Edwards still clinging to title hopes in two series

Texas Motor Speedway has always been good to Carl Edwards. The Roush Fenway driver has a pair of Sprint Cup victories at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth racetrack, including one this past spring. He clinched a long-awaited first championship in what was when called the Busch Series on the wide, fast tri-oval one year ago. He's well on his way to amassing a closet full of boot-shaped trophies, cowboy hats, and six-shooters, the awards historically bestowed upon race winners in the Lone Star State.

Facts and figures

Get inside both championship races with the all the in-depth stats and information you need for this weekend's races at Texas.

• By the Numbers: Cup Series
• By the Numbers: Nationwide

These days, Edwards is in need of some more Texas luck, on two fronts. The Missouri native returns to the prairie clinging to second place in a pair of title hunts, and his time to make up the remaining ground rapidly running out. After sweeping events last weekend in Atlanta and Memphis, Edwards trails Jimmie Johnson by 183 points in the Sprint Cup championship race, and is 116 behind Clint Bowyer in the Nationwide Series. With only three events remaining on each circuit, Texas looms as a determining factor in Edwards' personal quest to sweep both championships in the same season.

"That is the ultimate goal, the last, I guess, four years or three years that we've been doing this that I've been running both series. It would just be a huge, huge accomplishment," he said. "You know, last week was a spectacular race for us. Everything went our way at Memphis in the Nationwide Series. And it's the first time in a long time we've picked up a bunch of points on Clint, so that was definitely a pleasant surprise. We didn't expect to go there and be able to close that many points on him. But I feel like if we do our jobs and we keep running like we're running, you know, then we're putting ourselves in the best position to, like I said, capitalize if Clint or Jimmie has any trouble."

On the Sprint Cup side, Texas might be Edwards' best chance to close the gap on Johnson, who is bidding to tie Cale Yarborough's 30-year-old record of three consecutive championships. His Roush Fenway team is always strong in Fort Worth, having won six of the 15 events contested there. And earlier this season, Edwards showed that he can outscore Johnson by more than 183 points in a three-race stretch, making up 206 in the spring at Richmond, Darlington, and Lowe's Motor Speedway. (Continued)