Notebook: Edwards goes from hero to hobo at Texas

One day you're on top of the world and everyone is singing your praises.

The next ... well, just ask Carl Edwards.

The recently crowned Busch Series champion went from king of the world on Saturday to a backmarker on Sunday during the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

To no fault of his own, the Roush Fenway driver struggled with a faulty sway bar that required four pit stops to correct and ultimately resulting in the No. 99 being three laps down before getting back to racing condition.

Lap-by-Lap

Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth staged a classic battle in the closing laps at Texas, with Johnson making the winning pass with two to go.

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In an attempt to encourage Edwards, crew chief Bob Osborne told him to just take care of the car until they could get to their next pit stop.

"We are extremely tight," Edwards said over his radio.

"10-4 bud, do the best you can," responded Osborne.

To add insult to injury, Edwards was penalized for entering pit road too soon and had to start at the end of the longest line. For the duration of the 500-mile race, the No. 99 never rebounded and finished 26th.

That said, he is still fifth in the Chase standings at 357 points out of the lead and not yet mathematically eliminated.

Forewarned
Tony Stewart got the party started early on Sunday.

In true Stewart fashion, the No. 20 driver practically crawled into the trunk of the No. 29 of Kevin Harvick after Stewart felt Harvick was blocking him on the track.

Over the radio to his crew chief Stewart said, "You tell Kevin if he blocks me one more time, he's done ..."

Ironically enough, Harvick finished one spot in front of Stewart in 10th.

Crash, boom and bang
If NASCAR was like baseball, A.J. Allmendinger was called out of Sunday's Cup race after three strikes on the track.

The race had barely begun when Denny Hamlin touched the No. 84 Toyota, forcing Allmendinger to get loose and hit the wall.

On Lap 21, Allmendinger brought out another caution for an accident in Turn 2 from a cut tire.

On Lap 214, Allmendinger crashed once again, this time on the backstretch, losing control and smashing hard into the inside retaining wall.

Needless to say, it was a turbulent day for Allmendinger, who started fifth on the grid. The final accident ended a frustrating day in 39th.