The back-flipping Edwards is on a roll. And he's doing it without his regular crew chief, who is sitting out a suspension for rules violations earlier in the year. 

Running either at the front, or just behind Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch most of the race, Edwards took the lead on lap 214 of the 339-lap Samsung 500 and practically held it the remaining distance.  

Edwards held off Johnson and Busch in a two-lap shootout after the day's sixth and final caution with four laps remaining set the stage for an exciting green, white, checkered flag finish.  

Both runner-up Johnson and third-place Busch put up sterling efforts in trying to win the race at this 1 1/2-mile tri-oval Texas Motor Speedway.  

Rounding out the top 10 were fourth-place finisher Ryan Newman, winner of the season-opening Daytona 500; Denny Hamlin, winner of last weekend's race at Martinsville; veteran Jeff Burton; Tony Stewart; Mark Martin; Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer.  

Kevin Harvick battled back to finish 11th after having a very bad-handling car in the early stages of the race. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was 12th after running with the leaders at times in the first half of the race.   

Rookie Michael McDowell, who walked away from a horrific qualifying crash Friday afternoon, finished 33rd.  

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon had a terrible day, finishing 43rd (last place).

Burton stays in first in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, and Harvick is second. Edwards climbed four spots to 10th, and Busch jumped two spots to third.  

PRE RACE NOTES 

He arrives atop the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, and as this week’s defending event champion.  

That’s Jeff Burton’s (No. 31 Prilosec OTC Chevrolet) good fortune heading into Sunday’s Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. 

Quite a distance from 2004 and ‘05, when Burton — once considered a championship contender — finished 18th in the final series standings for two consecutive seasons.

A move to Richard Childress Racing late in ‘04 laid the groundwork for revival, which materialized with a seventh-place finish in ’06 and an eighth-place finish in ’07. A Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup participant both seasons, he also nabbed a win, each year, at Dover International Speedway in ’06 and at Texas in ’07. 

A win two weeks ago at Bristol Motor Speedway and last Sunday’s third-place finish at Martinsville Speedway gives him a 39-point margin over second-place Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet), his RCR teammate.  

Plus, Burton has historical precedence. He’s the only driver to win twice at Texas, last April and the track’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup event in 1997. 

Sunday’s event also marks the first at Texas with NASCAR’s new car. 

“Corner speed is the key element to winning at Texas,” Burton said. “The place is really fast and it’s fast because the corners generate a lot of speed. Having a fast car and good track position is real important.” 

Texas-sized karma also exists this week for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet), who’ll look to move further up the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings following Sunday’s Samsung 500. 

Earnhardt won his first series race at Texas Motor Speedway, in 2000. He also continues to climb the standings, jumping one spot, to fourth, following last Sunday’s sixth-place finish at Martinsville.  

The last time he ranked this high? Following the 34th race in November 2006 — at Texas.

Earnhardt’s the only driver with five top fives this season. He also has improved his place in the standings following five this season’s six events.  

Note: He hasn’t led the series standings since Sept. 19, 2004. 

But he has been the standard-bearer thus far for Hendrick Motorsports. All three of Earnhardt’s teammates rank below Earnhardt, who joined Hendrick following the 2007 season. Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) is ninth and reigning and two-time series champion Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) is 10th. Casey Mears (No. 5 Cheez-It/CARQUEST Chevrolet) is 27th.   

Earnhardt drove double-duty this weekend, driving the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for the Hendrick-affiliated JR Motorsports in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race. 

QUALIFYING NOTES
 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Samsung 500 with a lap of 28.286 seconds, 190.097 mph. This is his eighth pole in 298 career NASCAR Sprint Cup races. His most recent pole was at Pocono in August 2007. This is his first pole and fourth top-10 start in 2008. 

Earnhardt posted his second pole and sixth top-10 start in 12 races at Texas. It is his first start better than seventh in his last 10 races here. 

Carl Edwards posted the second-fastest qualifying time with a lap of 28.498 seconds, 189.487 mph. This is his first start better than 10th in seven Texas races. Kyle Busch (third) posted his second top-10 starts in seven races at Texas. His other top-10 start was fifth in April 2007 when qualifying was canceled. 

David Reutimann (sixth) was the fastest of the drivers required to make the field on time. Sam Hornish Jr. (17th) was the fastest qualifying rookie. 

NOW ONTO THE RACE!! 

