NASCAR at Phoenix 2013: Carl Edwards finally wins again

In a lot of ways, it was oh so familiar.

There was the No. 99 Ford racing underneath the checkered flag. And there was Carl Edwards doing his patented back flip just moments after snapping a prolonged winless streak.

Jimmie Johnson’s second-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday padded his Sprint Cup Series championship lead, where he sits just eight points ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski who are tied for second.

Denny Hamlin finished third and moves into a fourth-place tie with Clint Bowyer with both drivers sitting 18 points behind Johnson.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew he shouldn’t be frustrated with his fifth-place finish in Sunday’s NASCAR race at Phoenix International Raceway, but he just couldn’t help himself.

So even though he didn’t want to, Earnhardt Jr. still lamented about a race that he felt he let get away.

Brad Keselowski wishes he had made a move on Carl Edwards going into turn one of the final restart but believes he would have had to wreck him to take the lead. Keselowski had pushed Edwards down the frontstretch but lost touch with Edwards coming out of turn two.

That left him in the clutches of both Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, who passed him on the final two laps, leaving him with a fourth place finish. The three had a frantic battle for the position and the defending Cup Series champion is content with the start of the season.

When Ken Schrader hit the wall in the closing laps of Sunday’s NASCAR race at Phoenix International Raceway to setup a green-white-checkered finish, it seemed obvious to everyone that the subsequent restart would likely decide the outcome.

That was what transpired as Carl Edwards appeared to get the jump on Jimmie Johnson and pull away for his first victory in nearly two years.

Denny Hamlin thinks he overachieved to finish third in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix. He believes he and his team has some work to do if they’re to win races and contend for the championship.

Hamlin successfully used the shortcut on the dogleg of the Speedway on the final lap to overtake the battling cars of Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson. While Johnson ultimately passed him back coming to the checkered flag, Hamlin believes his calculated risk was a worthy one - and one he was already committed to.

The number is 70 - and no longer counting.

Carl Edwards broke a winless streak that had reached 70 races, beating Jimmie Johnson to the checkered flag in a green-white-checkered-flag finish in Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Due to a right front tire explosion, Danica Patrick slammed into the Turn 4 wall in the NASCAR race at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday. She was running 26th and was on the lead lap at the time of the accident.

David Ragan, who had been running behind Patrick, nearly drove over the top of Patrick’s Chevrolet when her car turned back across the track. The impact was so hard the debris field -- including pieces of her door -- was scattered across the front stretch.

Here are some storylines, notes and drivers to watch for during the NASCAR race at Phoenix International Raceway:

Toyotas are fast, but are they reliable?

The rash of engine-related problems for Joe Gibbs Racing continued Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway.

A broken valve spring necessitated an engine change on Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota. This follows an engine change for Denny Hamlin that was made on Saturday prior to final practice for the Subway Fresh Fit 500.

After winning his second Daytona 500 last week, Jimmie Johnson will look for back-to-back NASCAR Sprint Cup victories when he starts third in Sunday’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Pre-race festivities begin at 2 p.m. ET, and the green flag drops at 3:14 ET.

Mark Martin won the pole for Sunday’s 500-lap race. The 54-year-old Martin, who finished third at Daytona, became the second-oldest driver to ever win a Sprint Cup pole in Friday’s qualifying runs. He will be joined on the front row by Kasey Kahne. Johnson and Kyle Busch, who won Saturday’s Nationwide Series race, will be on the second row. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart make up the third row of drivers.

Some of the best racing during Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Phoenix occurred in the first half after a pit road miscue on lap 43 trapped a dominant Kyle Busch to 23rd in the running order. Busch, who had led every single lap prior to that point, quickly worked his way through the field and was leading again by lap 89.

But what if NASCAR required all drivers declared for the Sprint Cup championship to start at the rear of the field at the start of each Nationwide Series race?

Nothing was going to keep Kyle Busch out of Victory Lane on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Not a pit road speeding penalty. Not a spate of cautions that kept bunching the field. Not Brad Keselowski, who in the past has found magic out front on old tires.

NASCAR is continuing its investigation into the horrific Nationwide Series crash at Daytona International Speedway that injured at least 28 fans.

In a news conference Saturday at Phoenix International Speedway, NASCAR Senior Vice President for Racing Operations Steve O’Donnell said the sanctioning body will consult with experts in fencing in addition to taking a look at the placement of crossing gates.

Travis Pastrana has a well-deserved reputation for being a daredevil, so it takes something monumental for him to lose his breath and give him pause.

Once such moment occurred in last week’s season-opening race for the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Daytona International Speedway, where Pastrana was running in large pack of cars with speeds in excess of 180 mph.

Jimmie Johnson is competing in today’s Nationwide Series Dollar General 200, his first start in the division since August 2011. But what’s up with this strange one-off decision?

Johnson wanted more track time on the still newly configured Phoenix track surface, citing its importance as the second and penultimate races of the season respectively. But NASCAR testing regulations make it difficult for a team to test for a track like Phoenix so Johnson decided competing in the Nationwide Series was the best way to accomplish his goal.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose JR Motorsports team provided a car for Johnson’s last Nationwide start, had an opening and a deal was quickly reached.

“I’m just truthfully trying to get better here at this track,” Johnson said Friday at Phoenix. “It’s tough to get laps on this track. We considered coming out and testing, but with the tire change and with them changing the testing policy for Cup, it just wasn’t going to work. The next best thing was to run the Nationwide race. I have no clue what I’m going to learn from those cars that carry over. But reps on the track can’t hurt and ultimately, that’s what I think I need.”

Johnson has been potent at the new track configuration but the Daytona 500 winner likely recognizes the importance of mastering the 1-mile Arizona speedway. Phoenix all but decided the Chase last year when Johnson cut a tire and sailed into the outside retaining wall and was forced to go to the garage. Brad Keselowski, his championship rival, took over the championship lead at the end of that race and did not relinquish it the following week at Homestead.

Phoenix will play the same crucial role on the schedule this year as in those past but with a new Cup Series car and Goodyear tire package, track time at one circuit could make all the difference in Johnson’s pursuit of a sixth Sprint Cup Series championship.

Johnson has one victory in 92 Nationwide Series starts and finished second in his last attempt at Watkins Glen.

Qualifying for the Sprint Cup Series’ SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix begins on Friday evening, the second race of the season after last weekend’s Daytona 500.

Denny Hamlin won this race last season. Other drivers to keep an eye on include Jimmie Johnson, who won the Daytona 500 last Sunday, and Danica Patrick, who made history by winning the pole at Daytona.

With the pageantry of the Daytona 500 out of the way, it’s back to a normal race schedule for NASCAR.

NASCAR returns to Phoenix this weekend for the Subway Fresh Fit 500. Last season, Mark Martin won the pole at this race but Denny Hamlin went home with the checkered flag. Hamlin is coming off of a 35th-place finish in the Daytona 500.

After a challenging weather forecast for the Daytona 500, this weatherman gets a break when it comes to this weekend’s races at Phoenix International Raceway. Warm days, cool nights and plenty of sunshine are in the forecast for Friday and Saturday.

A weak system passes by to the north and will spread scattered clouds across the area on Sunday but temperatures remain warm and the day will remain dry. Will be a very nice weather weekend for NASCAR.