| - Carl Edwards will be looking to make it three Sprint Cup Series victories in a row on Sunday afternoon when he takes the track at Auto Club Speedway for the Pepsi 500.Edwards slipped past Kyle Busch late last Saturday night to take the checkered flag in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol. The win was Edwards' sixth of the season (rival Busch has eight), and it moved him to within 212 points of first place in the standings.Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Gordon made up the rest of the Top 5 at Bristol, while Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and David Ragan rounded out the rest of the night's Top 10 finishers.Greg Biffle was 11th in the Sharpie 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 18th, Jimmie Johnson was 33rd, Kasey Kahne was 40th, and Jeff Burton finished well back in 42nd place.With only two races remaining until the Chase for the Sprint Cup gets underway the Top 12 drivers in the standings are Busch, Edwards, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Burton, Stewart, Biffle, Harvick, Gordon, Kenseth, Hamlin, and Bowyer. Only Busch and Edwards have more than two victories so far on the season. Ragan is 12 points back of Bowyer for the 12th and final berth in the Chase (currently occupied by Bowyer), while Kahne is now 56 points back of that spot. Kahne won the Sony HD 500 at Auto Club Speedway back in 2006. Edwards won the Auto Club 500 back in February, and Busch took the checkered flag there in the Sony HD 500 during the 2005 season. Gordon has three Cup wins at Auto Club in his career (2004, 1999, 1997), and both Johnson and Kenseth have won there twice. Biffle got the victory in the Auto Club 500 in 2005.After racing at Auto Club the drivers of the Sprint Cup Series will complete their pre-Chase schedule with the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 6. The Chase then gets underway in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 14. |
