Edwards makes statement with runner-up finish in Oz

Carl Edwards is the man! His dive-low, slide-high, grind-the-wall driving on the final lap at Kansas was as much excitement as any race fan could hope for -- especially since both Edwards and race winner Jimmie Johnson had so much on the line.

Certainly Edwards showed enough brains, courage and heart to make the Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and Tin Man proud.

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In my personal pantheon of today's great drivers, Edwards has supplanted Kurt Busch in the top five: Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Johnson, Edwards. Certainly Edwards is proving there's much more than just a Men's Health body inside that firesuit. He's a racecar driver in the throwback vein, which may be the highest compliment you can give these guys.

Also give credit to Johnson for realizing that Edwards' dash to the bottom of the track most likely was not going to stick en route to the stripe. Johnson deftly allowed Edwards enough room to hang himself, while still maintaining a racing line that allowed Johnson to move in for the kill during the final few hundred yards.

Edwards may have lost the battle on Sunday, but he may -- granted, there are seven races remaining -- have won the war. For the second week in a row, Edwards dodged a bullet; at Dover he avoided major damage during a spin by Patrick Carpentier, and on Sunday the runner-up finish could have been much worse if not for sheer will and determination to keep the car against the wall at full throttle.

And also for the second week in a row, the end of the race was stellar ... if anyone awoke from their early race-induced coma to see the fight to the finish. Is it just me or has Cup racing become like the NBA: the final five minutes is all you need to see?

Maybe the boob-tube brass will consider tossing in a driver vignette here and there to break up the monotony of single-file racing (not to mention American Idol / The Closer / Monday Night Football promos, depending on the network). Maybe tell the backstory of a crew chief. Maybe follow an owner as he wheels and deals for sponsor dollars. Just do something to keep fans awake ...

• Breaking News: Jeff Burton had another top-10 finish!

• RCR teammate Kevin Harvick also had another top-10, his ninth in a row and 15th overall (matching his 2007 total).

• And wouldn't you know it: Clint Bowyer finished 12th -- his third 12th-place finish in the past four races.

• A lot of fans call Jeff Gordon a lot of things, but you cannot question the man's internal fortitude after his gutsy, 400-mile, hot-as-Hades afternoon. We'll see if he's up to snuff for his Today show appearance on Thursday morning.

• Are we certain Roush Fenway isn't part of a secret government task force with the mission of evolving stealth technology? Is there any other way to explain Matt Kenseth's fifth-place finish and 1.476 nanoseconds of TV time (and that's while leading 49 laps)?

• Can someone remind Casey Mears that three top-15 finishes in the past four races is not living up to his reputation?

• Some of the unwashed may ask, "Where the hell did that come from, Elliott Sadler?" If you've been paying attention, since Loudon in June, ESad has been posting top-10 finishes every third race (except for Richmond, which was very forgettable).

• If second place is the first loser, what does that say for Joe Gibbs Racing? Its drivers are currently 10th, 11th and 12th in the 12-driver Chase. This is what it says: Lady Luck is a beyotch.

• Hey, A.J. Allmendinger -- thanks for not laying down like a rug. That ninth-place run was huge for my fantasy team! (And, on a lesser note, it probably will go a long way toward showing someone you're a class act and worthy of a ride.)

Bump-and-run thoughts after Kansas ...

Winner
• Jimmie Johnson: OK, start etching the trophy -- and move over Cale Yarborough.

Think it's too soon to call the Chase? Let's talk after Talladega. In the past 10 races at 'Dega:
• Johnson -- one win, four top-five finishes, 16.8 average finish
• Carl Edwards -- one top-five finish in eight starts, 24.0 average finish
• Greg Biffle -- best finish of 13th in eight starts, 25.6 average finish

Date	Track	Time	TV
Sept. 14	Loudon	1 p.m.	ABC
Sept. 21	Dover	1 p.m.	ABC
Sept. 28	Kansas	1 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 5	Talladega	1 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 11	Charlotte	7 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 19	Martinsville	1 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 26	Atlanta	1 p.m.	ABC
Nov. 2	Texas	3 p.m.	ABC
Nov. 9	Phoenix	3 p.m.	ABC
Nov. 16	Homestead	3 p.m.	ABC

All times ET

Not to mention eight of the past 10 races have been won by a Chevrolet (and Jimmie drives one, you know). This may prove to be the race in which JJ separates himself from the pack.

Loser
• Chase drivers not named Jimmie, Carl or Greg: The top three are separated by 30 points. The next closest, Jeff Burton, is 121 points behind -- after finishing seventh and still losing 39 points.

Bottom line: With seven races remaining, there's gonna be a lot of TV time for Nos. 48, 99 and 16. The rest of y'all can get in the truck.

Lucky Dog
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.: He says not to count out the No. 88, especially with Talladega next up for the never-ending-circus that is the Cup Series.

OK, we'll take your word for it, hoss. But until the car can run good at the green and checkered flags, we'll hold off on booking the caterer for that after-race party.

Who's hot
• David Reutimann: Five consecutive top-20 finishes and he's accumulated 720 points in the past six races, 12th-best among all drivers.

Who's not
• Tony Stewart: A 40th-place finish at Kansas has to be the topper for what is shaping up to be a less-than-glorious final run for Smoke. It can't get any worse, can it? He was supposed to run for the championship before running for the door -- but lookee there, he runs well at 'Dega:

In case you missed it ...

• Bill Elliott finished 25th at Kansas. ... Forgive me, I just wanted to type his name this week.

• David Ragan finished in the top 10 for the first time since Bristol.

• Brian Vickers now has 13 top-15 finishes this year -- compared to seven in '07 -- to break a three-race streak of thirtysomething finishes.

• Since back-to-back top-20s at Charlotte-Dover, Sam Hornish Jr. now has 16 consecutive finishes of 21st or worse with only six lead-lap finishes.

• First time for everything: Martin Truex Jr. finished 43rd for the first time in his 110-race career.

Moving on to Talladega

• Jeff Gordon moved up two spots, to sixth, in the standings and now trails Jimmie Johnson by 143 points. And as good as JJ has been at Talladega in the past 10 races, Jeff has been better:

• From Oct. 21, 2001, through Oct. 3, 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won five of seven races at Talladega -- and finished second in the other two. In the seven races since then, his average finish is 23.7 with more DNFs (3) than top-10s (2).

• Hmm, will history prevail? Juan Montoya has gotten progressively better in each of his starts at Talladega since he finished 31st in his debut on April 29, 2007. JPM was 15th in this race last year and finished runner-up to Kyle Busch in April.

• Who woulda thunk it?! Here's some bar trivia: Travis Kvapil's most successful track? Talladega -- 14.8 average finish (next best -- Richmond: 20.2; worst -- Chicago: 40.3).

• Jeff Burton is 0-for-29 at Talladega. He's 0-for-30 at Pocono and Michigan, and 0-for-28 at Atlanta.

Lasting image

Autostock

Before the champagne arrived there was an impromptu celebration with Gatorade for Jimmie Johnson and the 48 crew.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.