RELATED: Edwards throws bump-and-run on Busch
RICHMOND, Va. -- The move that Carl Edwards used to win the spring race here at Richmond International Raceway, and cost Kyle Busch a victory, isn't the focus this weekend as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams prepare for the final race of the regular season.
That doesn't mean the last-lap contact has been entirely forgotten by the participants. Edwards certainly remembers it well.
"I can still feel Coach (Joe) Gibbs' presence here from last time I was sitting here after the race," Edwards said Friday in the RIR media center.
Both Busch and Edwards compete for the Joe Gibbs Racing organization in the Sprint Cup Series, along with teammates Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin.
But it was Busch and Edwards running 1-2 when the field took the white flag to begin the final lap in the Toyota Owners 400 in April. Then it was Edwards and Busch running 1-2 at the checkered flag.
Somewhere in between, specifically in the middle of Turns 3 and 4, there was contact. Edwards shot his No. 19 Toyota to the inside; Busch, in the No. 18, was trying to close the door.
The bump moved Busch up the track, and Edwards shot past for the lead and the win.
"Kyle and I talked," Edwards. "We actually talked about it last night -- Denny was nice enough to give me a ride here and we joked around about it a little bit."
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With all four JGR teams already securely in this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup field, Edwards said the opportunity to just "go race, have as much fun as we can" is the gameplan for Saturday's Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).
If the opportunity presents itself once again in the closing laps this time around?
"I don’t know," Edwards said.
"I know if I were put in the position and the roles were reversed, I know exactly what to expect tomorrow night, but I plan on racing as hard as I can for the victory."