Even in success, Roush, SHR realize still work to do

DOVER, Del. -- On Friday at Dover International Speedway, Carl Edwards was asked about the growing perception that Joe Gibbs Racing has caught Hendrick Motorsports at NASCAR's competitive summit.

Edwards also was asked where he thought the Roush Fenway Racing organization, for which he drives the No. 99 Ford, fits into the current Cup equation. He did not mince words with his answer.

About time

David Reutimann finally had something to smile about as he matched his season-high with his fifth at Dover.

• Complete story
• Notes: Stewart smiling
• Post-race reactions: Dover

"We are not even in that footrace right now," Edwards said. "We're trying to catch up and get a handle on things right now."

Sunday in the Autism Speaks 400 at the 1-mile Dover track, they appeared to do a pretty good job of it. With teammates Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle grabbing third and sixth, respectively, Edwards' own eighth-place finish meant Roush Fenway placed three cars in the top eight.

Of course, Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing won the 400-lap event -- dueling most of the day with Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick. Those two drivers combined to lead 356 of the 400 laps.

That left the Roush Fenway crowd and some others feeling, well, kind of mixed about their performance on a day when it seemed maybe they would have been happier about their overall results.

The hard truth

For instance, it was a good day for Richard Childress Racing as well, with Jeff Burton finishing second and Kevin Harvick, the current points leader, seventh. David Reutimann of Michael Waltrip Racing was fifth for his best finish since the season-opening Daytona 500. And struggling Tony Stewart finally came up for air on his disappointing season with a ninth-place effort that was his best in nearly two months.

But none of them seemed to truly believe afterward that they ever actually had a chance of beating Busch or Johnson outright. (Continued)