Edwards ends season on a roll but repeat falls short

With wins in three of the final four races, Carl Edwards nearly completed a remarkable comeback in his attempt to repeat as Nationwide Series champion. But he fell 21 points short.

Carl Edwards gained the most points possible in one race (195) four times.

Despite holding firm in the top five in the standings from the second race through the end of the season, Edwards trailed by as many as 241 points as late as Bristol, following a 37th-place finish. In the nine races that followed, Edwards won four times, was a runner-up twice and never finished worse than fifth.

Edwards led the series with 19 top-fives, which accounted for all but three of his top-10 total. His seven wins were a personal best and second-most in the series. However, Edwards didn't post his first victory until the 17th race of the season, at Milwaukee. By then he was more than 200 points behind.

After nine races Edwards trailed by nine points when he hit a rough patch in which he posted only two top-10s in seven races and had two DNFs (both crashes). By then he was 225 points out.

Edwards rallied to win four of the next 12 races, but one bad race loomed large. After winning from the pole at Michigan, Edwards trailed by 113 points. Then came Bristol, where he finished 90 laps down after a Lap 86 wreck due to a flat tire.

Kroger 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park -- Edwards put on a dominating performance that began with a charge through the field early in the race. He led 185 laps and was pulling away when a late caution resulted in a green-white-checkered finish. Edwards held off David Reutimann for the victory and cut 80 points off his deficit in the standings, setting up a final surge for the championship.

Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington Raceway -- Edwards earned his first pole of the season, but chose to start on the outside of the front row giving Clint Bowyer the inside. Edwards quickly found the wall while battling Bowyer for the lead on the first lap, then on Lap 2 blew a tire and hit the wall again. After three laps his race was over. Bowyer received 175 points for his second-place finish while Edwards was awarded 34 for his last-place result. Edwards left Darlington in a 150-point hole to Bowyer, who never relinquished the top spot in the standings.

Race Video
• Camping World RV Rental 250 at The Milwaukee Mile
• Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway Int'l Raceway
• Carfax 250 at Michigan International Speedway
• Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond International Raceway
• Kroger 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park
• Hefty Odor Block 200 at Phoenix International Raceway
• Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Photo Gallery
• Edwards: Flippin' out in 2008