Michael McDowell, David Reutimann and Mike Skinner will go to the back of the pack. McDowell for a new car and the other two for engine changes. 

The drivers are lined up on the front stretch and the engines fire to life. Dale Jr. and Edwards pull out with the rest of the filed in tow. The drivers run for a few pace laps and the pace car pulls off onto pit road. Earnhardt and Edwards lead the 43 gun slingers to the 500 mile shootout and to the… 

GREEN FLAG and out of turn two Earnhardt, Edwards and yesterday’s Nationwide winner Kyle Busch are nose to tail with the rest of the pack two wide. Lap 3 Jeff Gordon was starting mid-field and off the bat, he has fallen back to 23^rd. 

Lap 5 Earnhardt has pulled away from Edwards by 1 second, Kyle Busch by 1.3 seconds. Lap 7 John Andretti pulls into pit road for a vibration issue. Lap 8 Edwards has closed into Jr. to a two car length separation. Kyle Busch has moved in as well. 

Lap 11 Kyle Busch takes second from Edwards. Edwards does not want to let go easily though. It takes about a lap and by lap 13 Busch is sitting in 2^nd place.  

Lap 14 some of the movement of the track has Kyle Busch taking the lead, Kasey Kahne starting 10^th and is up to 6^th, Denny Hamlin starting 14^th up to 8^th, Biffle from 16^th up to 9^th. 

Lap 16 Earnhardt’s car is not handling the way he needs, as he slips back to 4^th place allowing Edwards and Jimmy Johnson to pass him. Lap 18 three wide action between Michael Waltrip, Bobby Labonte and J.J. Yeley for 24^th. 

Lap 21 Robby Gordon hits the wall in turn 1, slipping a position back. Jeff Gordon continues his downward spiral back to 34^th. Lap 23 Kyle Busch leads by 2.7 seconds. 

Lap 25 your top 10 drivers are – Kyle Busch, Edwards, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan, Greg Biffle, Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 28 as Waltrip solo spins on the high side of turn 3, he does not make contact with anything, a lucky move for his car and team. McDowell is the lucky dog. Everyone on the lead lap is in for stops. Earnhardt Jr. is the first one out followed by Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kahne and Edwards. 

GREEN FLAG lap 33, Earnhardt, Johnson and Kyle Busch rocket away from the field. Lap 37 Edwards takes over 4^th from Kahne. Lap 40 Earnhardt looks a bit better leading Kyle Busch by a half second. 

Lap 41 Biffle makes a move on the inside Kahne for 5^th. Lap 42 some of the movers at this point on the track is Biffle from 16^th to 5^th, Truex Jr. from 12^th to 8^th, Tony Stewart from 24^th up to 11^th, Jeff Burton from 35^th to 13^th and Kurt Busch from 23^rd up to 14^th. 

Lap 47 Johnson takes over the lead from Earnhardt Jr. Kyle Busch is starting to move in for 2^nd. 

Lap 50 your top 20 drivers are – Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Edwards, Biffle, Kenseth, Truex Jr., Kahne, Hamlin, Ragan, Stewart, Ryan Newman, Burton, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Brian Vickers, Mark Martin and David Gilliland. 

Lap 55 Kyle Busch and Edwards pass Earnhardt Jr. once again. Lap 57 we have seen the leaders passing slower drivers. Drivers who are a lap down, Waltrip, Bill Elliott, McDowell, Jeremy Mayfield, Scott Riggs, Mike Skinner with Joe Nemechek two laps down and John Andretti 3 laps down. 

Lap 62 drivers who are next on the list to be a lap down would be Regan Smith, Patrick Carpentier, Jeff Gordon and Robby Gordon. Lap 69 battle for 22^nd as Juan Pablo Montoya challenges Travis Kvapil. The rest of the field is spread out. Lap 73 we are about 10 or so laps away from green flag pit stops. 

Lap 75 your top ten drivers are Johnson, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth, Truex Jr., Hamlin, Stewart and Kahne. Lap 77 Bowyer has moved up to 12^th.  

Lap 78 pit stops begin as Hamlin and Andretti are in and out. Lap 80 we see Kyle Busch pushing Edwards on the front stretch. Lap 81 Bobby Labonte and Matt Kenseth are in for work. Lap 82 Kvapil, Jeff Gordon, Sam Hornish Jr., Gilliland are in. Lap 83 Waltrip, Newman, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Burton and about10 others are in. 

