Carl Edwards was on a roll Saturday at Fontana, winning his first Nextel Cup Bud Pole and the Busch Series race. Credit: Autostock

Edwards reigns in Fontana for fourth win

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Carl Edwards took control late in the race and drove away to an easy victory Saturday night in the NASCAR Busch Series race at California Speedway.

Edwards, who gave team owner Jack Roush a pole earlier in the day in qualifying for Sunday's Nextel Cup race on the 2-mile oval, fell to eighth when he made his final pit stop during a caution period on lap 113 of the Ameriquest 300.

AMERIQUEST 300 •   Official Results •   Official Standings

But the 26-year-old driver, running full-time in both of NASCAR's top stock car series, charged to the front after the green flag waved again on lap 116 of the 150-lap event. Edwards took the lead on lap 120, passing fellow Cup star Elliott Sadler, and led the rest of the way.

Greg Biffle, Edward's Roush Racing teammate in the top series and driving for Brewco Racing in the Busch Series, led a race-high 59 laps and built a lead of more than 5 seconds before that late caution flag. He, too, pitted for tires and fell back into the pack before slicing through traffic under green and making it all the way to second on lap 132.

Carl Edwards celebrates his Ameriquest 300 victory Carl Edwards rolls to the checkers at California Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

By that time, Edwards had built a lead of just over 6 seconds. But Biffle got another shot at him when David Stremme's spin brought out the last of five caution flags on lap 134. The two leaders were nose-to-tail on the restart on lap 138, but Edwards' No. 60 Ford easily pulled away.

Edwards went on to earn his fourth Busch victory of the season, beating Biffle's No. 66 Ford to the finish by 1.71-seconds -- about half the final straightaway. He averaged 139.104 mph.

"It would have been a different race if we could have pitted for tires with 16 laps to go, but that just didn't happen,'' Biffle said.

Edwards, who also has won twice in his first full season in the Cup series, dedicated his latest victory to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and said he planned to donate his winnings to one of the many relief funds.

"We're thinking about you guys,'' he said to the TV cameras after his now-traditional victory backflip off the driver's side window ledge of his car.

Asked about having such a great day, with his first Cup pole and the win, Edwards said, "Can you believe that? I'm having a great time. I hit the wall yesterday and the guys didn't complain a bit. They just put the car back together and it was great. That was the best car I've had in a long time.''

Clint Bowyer came on strong at the end to finish third and, combined with the 15th-place finish by reigning Busch champion Martin Truex Jr., he cut Truex's points lead to 142. Edwards passed Reed Sorenson, who finished 12th, and moved into third, trailing Truex by 358 points.

Johnny Sauter finished fourth, followed by Kasey Kahne, Jason Keller and Jason Leffler.