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It’s smooth sailing for Edwards in Texas

Carl Edwards celebrates victory in Samsung 500 on Sunday. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
From Wire Reports The Spokesman-Review
Carl Edwards celebrates victory in Samsung 500 on Sunday. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

All signs pointed to a Carl Edwards victory Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, and that’s what Edwards delivered in the Samsung 500 at Fort Worth, Texas.

Edwards had won at California and Las Vegas and dropped out with an engine problem while leading at Atlanta in the previous races on intermediate tracks this year.

He also qualified second fastest Friday and his No. 99 Ford was the fastest car in both of Saturday’s practice sessions.

So it shouldn’t have surprised anybody that Edwards beat the collective pants off the rest of the field Sunday. Edwards took the lead for good on Lap 215, passing Kyle Busch, and sailed away.

He had to endure two more restarts, including one after Martin Truex Jr. blew an engine with just four laps remaining. The top five cars stayed on the track for a green-white-checkered restart.

The only five other cars left on the lead lap came in for at least two tires, but they wound up battling among themselves for finishing positions. Nobody had anything for Edwards, who won the fall race there in 2005 and became the second driver to win more than one race in the 15 Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway. Jeff Burton is also a two-time Texas winner.

Jimmie Johnson finished second with Kyle Busch third.

Clint Bowyer, who got two tires on the final stop, got pushed sideways off the final turn and kissed the wall, leaving Ryan Newman fourth, Denny Hamlin fifth and Burton sixth.

IRL

Teenager Graham Rahal survived a spinout and came back to win in his first IRL IndyCar Series start, holding off veteran Helio Castroneves on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Rahal is the 19-year-old son of longtime open-wheel star Bobby Rahal.

Formula 1

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa has won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir, Bahrain.

Massa finished ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen and pole sitter Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber at the 3.363-mile Bahrain International Circuit.

Massa picked up his first 10 points of the championship after winning at Bahrain for the second straight year.

World champion Raikkonen took the overall championship lead with 19 points.