Edwards slowly turning Chase into two-man show (cont'd)

Not only that, but Roush said that he believes the momentum Edwards is building could actually rattle the otherwise sturdy mental cage of the No. 48 Johnson team he is pursuing.

"If it causes a misstep and they wind up second-guessing themselves on a change or if they wind up pushing it on their strategy some, it could make the difference," Roush said.

With only races at Phoenix and Homestead remaining in the 10-race Chase, it could make all the difference. Johnson is still a comfortable 103 points ahead -- but you don't have to be smarter than a fifth-grader to do the math now and realize that Edwards is still in it.

He made up 77 points Sunday. If he makes similar in-roads this Sunday in Phoenix, the season finale at Homestead could suddenly produce a dose of season-ending drama that has been missing lately.

Osborne admission
There are those who dislike the current Chase format. In fact, there are those who absolutely despise it.

But after a weekend in which it was much debated -- and most drivers defended it -- Edwards provided hard evidence that the Chase may just be working. Osborne admitted that he wouldn't have risked the entertaining fuel-mileage gamble at the end of Sunday's Texas roundup if the No. 99 team hadn't been in a position where he figured they had to roll the dice.

"If the points were closer or we were in the lead [in points], no, we would not have made that type of decision to gamble," Osborne said.

He figured that the worst Edwards would finish if they gambled and ran out of gas toward the end was 15th. So he bet on first versus 15th, and it was fun to watch it play out.

"It was just a risk worth taking," Osborne said.

Then Osborne slipped and talked about being motivated to secure second in the standings, before catching himself and saying that they're still "shooting for first." Edwards believes they can get there. So does Roush.

After Sunday's slow-motion finish, during which Edwards displayed the patience and maturity of a champion by avoiding the natural desire to go faster and win going away at the risk of not winning at all, suddenly so do a whole lot of others.

"It's strange because when I put the firesuit on and get in the racecar and we're racing, you go as hard as you possibly can," Edwards said. "Everything in me is trying to figure out how to go faster all the time -- so it sounds kind of silly to say, but it really is difficult to figure out how to slow down sometimes."

He figured it out Sunday, and in the process made this Sprint Cup season a whole lot more interesting for at least one more week.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.