RELATED: Full race results from Dover
Just after escaping an 18-car wreck, Carl Edwards spun and slammed hard into the inside SAFER barrier on the backstretch with 40 laps remaining in the AAA 400 Drive for Autism on Sunday at Dover International Speedway.
Edwards was running in second place at the time of the accident. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver said he tried to give room to Kurt Busch as they came out of Turn 2, with Edwards' No. 19 Toyota pitching sideways off the corner. From there, the No. 42 Chevrolet of Kyle Larson made contact with the No. 19's rear bumper, sending Edwards' ride careening toward the inside wall.
Edwards was critical over the JGR team radio, saying, "Yeah, that one hurt. Damn, man. Give me a break. Who was that?" Edwards' crew implicated Larson, and the No. 19 radio crackled again: "What an idiot."
Edwards was more reserved after being evaluated and released from Dover's infield care center.
"I didn't see much," said Edwards, who finished 28th, 41 laps short of the 400-lap distance. "I was trying to give Kurt a little room, it looked like he got choked up and as I looked at the replay it looked like I moved down a little and Larson got underneath me. I don't think he meant to do it, but it surprised me. I didn't know he was that close."
Larson continued on, equaling his career-best effort in the Sprint Cup Series with a second-place finish. In post-race interviews, he echoed the apology that he issued over his team radio after Edwards' late-race crash.
"Not sure if Carl got loose, went to block me, or if I came up or what," Larson said. "I got into him, turned him into the inside wall. So I feel bad about that, if it was my fault. Even if it's not my fault, I feel bad about that."
Edwards' finish marked his third straight finish outside the top 10 since back-to-back wins at Bristol and Richmond last month.