Lap 84 Johnson is in along with Stewart, Kurt Busch, Montoya, McMurray are in. Lap 85 Earnhardt Jr. is in along with Martin, Casey Mears and Yeley are in. Truex Jr. leads a lap for 5 points for leading a lap. 

Earnhardt Jr. was really slow on pit road to get to his pit. That will cost him big time. After stops your new top five are Johnson, Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kenseth and Hamlin.  

Lap 90 Newman, Bowyer and Ragan battle for 11^th. Lap 95 Mayfield grabbed the apron for a minute looking like he lost power and was back up to speed by pit road entrance. He recovers but looses a few positions back to 40^th. 

Lap 100 your top 20 drivers are Johnson, Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Biffle, Truex Jr., Stewart, Kahne, Newman, Bowyer, Ragan, Burton, McMurray, Martin, Menard, Gilliland, Kvapil and Reutimann. So far we have seen 7 lead changes among 6 leaders and 1 caution for 4 laps. 

Lap 106 Kenseth looking to take 3^rd from Kyle Busch.  

YELLOW FLAG lap 109 as Jeff Gordon spins out in turn 4. He shoots from the bottom of the track to hit the back end of the car into the high side of the track followed by the passenger side. Gordon takes his car to the garage and tells the team we need major changes. Casey Mears is the lucky dog. The leaders hit pit road. Kenseth, Johnson, Edwards, Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr. 

GREEN FLAG lap 113 with Kenseth clearing the lapped drivers out of turn two. Johnson clears them by turn 3. Lap 115 the two leaders are one second in front of the field. 

Lap 122 Andretti takes his car to the garage. Lap 124 Kenseth leads Johnson by a half second. Lap 125 your top 10 drivers are Kenseth, Johnson, Edwards, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, Truex Jr., Biffle, Stewart and Bowyer. 

Lap 130 some of the drivers that have been looking strong has been Stewart who moved into the top ten early in the race, currently 8^th, moved through the field with ease, Clint Bowyer starting 25^th up to 10^th. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 132 for debris from Robby Gordon’s car in turn 4. Kurt Busch is the lucky dog, running 23rd. The leaders are into pit road. Kenseth, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Hamlin. 

GREEN FLAG lap 136 as Kenseth and Johnson lead the 23 leaders and the rest of the lapped down traffic to racing. Kenseth clears the lapped down drivers right away. It takes a lap for Johnson to clear them. Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr. takes about two more laps to clear Montoya, but have not caught up to Harvick yet. 

Lap 140 Montoya does not give room though so it takes another two laps for the two to clear him completely. Lap 142 we hear on the scanner from Dale Earnhardt Jr. “Almost pulled a Michael McDowell,” as his car is way loose. 

Lap 144 Kenseth leads Johnson by a half second and they lead the field by 4 seconds. Lap 147 give Jamie McMurray an at-a-boy as he is running 13^th from his start of 32^nd. 

Lap 150 your top 20 drivers are Kenseth, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Truex Jr., Stewart, Biffle, Bowyer, Burton, Kahne, Newman, McMurray, Ragan, Martin, Gilliland, Menard, Vickers and Mears. 

Lap 157 23 drivers remain on the lead lap. Harvick, Elliott Sadler, Montoya, Dave Blaney, Reed Sorenson, Labonte, Yeley, Hornish Jr., Carpentier and Robby Gordon are one lap down followed by Scott Riggs, McDowell, Waltrip, Mayfield, Bill Elliott and Smith 2 laps down. Skinner is three laps down, Nemechek is 4 laps down with Andretti and Jeff Gordon in the pits. 

Lap 166 (halfway home) let’s give a shoutout to Mark Martin running 15^th from his start of 31^st. Martin’s day has been good keeping in the top 20. Lap 168 Vickers and Gilliland have also been running well in the race 17^th and 19^th respectively.  

Lap 170 Kenseth leads Johnson by 1 second. They in turn lead the field by 2 seconds. Kenseth’s lead to 5^th place Hamlin is 7.7 seconds and 14.4 seconds back to 10^th place Biffle. 

Lap 175 your top 10 drivers are Kenseth, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Truex, Stewart, Bowyer and Biffle. 

YELLOW FLAG lap 175 as Yeley crashes into the inside wall on the back stretch after breaking loose out of turn 2. Yeley hits the wall with the left front hard and no soft wall. Harvick is the lucky dog. Kenseth, Edwards, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Earnhardt Jr. 

