Jeff Burton (30) gets a push from teammate Robby Gordon at MIS. Credit: Autostock

Burton, Edwards shine in new rides at Michigan

BROOKLYN, Mich -- Jeff Burton and neophyte Carl Edwards were each thrilled at their teams' performances at Michigan.

Carl Edwards gave the No. 99 Ford its fourth top-10 of the year. Credit: Autostock

Edwards scored a 10th place finish in his first Cup start, driving Roush Racing's No. 99 Ford.

The Craftsman Truck Series championship contender's Cup debut was drastically moved up when owner Jack Roush decided Burton's services in the No. 99 were no longer needed this season.

Due to that decision, Michigan was Burton's first race for RCR, where he has a contract to drive for the next three seasons.

GFS MARKETPLACE 400 Victory Lane Biffle earns his second career win after leading 73 laps at Michigan Runner Up Mark Martin overcomes a pit penalty to finish second at MIS Early Caution Junior, Johnson and Kahne are involved in the first caution Engine Troubles Jimmie Johnson and Rusty Wallace see their days end early Spin Cycle Both Wimmer and Busch spin off Turn 2, avoid hitting anything Pit Miscue? The No. 6 team is penalized for a loose lugnut •   Results •   Standings •   "Bubble" Standings •   "Clinch" Standings

Edwards, who has only been racing on pavement for three years but displays an attitude that is more mature than his 25 years in age, acknowledged his position.

"I'm very fortunate to be in the ride that I'm in," Edwards said. "Jeff Burton and this team has done a lot of work this year to make these things this good. I think it speaks for itself that I'm the last Roush car in the field and I'm 10th."

Jack Roush put all five of his entries in the top-10 in a Cup race for the first time since the Las Vegas inaugural in 1998.

"These cars are great -- it's great equipment," Edwards said. "It's just a different intensity level the whole day. Everyone races a lot harder -- I raced harder for 20th than I have for most of the wins in my life.

"This is a victory for us. I thought we would be about 20th, to be honest with you, but the car came on."

The payoff for Burton and Childress came when Burton moved up from a 28th place start to a 12th place finish -- the best this season for the car that earlier was driven by Johnny Sauter and Dave Blaney.

"We're going to do better than that -- I hope, but that's a good start for us," Burton said. "We fought tight all day after being nervous about being tight from our practice (but we) just kept fighting."

Burton never got near the top-10 in the 10-lap rundowns issued to the media until Lap 80, when he showed in 11th. He slipped back into the mid-20s but was a charging 12th at the finish.

"We made some good changes during the stops," Burton said. "(This is a) Helluva pit crew -- these guys are fast! We'll keep working and make our cars better (and) we'll get where we can race better.

"The engine is running really good and the cars drive really good -- we just need to turn a little better. There were times in the race where we were real fast and there were times we were real slow.

"We need to be a little more consistent, but we made it our best when it counted and that's not a bad start."