all-conquering Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the Best Buy 400 benefiting Student Clubs for Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.
Roush Fenway Racing drivers Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth finished second through fourth, respectively, in the race, which was a huge points day for all three drivers. For Kenseth, especially, it was a big day as he continues to climb back towards the top 12 in points as NASCAR reached the midway point in the Sprint Cup Series regular season.
And yet, despite the solid runs and the three top fives, there was a nagging feeling in the Roush camp of woulda, coulda, shoulda, as the team watched Busch win his third NASCAR Sprint Cup event in the last five points races. “Second place is … this is a forced smile,” said Edwards, who has three Cup victories of his own this season, but couldn’t claim a fourth Sunday at Dover.
Edwards was beaten on pit road, as Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing crew got him out ahead of the No. 99 Ford on each of the last two pit stops, which was the difference in the race. “I felt like we had a car that could beat the 18 (Busch) most of the day,” said a frustrated Edwards. “But we just struggled on pit road. That’s something we’ve worked really hard on. They were just better. We finished second.”
