Arizona 200 presented by Walk the Line - Phoenix International Raceway

Edwards Drives to Win Number Five
Carl Edwards remained on his hot streak, holding off Clint Bowyer by 0.246 seconds to win the Arizona 200 presented by Walk the Line at Phoenix International Raceway. The win for the 26-year-old Busch Series rookie was both the fifth of the season and the fifth of his series career, which covers 35 races. Edwards, running full time in NASCAR’s two top series, has three wins in his past four races, and was third in the other, in the two series combined. Edwards’ victory ties him with Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch for most wins by a Raybestos Rookie in the history of the program. Edwards claimed his 15th top-five and 21st top-10 finish this season and took top rookie honors for the 14th time in 2005. Edwards led two times for a total of 103 laps on the day, including the final 20, leading the most laps in a race for the third time this season. Edwards has now led the most laps at Las Vegas, Kentucky and Phoenix. Edwards won from the pole for the third time this season, while he leads the circuit with four poles this season. He last won from the pole back in June at Kentucky. With his second-place effort, Boyer cut the point’s lead held by Martin Truex Jr. to 64 markers with one race remaining. The 2005 series championship will be decided at the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway next week, the 13th time in the 24-year history of the NASCAR Busch Series that the title will come down to the final race. Truex needs to finish 12th or better to capture his second straight NBS championship no matter what Bowyer does. Matt Kenseth battled as hard with Bowyer for second as Bowyer fought for the win but Kenseth had to settle for third. Kevin Harvick, who led 50 laps today, finished fourth followed by Greg Biffle in fifth.

Arizona 200 presented by Walk the Line Notes
· Race Results · Ford Post-Race Quotes · Rookie Post-Race Quotes · Point Standings · Owner Point Standings · Starting Lineup · Qualifying Results · Rookie Qualifying Notes · Final Practice · Practice 1 · Rookie Friday Quotes · Qualifying Order · Entry List · Race Notes · Weekend Schedule · Raybestos Rookie Notes	· Clint Bowyer Notes · Carl Edwards Notes · Reed Sorenson Notes · Kenny Wallace Notes · Kevin Harvick Notes · Matt Kenseth Notes · Justin Labonte Notes · Stacy Compton Notes · Jon Wood Notes · Bobby Labonte Notes · Erin Crocker Notes · Jason Leffler Notes · Brent Sherman Notes · Adrian Fernandez Notes · A.J. Foyt IV Notes · T.J. Bell Notes

Edwards on Busch Pole at Phoenix
Carl Edwards won the pole position for the Busch Series Arizona 200 presented by Walk the Line on Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway. Edwards recorded a qualifying lap of 27.037 seconds, at an average speed of 133.151 mph, to capture his fourth pole in his 35th start in this his rookie season. Edwards, who is a regular in both the Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series, is the third rookie to win the pole for the fall race at Phoenix; Kyle Busch (2004) and Jason Leffler (2000) are the others. Edwards is third in points in both the NBS and Cup Series, while he is only battling for Rookie of the Year in the Busch Series, he is in a tight battle for the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup in the premier series. Edwards continues to lead the chase for Rookie of the Year, holding a four-point advantage over Reed Sorenson (325-321) entering today’s race; the battle for 2005 ROTY remains the closest in the history of the program. Denny Hamlin claimed the second starting spot, giving the rookie class the first all-rookie front row in seven fall races at Phoenix. Regan Smith will start third, while points leader Martin Truex Jr. and Sorenson round out the top five on the starting grid.