GREEN FLAG lap 180 with Kenseth and Edwards get the show on the way again. Lap down driver Montoya slides up the track out of turn two which cuts off Kenseth and some cars scattering out of the way. Kyle Busch takes the lead followed by Edwards and Hamlin.  

Lap 184 Kyle Busch and Edwards lead the field by 2 seconds. Lap 187 the field is stretched out a half track in length. Lap 189 a while back we see that Reutimann and Hornish Jr. have not been friendly as they have been banging into each other over a lap or two. Hornish was slideways once or twice, but saves it. 

Lap 200 you top 20 drivers are Kyle Busch, Edwards, Johnson, Hamlin, Kenseth, Burton, Truex Jr., Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Stewart, Kahne, Newman, Martin, Biffle, McMurray, Gilliland, Menard, Harvick, Vickers and Reutimann. So far we have seen 13 lead changes among 6 leaders and 4 cautions for 16 laps. 

Lap 210 Burton has gotten better since his last stop. He currently runs 6^th after the last stop. He has looked better after each stop. The last stop, he has gained 5 positions.  

Lap 211 Edwards has closed into 4 car lengths of Kyle Busch. We have about 15 laps until the next round of green flag pit stops. Lap 215 as Jeff Gordon is back on track 108 laps down, Edwards takes the lead. 

Lap 219 Johnson challenges Kyle Busch for 2^nd place to take it. Jeff Gordon is back to pit road and the garage. Lap 222 Andretti is back in the race. Lap 225 your top 10 drivers are Edwards, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Burton, Kenseth, Truex Jr., Bowyer, Stewart and Kahne. Waltrip is in the pits early with an ill-handling car. 

Lap 228 pit stops are underway as Hamlin is on pit road. Lap 229 Edwards is in along with Kyle Busch, Truex Jr. Lap 230 Harvick, Kvapil, Montoya, Burton and Kenseth are in. Lap 231 Menard, Stewart, Kahne, Martin, Newman, Johnson, Robby Gordon and Mears are in. The flood gates open as another 10 to 12 drivers are on pit road. 

Lap 236 the leaders are complete with pit stops. Edwards is the leader again followed by Kyle Busch, Johnson, Hamlin and Burton. Lap 238 Martin has slowly been moving up in the field running 10^th. Martin hasn’t been making show stopping moves, but slowly creeps up passing other drivers along with consistent pit stops from his team. 

Lap 241 David Gilliland has also been on the move, running 12^th from his start of 41^st. Earnhardt Jr. is still fighting his car and slipped back to 13^th. Lap 243 Edwards leads Kyle Busch by 3.7 seconds. 

Lap 243 Biffle had to make a stop on pit road for a wheel vibration. He will drop to 27^th, 2 laps down. Lap 246 Edwards is now up to 4.7 seconds on his lead.  

Lap 250 your top 20 drivers are – Edwards, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Hamlin, Burton, Kenseth, Bowyer, Truex Jr., Stewart, Martin, Kahne, Gilliland, Newman, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick and McMurray on the lead lap followed by Vickers, Ragan, Menard and Kvapil a lap down. 

Lap 256 Biffle has lost an engine. His day is done. Could this lead to an issue with Edwards being on the same team? Reutimann is on pit road with an overheating issue. 

Lap 259 Edwards leads by 7 seconds in front of Johnson, 7.6 seconds in front of Kyle Busch, 12 seconds of Hamlin, 16 seconds in front of 5^th place Kenseth. Lap 262 Bowyer battles Kenseth for 5^th place out of turn four. Bowyer takes it by turn one on the next lap. 

Lap 264 Burton informs the team that the handling is going away on the car. Burton drops back to 7^th place. Lap 266 we are down to 13 drivers on the lead lap as Earnhardt Jr. is one lap down in 14^th. 

Lap 268 Harvick, McMurray, Vickers, Ragan, Menard, Kvapil and Mears are one lap down. Lap 269 as Gilliland is now a lap down. Lap 271 Labonte, Sadler, Sorenson, Blaney, Montoya and Biffle are 2 laps down, Carpentier and Riggs are 3 laps down, Robby Gordon and Hornish Jr. are 4 laps down. 

