Carl Edwards wins season-first..

NATIONWIDE RACE; KENSETH MOVES INTO TOP 12 IN SPRINT CUP POINTS

Carl Edwards won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Milwaukee. He remains fourth in the standings. David Gilliland was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Sonoma, Calif., finishing second in the No. 28 Fusion. Gilliland moved up two spots in the standings to 21st. Erik Darnell was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Milwaukee, finishing fourth in the No. 99 F-150. Darnell moved up two spots in the standings to eighth place.Mike Neff, driver of the Old Spice Mustang, was the runner-up in the NHRA race in Englishtown, N.J. Neff moved up one spot in the standings to eighth place.Brian Friselle and Mark Wilkins were the top Ford drivers in the Rolex Series race in Lexington, Ohio, finishing fourth in the No. 61 Ford-Riley Daytona Prototype.Jamie Slone won the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge race in the No. 6 Mustang FR500S at Lexington, Ohio.DEARBORN, Mich., June 22, 2008 - Defending Nationwide Series Champion Carl Edwards earned his first victory of the season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race in Milwaukee, while David Gilliland and Mike Neff each garnered runner-up finishes in their respective series on a busy weekend for Ford Racing.

Edwards' victory was the 14th Nationwide Series win in his career and was his first in the Series in just more than a year. He remains fourth in the standings.

"It just feels good to win a race - for our team, for everybody at the shop and all the guys who have been working hard and sticking with this program even though we haven't won a race in a long time," Edwards said. "It means a lot to have all that support. This win is a huge relief."

Edwards' teammate David Ragan also had a strong performance, finishing fourth and moving up one spot in the standings to fifth place.

Edwards carried his momentum into the NASCAR Sprint Cup race the following day in Sonoma, Calif., finishing ninth to remain fourth in the standings. David Gilliland led the rest of the Ford drivers across the line with a career-best second-place finish.

"Our strategy was pretty good," said Gilliland. "We've done a lot of road-course testing to try to our fuel mileage the best we can, and the cautions fell right for us today, too. It put us in a position to be able to run in the top six or seven there, and we were able to stay up there, our car was good enough to stay up there, which is good. I think for the last about 80 percent of the race we were up there."

Matt Kenseth also joined Gilliland and Edwards in the top 10, with an eighth place finish. Kenseth's sixth straight top-10 finish moved him into 12th place in the standings, the final transfer spot for the championship Chase.

Marcos Ambrose, who was making his Sprint Cup debut, and Jamie McMurray each had a legitimate chance at victory before being collected in wrecks. Both drivers were running in second when they were collected.

Erik Darnell was the top Ford driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in Milwaukee. After winning last weekend, Darnell was seeking back-to-back victories and led for 32 laps before eventually finishing fourth.

Darnell moved up two spots in the standings to eighth place. Rick Crawford remains the top Ford driver in the standings after an eight-place result. Crawford sits fifth in the standings, just 109 points behind leader Johnny Benson.

In the NHRA race in Englishtown, N.J., Mike Neff made it to the final round for the third time in five weeks. Neff defeated Ron Caps in the first round, Tony Pedregon in the second round and teammate John Force in the third round before losing to Tim Wilkerson in the final.

"It was another close one, but as a driver you need to win those," said Neff. "I didn't do my job right there. I was late. I should have had a good enough light to get us a win right there, so I am really disappointed with myself."

Neff moved up one spot to eighth place in the standings. Ashley Force remains second in the standings, 132 points behind Wilkerson, while John Force moved up one spot in the standings to third place.

Meanwhile, in Lexington, Ohio, Jamie Slone's No. 6 Ford Mustang FR500S was the dominant car of the weekend in the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Slone took the pole in qualifying and led from flag-to-flag to win.

The Grand-Am Rolex Series was also in action at Mid-Ohio as three Ford's finished in the top 10. Brian Friselle and Mark Wilkins were the top Ford finishers with a fourth place showing in the No. 61 Ford-Rile Daytona Prototype.

Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series will be in Loudon, N.H., while the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be at Memphis, Tenn. The NHRA will also be in action in Norwalk, Ohio.


Related Motorsport Articles

84,520 articles