Edwards likes Chase chances

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

Carl Edwards had the fastest car at the end of Sunday’s Carfax 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race — he just didn’t have time to drive it to the front.

Nevertheless, by finishing third — his sixth straight top 10 — Edwards climbed two spots to sixth in the Cup standings and opened a 266-point lead over 13th-place Mark Martin.

“That makes me feel real good,” Edwards said when he was told of the margin. “I had no clue we were that far ahead now. So what do we have left? I believe it’s Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond. If we can get through Bristol and be 200 points ahead of 13th, then we just go for broke.

“I think of it as 100 points per race is what you need. If we were 300 ahead [right now], we would really go for it at Bristol.”

Edwards hasn’t won a race since November 2008 at Homestead. Though he didn’t deliver a victory for team owner Jack Roush, who was attending his first race since sustaining serious injuries in a plane crash last month, he was pleased that he and teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth ran 3-4-5 at Michigan.

“Our Fords ran really well,” Edwards said.

Logano, Newman trade barbs

An accident in Turn 4 on Lap 148, the result of hard — perhaps overly hard — racing between Joey Logano and Ryan Newman, sparked an angry exchange between the drivers after the race.

“Give someone an inch, man,” Logano said.

“No, I gave you the whole racetrack,” Newman replied.

“I was on the bottom and you door-jammed the crap out of me,” Logano retorted. “There’s six lanes up top.”

Newman would have none of it.

“I was six lanes up, and I steered up and tried to miss you, because you couldn’t control your damn racecar,” he said.

“Because I was freaking sideways because you were on my freaking door,” Logano said. “All right, I’ll door-jam you every freaking time I get around you.”

With that, the drivers traded shoves, with Logano delivering the first push.

After the two drivers were separated, Newman delivered a parting shot.

“I’m good,” he said. “I’m just trying to teach the little kid how to drive.”