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Carl Edwards has been placed on three weeks' probation by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski's car during last weekend's race at Atlanta.

By MIKE HARRIS

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP) — Carl Edwards won the season-ending Ford 300 on Saturday night, but came up 21 points short in his attempt to overtake Clint Bowyer for the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.

All Bowyer had to do to keep Edwards from winning a second straight title in the second-tier series was finish in the top eight. He did that easily, taking fifth to stay on top of the standings, right where he has been most of the year despite winning only one of 35 races.

"We've been consistent," Bowyer said after climbing out of his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. "We did the things it takes to win championships. I want to thank Richard for giving me the opportunity."

Edwards wrested the lead from Kyle Busch late in the race and stayed out front to the end of the 200-lap event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He earned his seventh Nationwide victory and kept Busch from recording a record 11th series win.

Edwards wins race; Bowyer takes title....

By MIKE HARRIS

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Carl Edwards won for the second straight week, squeezing a victory out of his last tank of gas. And this time Jimmie Johnson ran out of magic.

The combination of the win by Edwards and a 15th-place finish by Johnson in Sunday's Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway moved the race winner within 106 points of NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Johnson with just two races remaining.

Although Edwards dominated most of the race, leading 199 of the first 264 laps on the 1.5-mile oval, it was a daring call by crew chief Bob Osborne that got Edwards this win after several other drivers used two-tire strategies to get ahead of him near the finish.

"Oh yeah," Edwards screamed as he crossed the finish line. "I did it. Fuel mileage. Great job."

Edwards wins second straight race....

HAMPTON, Ga. — Carl Edwards did his seventh celebratory backflip and headed to Victory Lane confident he'd closed in on Jimmie Johnson's bumper in the race for the Sprint Cup title.

As the champagne flowed, his spirits were dashed.

Even with his win Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Edwards didn't dent Johnson's lead in the championship standings.

With a masterful final drive to the checkered flag, the two-time defending champion rallied from a rare penalty to finish second and stretch his points lead to a commanding 183 points over Edwards with three races remaining in the Chase for the championship.

"Are you kidding me?" a deflated Edwards asked when told Johnson had finished second. "You've rained on my parade. I could have done without that one. That's unbelievable, he does a great job."

Carl Edwards wins, Jimmie Johnson finishes second to widen lead....

Bristol, TN (Sports Network) - Kyle Busch put on one of his most dominating performances, leading a career-high 415 laps, but Carl Edwards grabbed the lead from Busch with 31 laps to go and held it for his second-straight Sharpie 500 victory at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Edwards recorded his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season and the 13th of his career. He also clinched the second seed in the championship "Chase," which begins September 14th at New Hampshire.

Busch appeared to be on the way to his ninth Sprint Cup victory of the year, but Edwards nudged him from behind. Busch got loose, allowing Edwards to move underneath him for the lead.

"I couldn't get by him," Edwards said. "I had to ask myself, 'Would he do that to me?', and he has before. That's the way it goes...You keep talking about rivalries. We might have one now."

At the conclusion of the race, a frustrated Busch retaliated by intentionally bumping Edwards on the cool-down lap. Edwards, however, got the best of the post-race ruckus when he spun Busch around.

While Edwards celebrated in Victory Lane, Busch made a trip to the NASCAR hauler for a discussion with officials.

Edwards defends Sharpie 500 title at Bristol....

Carl Edwards, who has finished runner-up to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series leader Kyle Busch three times this season, won Sunday's 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

In a Ford, Edwards beat Busch off the pit road during the fifth caution and took the lead for good with 18 laps remaining to win his fifth race of the season and 12th career.

Edwards was forced to survive two late cautions and held off Busch on the final restart with three laps to go.

Busch was second in a Toyota, followed by Edwards' Roush Racing team-mates David Ragan, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.

Edwards wins ahead of Busch....

By MIKE HARRIS – 2 hours ago

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Carl Edwards won Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway, gambling with a pit strategy that he thought would cost him the victory.

Edwards pitted from the lead just before a rain shower that caused a 41-minute red flag and had the driver arguing with crew chief Bob Osborne over the decision. But the plan worked perfectly as the race wound up going to completion. Edwards stretched his last tank of fuel to earn his fourth victory of the season.

"I was really nervous that we made the wrong call there," Edwards said after doing his traditional victory backflip off his car. "Bob's the smartest guy in the world. We were really arguing. We made light of it, but we thought we made the wrong call."

The race started in sunshine and it appeared Mark Martin, who took the lead from pole-winner Jimmie Johnson at the start and took control would be the driver to beat all day. But Martin had problems on two pit stops that put him back into the pack and then dark clouds began moving in, changing some strategies.

Carl Edwards wins Pocono for 4th victory of season....

From Times Wire Reports

Carl Edwards was desperate to get back into Victory Lane in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and he wasn't about to let Clint Bowyer stand in his way at the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday night.

Edwards shoved his fellow Sprint Cup Series driver sideways with 25 laps to go, then held off Joey Logano for his first Nationwide victory of the season after dominating the series last year.

Carl Edwards wins Nationwide Series race at Milwaukee....