Lap 273 Waltrip, Skinner, McDowell, Elliott, Smith, Mayfield and Nemechek are 5 or more laps down. Reutimann, Andretti, Yeley and Jeff Gordon are in the garage. Lap 275 your top ten drivers are Edwards, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Bowyer, Kenseth, Burton, Truex Jr., Stewart and Martin. 

Lap 280 Edwards closes in on Newman and Kahne who run 11^th and 12^th. Lap 281 pit stops begin as Harvick and McMurray pit. Waltrip is in along with Kyle Busch. Lap 282 Truex Jr. is in as well as Hamlin, Stewart and 6 leaders that include Edwards and Johnson. 

Lap 283 10 more drivers are into pit road along with Earnhardt Jr. Lap 284 Edwards is back in front as the leader already. Lap 285 battle for 2^nd place as they pass Smith coming out of turn two. Johnson went to the high side and Kyle Busch to the low side. 

Lap 292 Newman is now a lap down, which leaves 10 cars on the lead lap. Lap 294 (40 to go) Edwards leads Johnson by 7 seconds. 

YELLOW FLAG with 40 to go. Newman is the lucky dog. The 10 leaders hit pit road. Edwards, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Truex Jr. and Hamlin are the first five out of pit road.  

GREEN FLAG lap 299 as the ten leaders of Edwards, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Truex Jr., Hamlin, Bowyer, Kenseth, Burton, Stewart and Martin take us back to racing. Lap 300 (34 to go) Johnson threads the needle between lap down driver Kurt Busch and lead lap driver Kyle Busch. Newman runs 11^th followed by Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., Gilliland, McMurray, Vickers, Menard, Kvapil, and Mears are the rest of the top 20. 

We also so far have seen 16 lead changes among 6 leaders and 5 cautions for 20 laps. 

30 to go Johnson is closing in on Edwards for the lead. The separation is 1.4 seconds. Lap 307 Hamlin takes over 4^th from Truex Jr. Lap 308 Martin challenges Burton for 9^th place, which he takes in turn 3.  

Lap 309 Kenseth takes over 5^th place from Truex Jr. On the last stop Truex Jr. took only two tires while the rest of the field took 4 tires. Lap 311 Bowyer closes in on Stewart for 7^th. 

20 to go with Edwards leading Johnson by 2 seconds. We see that Truex Jr. may have broken a valve spring and the car is spewing smoke in the car. Lap 317 Johnson scrapes the wall out of turn 2. 

15 to go Edwards is looking good while Johnson is breaking loose out of turn 2. Lap 320 Edwards may encounter lapped down drivers which could allow Johnson to catch up. Lap 321 Stewart takes over 6^th from Truex Jr. 

10 to go Edwards leads by 1.6 seconds. His only threat is Johnson, if he can make a good run or Edwards makes a mistake or maybe a yellow flag. 3^rd place Kyle Busch is 7.2 seconds behind. 

8 to go as Edwards leads by almost a full turn. Out of turn three the gap is 1.3 seconds. 

7 to go as Edwards hits open air again the gap increases to 1.5 seconds.  

5 to go Edwards is not letting up, neither is Johnson though. The gap is 1.6 seconds. 

YELLOW FLAG with 4 to go as Truex Jr. blows up. This will set us up for a GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED finish. Who will pit, who will stay out? Tony Stewart in 6^th and the rest of the top ten of Bowyer, Newman, Martin, and Burton come into pit road. The race out of pit road is Bowyer, Newman, Stewart, Martin and Burton. 

A single file restart will help the leaders and we will see who hangs on, on this restart. 

GREEN FLAG lap 337 (we were supposed to end on lap 334) as Edwards who has been ok with restarts and Johnson, Kyle Busch have all been great on restarts. Who will get the win? They race across the start finish line. Edwards does not get a good start. Bowyer moves past Hamlin. Bowyer on the inside of Kyle Busch for 3^rd. Busch takes it back. 

WHITE FLAG for Edwards, Johnson is no threat. Its three wide behind them as Hamlin, Stewart and Newman go at it. Out of turn four Edwards has the race. Bowyer is sideways out of turn 4 after contact with Hamlin and fall to 10^th. 

Your top ten of the race were Edwards, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Newman, Hamlin, Burton, Stewart, Martin, Kenseth and Bowyer. 

The race lasted for 3 and a half hours. We saw 16 lead changes among 6 leaders and 6 cautions for 27 laps.