HOMESTEAD – In their final race together, Carl Edwards and crew chief Jimmy Fenning had to settle for a 34thplace finish in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway.
Not exactly a fairytale ending to a 10-year full-time ride for Edwards at Roush Fenway Racing.
After qualifying respectably inside the top-15 on Friday afternoon, Edwards remained safely tucked inside the top-15 during the early portions of the race.
That changed though after Edwards collided with rookie Alex Bowman on Lap 116. The Roush Fenway Racing team gave a valiant effort to repair Edwards’ machine, but a flat tire later on ruined any chances for a solid comeback effort.
“I had a flat right-rear,” said Edwards, who scored two wins in 2014. “I was having some fun racing with some of those guys. I went under Austin Dillon and I heard a noise and I thought, ‘Oh, somebody’s engine is blowing up,’ and it was my tire flapping and I just drove in there and backed into the fence.
“If I would have been just a little bit quicker realizing what was going wrong I think we would have still had a good finish, but I had a good time. We finished the race and got to race a little bit there at the end with Michael Annett and that was fun.”
Despite lacking speed for much of his final season at Roush Fenway Racing, wins at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (March) and Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway earned Edwards a spot in NASCAR’s newest playoff.
Edwards survived the first two rounds of Chase elimination, before a 15th-place effort in last Sunday’s penultimate race at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway didn’t make the cut for the final four at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Even with nothing to lose and everything to gain in his 373rd and final race, Edwards following his third worst finish of the season, reflected on his tenure at the team he’s called home since 2003.
“Overall it’s just been an honor to work with everybody here,” Edwards mentioned. “If it weren’t for Jack Roush and Ford and everybody that has worked so hard I definitely would never have had all the success we’ve had, so the 99 will always be a part of my life.”
Fenning likely called his last Sprint Cup Series race from atop the box. He’ll continue a role at RFR, likely in a consultant position.
In 2015, Edwards will join former Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth aboard the No. 19 Toyota Camry at Joe Gibbs Racing beginning with the season-opening Daytona 500 on February 22.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
