Edwards locks in on bonus points as the Chase nears

There's no doubt in Carl Edwards' mind what he needs to do Sunday in the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International.

Just win, Carl.

Edwards is third in the point standings, 185 points behind leader Kyle Busch and nine behind second-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. But that means nothing to Edwards. It's all about the 10 bonus points that come with each victory and are applied to the Chase standings for the final 10 races.

Fast facts

What	Centurion Boats at The Glen
When	2 p.m. ET Sunday
TV	ESPN, 1 p.m. ET
Radio	MRN (Sirius Ch. 28), 1 ET

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• By the Numbers: The Glen

"Bonus points are key," Edwards said. "Any points you can get, I mean the championship can be won by one point, so bonus points are the deal for us right now."

After the next five races, the points will be reset for the top 12 drivers competing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Each of the Chase contenders will be reset to 5,000 points and another 10 bonus points will be awarded per victory. As it stands now, Busch has 70 bonus points based on his seven wins. Edwards has 30 bonus points although he has four wins -- he lost 10 points as part of a penalty NASCAR assessed the No. 99 team after his win at Las Vegas in March.

To get the 10 points in Sunday's Centurion Boats at The Glen, Edwards will have to do something new: win on a road course. Edwards has one top-five finish at The Glen and was fighting for the win on the last lap last year when misfortune struck.

"Last year at Watkins Glen we were really fast, and I had a really good time," Edwards said. "We were in a position where we were in the Chase and a win was all we were after, so I did a bonsai move the last lap running second and hit the fence. But we still finished eighth, and I feel really good about going to Watkins Glen."

Edwards wasn't the only front-runner to have trouble in last year's race. Jeff Gordon had the lead when he spun out with two laps to go.

"Yeah, I've had many nightmares about Turn 1 at Watkins Glen," said Gordon, who finished ninth. "It was a really frustrating race, but I don't know if we were going to win because Tony [Stewart] was a little better than us. I was pushing to stay ahead of him, and I just pushed too hard."

Stewart, who had his troubles earlier in the race, won, tying Gordon for the most Cup wins at the track with four.

Edwards said the new Sprint Cup car was one of the reasons leaders were spinning out last season.

"When you see Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart having trouble, that shows you how hard they are to drive because those guys are the best in the world. But it's the same for everyone, and I think when something is a little more difficult, it kind of makes it a little more fun."

Edwards is in position to go for the win because he is secure in the top 12. That's not the case with the drivers seventh through 12, beginning with seventh-place Kasey Kahne.

"The best way for us to make the Chase is to remain consistent with our racecar each and every race," said Kahne, who is a scant 91 points ahead of 13th-place Matt Kenseth. "It's a tough battle right now."

Kevin Harvick is 11th, 19 points ahead of Kenseth. He is using his experience as a guide as he tries to make his third consecutive Chase.

"I have learned not to let the point situation stress me out," he said. "I just go out and race and do the best I can, and things will fall the way they are supposed to."

News & Notes

• Busch is going for a sweep of the road-course races. He won his first Cup road-course race at Infineon in June.
• Road-racing veteran P.J. Jones will drive the No. 96 Toyota for Hall of Fame Racing, replacing J.J. Yeley who was relieved of his duties Wednesday. The team is 196 points out of the top 35 in owner points.
• Ron Fellows, last week's Nationwide Series winner at Montreal, is entered in the No. 01 Chevrolet for DEI, replacing Regan Smith; Smith has the team 87 points ahead of the 36th position.
• Marcos Ambrose will return to the Wood Bros. No. 21. Ambrose finished third at Montreal after dominating and ran as high as second in the Cup race at Infineon.