Missing lug nut dooms Edwards’ chances

Carl Edwards’ bid for a fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Texas Motor Speedway was undone by a missing lug nut.

Having dominated the first half of the race, with 124 laps led and poised for a showdown with Martin Truex Jr., Edwards came out of a quick pit on Lap 223 and immediately felt something wrong with the right front tire on his No. 19 Toyota.

Indecision by the driver cost him valuable spots on the track and perhaps ultimately a chance at victory in the Duck Commander 500 on Saturday night.

“I felt the problem right away,” said Edwards, who last won at TMS in 2008. “My mistake was I should have pulled to pit immediately. I was still in denial, [thinking] ‘Maybe I’m imagining something … maybe something got stuck on the tire.’

“Then I realized ‘This was not good.’”

As it turned out, the 36-year-old Joe Gibbs racer battled back to finish sixth, his fifth top 10 of the season to go along with three top fives.

Edwards, the fastest qualifier, is fourth in the series standings after seven races, 18 points back of leader Kyle Busch, Saturday’s winner.

On Saturday, he used his position starting at the front to take a lead on a track he likes. His 124 laps led was second to Truex’s 141.

Only Jimmie Johnson has more victories in Texas than Edwards’ three. He won in the fall of 2005 and swept the Sprint Cup races in 2008.

Edwards’ seven top fives at TMS is fourth among active drivers.

“That’s what hard about our sport,” said Gibbs, owner of Busch’s No. 18, as well. “The hardest thing is just that. You realize he had an extremely fast car, and things don’t work out for him.

“That’s the toughest thing about our sport.”

Edwards was confident about his chances to that point, saying he was convinced the race would come down between him and Truex.

“And it was going to be a fun battle,” said Edwards.

Edwards declined to point a finger at any of his crew, saying he wasn’t sure what the problem with the tire was, though video replays provided convincing evidence that lug nuts were missing. “It was very loose. Probably something stuck behind the wheel.”

“It’s been a good track for me,” Edwards said. “We’re doing great. We had the fastest qualifier, led the second-most laps. We were going for it tonight. It just didn’t work out.”

This story was originally published April 10, 2016 at 1:30 AM with the headline "Missing lug nut dooms Edwards’ chances."